If you’re hit by a car or another type of vehicle while riding your bike, you can suffer many different kinds of serious injury. These include:

• Broken Bones
• Head Trauma
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Soft Tissue Injuries
• Cuts
• Burns

Get medical attention for your injury as soon as possible after your collision, especially if you need emergency medical care. Do this even if you don’t “feel” like you were injured – certain injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, don’t have immediately obvious symptoms and can become worse if they are left untreated.

Kentucky is a “no fault” state for collision injury claims, which means that drivers are required to carry personal injury protection (PIP) coverage and go through their own insurance providers to cover their own related damages after a collision. A driver’s PIP policy also covers bicyclists injured in collisions with him or her. However, drivers can waive this requirement.

When a PIP claim is not an option, the bicyclist can file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for their damages. In Indiana, a personal injury claim is always an option for injured bicyclists.

When you file a personal injury claim, you can seek monetary compensation for a few different types of financial losses, also known as damages. These damages include:

• Your medical expenses;
• Your lost wages, now and future wages you cannot earn because of a permanent disability; and
• Your pain and suffering damages, the losses you cannot easily quantify. These include your emotional trauma and your need to pay for transportation to and from doctor appointments.

With a PIP claim, there is no need to prove the driver caused your injury through negligence. With a personal injury claim, there is. You can prove that you are a victim of negligence by providing evidence that illustrates exactly how the crash happened and how you were injured. This evidence can include:

• A copy of the official police report for your accident;
• Photographs of the accident scene and your injury;
• Commentary from your doctor discussing your injury and treatment needs;
• Eyewitness testimonies of the accident; and
• Your own documentation of your injury, treatment needs and reduced quality of life.

Bicycle riders are not dissimilar to motorcyclists in that they are on a mode of transportation that is completely open; there’s no protection offered by a vehicle. Oftentimes, they will have road rash, and many suffer neck and back injuries. If they are not wearing a helmet, they are much more likely to sustain a traumatic brain injury. Fractures are also not uncommon. Read More.

Contact Emery Law Office today to schedule your free legal consultation with us.