Huntsville Bicycle Accident Lawyer

As a cyclist, getting into an accident with a car is terrifying, and your extreme vulnerability leaves you at risk of great injury. If you’ve been hurt because a motorist was careless, you may be owed compensation.

If you’ve sought out this web page, you’ve probably been seriously injured in a bicycle accident caused by someone else. You’re probably hurting and may have missed work. You may be worried about paying your bills. You may be searching for someone who can answer your questions about a bicycle accident claim.

We are here to help. Our firm offers free legal advice. Call our Huntsville bicycle accident attorney today.

Please don’t put it off because you think you’ll need cash up front to pay for the answers you need. Just give us a call as soon as you can and schedule your free legal consultation.

What Can an Huntsville Bicycle Accident Lawyer Do for Me?

You may be skeptical about how you can save money by hiring an attorney. People often assume they’ll save money by handling their claim on their own, but most of those that do, end up being awarded far less than they would have been if they’d had an attorney. This is due in large part to a lawyer’s ability to protect the value of your bicycle accident claim.

• Our Huntsville bicycle accident attorney has the experience to conduct an accident investigation to support your claim. This involves making sure every at-fault party is identified to maximize your compensation. It also involves showing causation—proving the actions of the at-fault driver caused the accident, and the accident caused your injuries. Making these connections are crucial to a successful claim.
• Our bicycle accident attorney knows how to determine how much your claim is worth, factoring in all the information from the accident investigation, as well as all your damages. Knowing how to determine all the damages for your claim is essential. Your damages may include non-economic losses, in addition to the financial ones. Depending upon the circumstances, punitive damages may also be available. Our Huntsville bicycle accident attorney will make these determinations to bring you all the compensation you are due.
• An experienced bicycle accident attorney won’t be tripped up by the insurance company’s money-saving tactics. This is one of the biggest risks you face in handling your own claim—one you don’t have to worry about when you’ve got the right lawyer. Our Huntsville bicycle accident attorney knows the tricks the insurance company will unleash to try and drop the value of your claim. Let us take the stress of dealing with big insurance off your hands.
• Having a skilled bicycle accident lawyer provides you with guidance regarding settlement offers, so you know which ones are worthy of your time and which are not. When you’ve got an attorney, the insurance company won’t be able to pressure you to accept less than you deserve for fear you won’t get a better offer, because you’ve got your attorney to guide you.
• Retaining a lawyer gets the insurance company’s attention. They know they can’t mistreat you through intimidation, delays, and denials. They also know, if they refuse to offer a reasonable settlement amount, your lawyer will sue them.
• In addition to these benefits, hiring a lawyer gives you the time and mental space to rest and focus on your recovery. The last thing you need to deal with while healing from major injuries is a battle with big insurance. Let your lawyer handle it.

Protect the Value of Your Claim by Avoiding Mistakes

You can help your attorney protect your claim by avoiding several common mistakes. Read on to find out about some of the most frequent missteps that damage people’s claims.

Don’t Skip the Medical Exam

Though you’re likely to suffer serious injury in a bicycle accident, the adrenaline rush that comes with an accident may keep you from being fully aware of how badly you’re hurt. Don’t assume you are okay if you aren’t in a great deal of pain. Adrenaline can mask pain and give you energy. Have a doctor examine you to make sure.

In addition to protecting your health, seeing a doctor will provide support for your bicycle accident claim. Without an official record of an exam, the insurance company can suggest you weren’t injured because you didn’t see a doctor.

Take Your Treatment Plan Seriously

When you’ve been released from the doctor’s office or hospital and sent home to continue your recovery, your doctor will provide you with a treatment plan. It will list the ways you can help yourself recover. These are likely to include reduced activity, increased rest, and medications.

Treatment plans vary depending on the type of injuries you’ve incurred and most include more than one type of treatment. For example, many treatment plans incorporate medication and physical or occupational therapy sessions.

Adhere to whatever your doctor recommends for you. Don’t skip appointments, take your meds, and don’t engage in activities you aren’t physically ready for.

One of the easiest ways for insurance companies to devalue claims is by catching a claimant doing something that contradicts their treatment plan. Many people don’t realize insurance companies still employ investigators to follow up on the claimant’s activities.

If, for example, you’re supposed to be staying off an injured hip and you are caught on surveillance video trail riding on a horse or an ATV, your claim is going to be at risk.

You may think your treatment plan is unimportant and ineffective. Know that it’s an easy win for you—or the insurance company—depending on how well you follow it. Put it to work for you and protect the value of your claim.

Refuse the Recorded Call with the Insurance Company

Once an accident report is filed with the insurance company, you can expect an adjuster to reach out to you to record your statement. They usually do this early in the process, aware that the longer they wait, the better the chances you’ll hire an attorney to advise you. They know you’re most vulnerable early in your recovery before you’ve gotten a lawyer.

Most people think they’ve got to take the call from the insurance company. This is actually not true. You are not required to take this call without a lawyer to advise you. The safest thing to do when the insurance company calls is to delegate this conversation and all communications about your claim to your Huntsville bicycle accident attorney.

Your attorney knows how to communicate with the insurance company in a way that protects your claim.

The purpose of the recorded statement interview is to provide the insurance company with information they can use to devalue your claim. Insurance adjusters are very good at steering these conversations to provide answers that can be twisted for this purpose.

Any aspect of the accident the insurance company can blame on you will remove blame from them. The less blame that sticks to them, the less they owe you in compensation. This means it’s important that you refuse the insurance company’s request to record your statement. Let your lawyer handle all insurance company communications instead and protect the value of your claim.

Don’t Procrastinate in Hiring an Attorney

Time is critical to your claim after a bicycle accident. You’ve got to make sure you and your lawyer have access to as much evidence as possible to support your claim while it’s available.

While your attorney will want access to the police’s accident investigation, they will also want to conduct their own investigation with the specific goal of supporting your claim.

This may involve the lawyer visiting the accident scene to make sure no evidence was missed. For example, there may be a store security camera pointing at the sidewalk in front of the store. Your attorney may discover that footage also happened to record the accident, proving the car that struck you ran a red light or stop sign.

In addition to checking for additional evidence, your attorney may want to speak to witnesses to get statements first-hand. The sooner they can do this, the better recall witnesses are likely to have. If too much time passes before you start your claim, there’s the chance witnesses will forget important information, or they may relocate, making them difficult or impossible to find. The sooner your lawyer can speak to witnesses, the more useful the information they provide will be.

Your lawyer’s ability to build you the strongest possible claim is going to depend in part on how quickly they can begin an accident investigation. Getting started as quickly as possible will help them succeed.

Make Sure Your Attorney is the Right Person for Your Claim

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people to hire the first attorney recommended by a friend or family member. But that attorney may not regularly practice in personal injury. They may not even be a trial lawyer. Assuming every attorney can bring you the same results would be like randomly picking a doctor and assuming they had the necessary training to perform the specific surgery you need.

People don’t make this mistake with doctors; you shouldn’t make it with a lawyer. The best lawyer for you is going to be a personal injury trial attorney with experience winning bicycle accident claims, both in and out of court.

Be ready for whatever contingencies arise by hiring the right lawyer for your claim.

Alabama Bicycle Accident Client Story

We are sharing the following client story to help you get a better idea of what to expect in your bicycle accident claim. Please note that the story’s value remains, despite our editing the names and details to protect client privacy. Please read it through, then reach out to schedule your free legal consultation.

On a warm August morning in Huntsville, Alabama, high school senior Evan Green hopped on his bike to head to football practice. It had been a year since he received his division 1 FBS football scholarship offer, and he wasn’t about to screw it up. Now in his last year of high school, he’d actually begun to believe he could make it.

Evan had been on the radar of college recruiters since middle school, though officially they couldn’t reach out to him until high school. Over the years, he’d heard all the arguments against early recruiting: he was too young to know what he wanted to do with his life. He should be focused on his love of the game, not put under such intense pressure to perform.

But the truth was, Evan loved football. Always had and always would. Catching the eye of recruiters had been a dream come true for a kid whose family had yet to see a college graduate, and Evan was determined to be the first. In his eyes, this scholarship was his ticket to a better future for himself and future generations of his family. The fact that it involved his favorite sport was a plus, not a minus.  

Evan’s grandfather, Dell, knew all of this. “The old man,” as Evan’s dad, Antonne, affectionately called him, had moved in with them the summer after junior high. Though Antonne always said The Old Man had “too much time to think and not enough to do,” Evan quickly discovered the only person with more energy than he had was Grandpa Dell. He could fix anything, and he always seemed to know what needed doing just at the right time.

When Dell saw his grandson’s talent on the football field, he knew recruiters couldn’t contact his grandson until after sophomore year of high school. But he also knew they could be contacted, even if they couldn’t reply yet. He took it upon himself to send videos of his grandson playing football. And they had come to watch him and track his progress. By August of Evan’s junior year, he had a D1 scholarship offer.

He made every practice, no matter what. He was the first player to arrive and the last to leave. Sometimes he was there before the coaches. Sometimes the guys teased him about it, but he didn’t care. This was his chance.

Evan zig-zagged his way southwest, from Russell to Clinton to Greene to Williams, working his way to the high school. Traffic was scarce, and he was making good time. He’d just come off Harvard Road, about to cross Marsheutz Avenue into the parking lot when a car ran the stop sign at Auburn Avenue and knocked Evan and his bike across the intersection.

Evan woke up in the hospital with a concussion, a broken left elbow, and a fractured right ankle. His grandfather was staring at him with red-rimmed eyes. Seeing his grandson’s eyes open, he exhaled loudly and called his son.

“He’s awake. Come on back.” Evan soon found himself reassuring his mom, dad, and Grandpa Dell in turn that he was going to be all right. He hoped it was true.

Evan was sent home a few days later to continue his recovery at home. His age and health made the recovery doable. The timing of the crash made his scholarship uncertain at best. He wasn’t going to make his senior year of football, and a recovered ankle wasn’t the same as a division 1 scholarship ankle. Not for a star running back.

With everything he had to look forward to suddenly in jeopardy, Evan quickly slid toward depression. The Old Man did his best to bolster Evan’s outlook during the long days while his parents were at work, but they both knew things were “iffy,” and he would not lie to his grandson. Without saying so, Grandpa Dell began to search for a path forward.

Just over two weeks after his accident, Evan awoke to the sound of his dad arguing with his grandfather. He caught just enough of the conversation to know it was about him.

“…should have spoken to me first,” said Antonne. “He’s a minor…not up to you…”

“…wouldn’t have agreed… hear him out…” Grandpa Dell urged.

They stopped abruptly when Evan maneuvered himself into the doorway on his crutches.

“What are we talking about?” Evan asked, staring at the bickering men as the only acting adult in the room. Antonne sighed and grudgingly agreed to see what “he” had to say, whoever he was.

Two hours later, Attorney Jacob Maples sat down in the eat-in kitchen of the small, neat home with Evan, Antonne, and Dell.

How much does it cost to hire a bicycle accident attorney?

“I appreciate you making the time to speak with us,” Antonne began. “But it, ah…seems we weren’t all on the same page in calling you in. I’m not sure we can afford to be speaking to a lawyer. What do you charge, may I ask?”

“Our firm works on a contingency-fee system,” Attorney Maples answered. “There is no out-of-pocket cost to you. The firm fronts all case expenses from start to finish. We cover the investigation, administration, any legal experts necessary, everything. Even litigation, should that be necessary. At the end of your case, we only get paid if we successfully resolve your claim.”

“Really?” said Antonne, clearly surprised, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

“Really,” Attorney Maples confirmed. “And this is a completely free, no-obligation, legal consultation, so ask me all your questions.”

How much is my bicycle accident claim worth?

“What is a claim like mine worth?” asked Evan, suddenly interested in something for the first time since the accident. “That scholarship was my path to college. If I’m sidelined…” He couldn’t bear to finish the sentence, but they all knew what he meant.

“That’s a great question, Evan,” said Attorney Maples. “We take the answer to the question of your claim’s value very seriously; we don’t guess. Instead, we look at two factors: the accident investigation and your damages.

“We start with our own investigation into your accident to support your claim and identify all responsible parties. We’ll look for additional evidence, speak to witnesses, and may bring in an accident recreation expert, if necessary,” said Attorney Maples.

“I know you’ll have a few witnesses,” Evan said. “Three of my teammates were in the parking lot. I guess they spoke to the cops, though I don’t remember anything about being hit.”

“It’s good that you’re looking into a potential claim this early in the process,” Attorney Maples said. “Should you decide to move forward, your attorney will want to speak to those witnesses as soon as possible to see if any additional information can be discovered.

“The second factor determining your claim’s value is your damages. To figure those out, you’ll need to reach what’s called ‘maximum medical improvement.’

“This is just a fancy way of saying you need to recover as much as you are capable of. When you reach maximum medical improvement, you won’t need any more surgeries, and your doctors will know what impact your injuries are going to have on your life down the road,” said Attorney Maples.

“All the ways your life has been and will be negatively impacted by the bicycle accident are your damages,” said Attorney Maples.

“As in whether I’ll recover enough to play D1 football, for example?” Evan asked, blinking back tears of frustration and loss. “Until two weeks ago, I had a scholarship spot, full ride.”

Attorney Maples whistled. “Wow. Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. We need to figure out exactly what you’ve lost due to this accident. When you get to maximum medical improvement, we’ll know your damages and can then determine the value of your claim.

“I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of this, Evan,” Attorney Maples added. “I can only imagine how overwhelming it all is.”

Evan nodded and looked away, hastily wiping his eyes.

“For now, please try and keep your focus on recovery,” said Attorney Maples. “Try to channel all of your frustration and energy into rest and healing. Follow your doctor’s orders and do not do anything beyond what is recommended. Showing the insurance company you are serious about regaining your health is critical to protecting the value of your claim.”

How long will my bicycle accident claim take?

“What kind of timeline would we be looking at if we made a claim?” Antonne asked, warming to the idea as he could see a way to pursue justice for Evan.

“That, too, will depend on a couple of factors,” said Attorney Maples. “The first is how long it takes Evan to reach maximum medical improvement. When he gets there, we’ll know his damages and the value of his claim. That’s when we can send a demand letter to the insurance company.

“From there, the rest of the claim timeline will depend on how the insurance company responds. If they are willing to make a reasonable and fair offer, we can work out a settlement and close your case. If they fight us though, we’ll file a lawsuit.

“Of course, a trial drags out your claim’s timeline. Even if we keep things moving, we’ll be at the mercy of the courts for your hearing and trial dates,” said Attorney Maples. “But if that’s what it takes to bring you the compensation you deserve, Evan, that’s where I’ll go.

“I have a solid record of success as a trial lawyer and of winning bicycle accident cases. The insurance company may notice this and settle to avoid risking a trial, but there are no guarantees. Either way, I’ll be ready to fight to bring you the compensation you deserve, Evan,” said Attorney Maples.

“That’s why I recommend you retain a trial lawyer, whether it’s me or someone else. Your attorney needs to be ready to win, whether that happens at the negotiating table or at trial.”

Evan was satisfied with the answers he received during his free legal consultation and moved forward with his bicycle accident claim. Attorney Maples won his case in court, and Evan was shocked by the amount the jury awarded him.

Call Our Huntsville Bicycle Accident Attorney Today

We hope you’ve gained valuable insight from the information on this page. Since no two bicycle accident claims are the same, we urge you to call our Huntsville bicycle accident attorney today to schedule your free legal consultation. There’s absolutely no obligation. Let us answer your claim questions free of charge and show you how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.