Indianapolis Bicycle Accident Lawyer

At the Law Office of Hurst Limontes LLC, we represent bicyclists injured in all types of accidents in which someone else’s actions caused the cyclist’s injuries. According to PPI, those accidents most commonly involve a collision between a cyclist and a vehicle when a cyclist crosses at an intersection or travels on the road with the flow of traffic. However, that’s not the only way a cyclist can sustain an injury because of someone else’s carelessness. Doorings, in which a driver or passenger opens the door of a stopped vehicle into the path of an oncoming cyclist, are also common and extremely dangerous to cyclists. Sometimes, preventable and hazardous road conditions also pose serious threats to cyclists, as do certain defective cycling products.

Regardless of what causes a bicycle accident, the injuries that cyclists sustain tend to be particularly severe. Our office has the resources and experience to investigate and litigate virtually any type of bicycle accident injury case, including:

• Wrongful death
• Traumatic brain injuries, including those that cause comas, minimally-conscious states, or severe motor or cognitive deficits
• Spinal cord injuries, especially those resulting in paralysis
• Severe lacerations, such as those on the face that cause disfiguring scars
• Broken bones and other orthopedic injuries

We encourage any cyclist who has sustained an injury in an accident in the Indianapolis area to contact our office, even if you believe that you bear some of the blame for your injury. Indiana law permits recovery of damages even if you share fault, so long as you’re not mostly to blame for the accident. Our team can evaluate your situation and give you an idea of whether you’re eligible to seek compensation for your injuries.

Indiana law makes the rights of cyclists very clear; subject to several minor restrictions, “a person riding a bicycle… upon a roadway has all the rights and duties… that are applicable to a person who drives a vehicle.” That means that cyclists have every right to expect motorists to share the road responsibly, to yield when cyclists are making a turn across traffic, and to not to drive or act aggressively toward them.

Indianapolis city ordinances provide further protections for bicyclists. Motorists must yield to cyclists traveling in designated bike lanes, must not park or stop in a bike lane, and must leave at least three feet of space when passing a cyclist in a bike lane. All of these provisions aim to protect cyclists against disrespectful and reckless driving behaviors.

Unfortunately, motorists do not always heed the laws and regulations that keep cyclists safe on the road. Too often, motorists treat bicycles as a second-class of vehicle, drive dangerously around bicycles, and put cyclists in danger by driving carelessly. When these wrongful behaviors occur and result in an accident, Indiana law permits cyclist victims to take legal action against drivers who caused them harm. In an action for damages, an injured cyclist may recover:

• Present and future medical expenses related to the injury, including emergency transport and care, long-term hospitalization, and ongoing physical and occupational therapy
• Lost wages and lost future income resulting from the injured cyclist’s need to take time off from work to recover and from any injuries that require the cyclist to make a career change
• Compensation for both physical and emotional damages, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and disfigurement
• Loss of consortium with a spouse

In the event that a cyclist dies in an accident, the cyclist’s family members are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit under Indiana law, which imposes some relatively complicated limits and conditions on the types and amounts of damages that families of wrongful death victims may recover. If your loved one died in a bicycle accident, then we urge you to seek the help of an experienced Indianapolis wrongful death attorney as soon as possible to learn about your rights before the statute of limitations expires.

Source: https://www.in.gov/cji/files/Highway_Safety_Fact_Book_2017.pdf

Most bicycle accidents inflict immediate and significant injuries. Recovery may take months and may include painful surgery, therapy, and other medical intervention. Cyclists enduring the trauma of healing from an injury rarely want to think about consulting with an attorney and reliving the traumatic event. They just want to get better and, oftentimes, get back out on their bikes. However, the sooner an injured cyclist contacts an attorney, the better chance of success he or she will have in a personal injury claim.

The legal team at the Law Office of Hurst Limontes LLC understands the reluctance that many people have about involving lawyers too soon following a bicycle accident. Some individuals believe that if they call a lawyer, they will have to go straight to court. Others think lawyers just add another expense to their already-strained family budget. We understand these feelings, but after years of experience counseling injured cyclists, we can tell you one thing for certain: hiring a lawyer can only help. Below we discuss why.

Most personal injury claims in Indiana must be filed within two years from the date of the injury. While that may seem like plenty of time, two years actually doesn’t give you or your lawyer much time to build a strong personal injury case. Furthermore, missing the deadline most often means losing all rights to seek any compensation for your injuries. The sooner you speak with an experienced bicycle accident attorney, the lower the chance you’ll run out of time to file a claim.

In personal injury claims, a plaintiff must prove that someone else’s careless actions caused his or her injuries. While that may seem easy—particularly if you’re the injured cyclists who witnessed the collision, in practice it requires collecting and presenting a significant amount of detailed and specific evidence. Your lawyer must use concrete evidence to explain exactly how your accident unfolded, who bears the blame for it, what caused your injuries, how severe they are, and what they’ve cost you.

Following an accident that leaves a cyclist severely injured, two particular categories of evidence often require immediate attention:

• Physical, forensic, and eyewitness evidence of the accident will likely prove useful in illustrating the moment-by-moment series of events that led to your injury, as well as explain how the defendant caused the accident. Unfortunately, if you or your attorney does not secure this evidence soon after your accident, it tends to disappear. Some cyclists make the mistake of repairing their bike prior to taking any photos of the damage, which destroys important evidence. Some witnesses may begin to forget what happened or question exactly what they saw. The sooner a lawyer gets involved, the better the chance that you will preserve critical evidence of the accident for later use.
• Medical records and recollections of medical providers also have the potential to make a big difference in any personal injury matter. Obviously, damages depend in large part on proving that an accident caused a specific injury, and proving the severity of that injury. To do so requires medical records and testimony from treating medical providers. An attorney’s ability to immediately gather this evidence can help ensure the success of your case, and also allows you time to focus on your recovery.

The risk of losing evidence isn’t the only reason why speed matters. Oftentimes, your lawyer may conclude that your case will benefit from testimony by expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists or independent medical doctors. It can take a significant amount of time to find the right experts. The sooner you get them working for you, the better.

When an individual covered by insurance injures a cyclist, the insurance company will immediately start working to minimize its own financial exposure. It will typically do so in two specific ways: (1) by looking for any available evidence that undermines your claim and (2) by angling to convince you to take a quick settlement.

Don’t fall for insurance companies’ tactics. Be wary of talking to insurance adjusters who attempt to contact you directly, and never accept a settlement offer from an insurance company without first speaking with an experienced bicycle accident lawyer. Having a lawyer to whom you can refer all insurance company inquiries relieves you from the burden of having to worry about insurance questions while you’re focused on healing. Being represented also ensures that the insurance company doesn’t trick you into accepting a settlement amount that doesn’t fully compensate you for your injuries.

There’s No Risk in Speaking to a Lawyer Now

Finally, there’s no downside to speaking with an experienced bicycle accident injury lawyer from the Law Office of Hurst Limontes LLC. At our firm, the first consultation for cycling injury victims is always free and confidential. You aren’t under any obligation to hire us. We will listen to you describe your experience and give you an honest assessment of whether we believe you have a viable claim for damages and if we think we can help.

If you do decide to retain us, we won’t ask for any money up-front. We represent the majority of our accident victims on a contingent fee basis, which means that we only get paid if we successfully secure compensation for you.