Top Rated Bicycle Accident Lawyers Salt Lake City UT

• Salt Lake City Bike Accident
• Previous Cases
• Bicyclists: What to Do If You Are Hit
• Common Accidents
• How a Bicycle Accident Lawyer Might Help
• Who Are Victims of Bicycle Accidents?
• Establishing Negligence in a Bike Accident
• Common Bicycle Accident Injuries
• Choose a Top Rated Bike Accident Lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT
• Liability in a Dooring Incident
• Cyclists’ Restrictions and Drivers’ Responsibilities
• Liability Questions
• Let Top Rated Bicycle Accident Lawyers Salt Lake City UT Victims Rely On Help

Salt Lake City Bike Accidents

Any accident can be devastating; however, those that involve bicycles can cause serious, life-threatening injuries. Oftentimes, an injured cyclist will need to take time away from work or school while also trying to figure out how to cover medical expenses and losses. Feelings of anger, confusion, and worry might prevail, especially if your insurance is not willing to cover your bills. But speaking to a top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City Utah for addressing these kinds of cases can remind you: there is hope.

If negligence was a factor in your accident, and it often is, you may be able to seek compensation. A bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City Utah from our firm can aggressively fight for your rights, and seek maximum compensation for all of your losses.

Previous Cases

We have handled thousands of personal injury claims, including bike accidents. Some of these involve such elements as:

• A motorist hitting a cyclist riding in the bike lane;
• A dog chasing a cyclist, leading to a crash;
• A cyclist crashing into another cyclist;
• Intimidation by a pedestrian or driver, leading to a crash;
• A road obstacle;
• A defective bicycle part; and
• Insurance disputes and false accusations.

The aforementioned are only a few factors involved in the cases we have successfully won. To discuss your own case, please call (801) 363-8500 to speak with a top rated bicycle accident lawyer Salt Lake City Utah cyclists trust.

Bicyclists: What to Do If You Are Hit

Top rated bicycle accident lawyers Salt Lake City UT residents contact knows that bicyclists and vehicles must respect each other and practice safe maneuvers while sharing the road in order to prevent an accident. However, it is not uncommon for a bicyclist to be hit due to the negligence or recklessness of a car driver.

If you are suffering injuries do to a car collision, we recommend seeking the representation of a bicycle accident attorney at Rasmussen & Miner. Our law office started helping the community for decades. We want to help you hold the offending person responsible for their fault in judgement.

Details to Remember at the Scene

• Call law enforcement regardless if you can feel injuries. It is key to increasing your chances of getting financial compensation if there is an official police report documenting the incident. It is likely your insurance company will also want a copy of this statement as proof.

• Obtain the driver’s information including name, phone number, driver’s license number, insurance company, and license plate number.

• Look around for witnesses and if any are present, ask to take down their information. Their perspective of what happened may prove useful on your behalf.

• Never admit fault and take photographs of the scene to visually document the car, your bicycle, and any obvious injuries.

• Call for an ambulance if you do not feel quite right. Even if you take a once over of your body and see no injuries, you may have sustained internal damages.
• See your doctor as soon as possible, as all your injuries may not be noticeable right after the collision. Since your body may be in a state of shock, pain may not arise until you have calmed down.

Common Accidents

Top rated bicycle accident lawyers Salt Lake City UT families rely on can explain there are a couple types of accidents between a bike and car that occur the most frequently. They are briefly listed below:

1. Right Hook: A car passes by a bicyclist who is riding in a bike lane or on the right shoulder while both traveling in the same direction, when the car takes a sharp right turn into the bicyclist’s path causing a collision.
2. Left-Hand Turn: A car turns into the bicyclist’s path while going in opposite directions, often times the driver does not see the person on the bike until a collision occurs.

All the top rated bicycle accident lawyers Salt Lake City UT clients trust at Rasmussen & Miner may be able to work relentlessly on your behalf in order to increase your chances of receiving fair compensation.

Each Salt Lake bike accident lawyer from our firm believes in trying to seek justice for those who have been injured due to an irresponsible party. We can offer legal advice during your case to help you take the important next steps.

How a Bicycle Accident Lawyer Might Help

Surmounting medical expenses and confusion about what your insurance will cover might only be the beginning following a bike accident. Pain, suffering, stress, and lost wages can enter into the picture and become overwhelming. You might also be dealing with insurance adjusters who make false promises and try to reassure you that you don’t need a lawyer. But the truth is, you have little to lose from contacting a top rated bicycle accident lawyers Salt Lake City Utah knows can be relied upon for advice. If your claim is worth pursuing legally, our firm will let you know.

By choosing to have a lawyer on your side, issues such as the following may be taken care of:

• Maintaining communication with insurance companies
• Finding solutions to your medical expenses while you wait for a settlement
• Proving liability or negligence
• Resolving any existing disputes
• Negotiating for maximum compensation
• Building a defense that is solid enough to present in a courtroom
• Providing you and your family with support

Who Are Victims of Bicycle Accidents?

The top rated bicycle accident lawyers knows the daily dangers cyclists face while riding on Salt Lake City, UT streets and bike lanes. As cycling enthusiasts ourselves, we are committed to holding liable parties responsible for failing to share the road or lane with a cyclist; thereby, causing harm to you or a loved one. A top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City UT knows that injuries from bike accidents can cause both physical and financial difficulties for the victim and their family. Unlike being in a vehicle when hit, a bicycle offers no protection so the injuries are often serious to catastrophic and require long recovery and rehab.

At Rasmussen & Miner, a top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City UT understands that recovery often results in high medical bills and substantial loss of income from being unable to work. Our legal team has been helping bike accident victims for more than 25 years and would be happy to meet and discuss what your legal options are if you have been injured in a bike accident.

Bike Accident Victims

National data that is collected about bicycle accidents is reported each year. These findings include:

1. The average age of bike accident victims is 44 years of age. This number has raised significantly over the years. In 1988, the average age of bike accident victims was 24 and 32 years of age in 1998.

2. More than 80 percent of victims killed in bike accidents are male.

3. Almost 70 percent of fatal bike accident occur in urban areas.

4. The time of day that sees the most amount of fatal bike accidents is the three hours between 6 and 9 p.m., when more than 20 percent of bike accident deaths occur.

5. Alcohol is a major issue in bike accidents, with approximately 30 percent of all bike crashes classified as alcohol-related.

National statistics also show that most cyclists are struck at an angle, as opposed to head-on. A top rated bicycle accident lawyer Salt Lake City UT clients recommend knows that there are certain behaviors by both vehicle drivers and cyclists which contribute to bike accidents:

• Vehicle drivers failing to see cyclists.
• Vehicle drivers or passengers opening vehicle doors into cyclists.
• Cyclists failing to stop at red lights or stop signs
• Cyclists failing to ride with traffic, but instead ride into oncoming traffic.

Establishing Negligence in a Bike Accident

As a top rated bicycle accident lawyer, we are familiar with many underlying causes of collisions in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some of these include:

• Speeding
• Distracted driving
• Driving with the intent to intimidate
• Reckless or careless driving
• Driving while under the influence
• Failing to yield
• Aggressive driving
• Improper turning
• Failing to pay attention
• Failing to use the right signal

These negligent actions can result in a crash such as:

• Rear end impact
• Sideswipe
• Left hand turn crash
• Rollover
• Head on crash
• Being doored

When a crash happens, it is usually the cyclist who is left with physical injuries. These can range in their severity and be moderate, serious, life threatening, or even fatal.

Common Bicycle Accident Injuries

A top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City UT knows the majority of injuries that bike accident victims suffer happen to the upper and lower limbs. Also frequently injured are the head, face, stomach, neck, and thorax area. Many cyclists also suffer road rash. Some of the most documented injuries include:

1. Head area injuries include brain contusions, concussion, hemorrhage, and skull fracture.

2. Facial injuries include contusions, dental fractures, facial fractures, as well as eye injuries such as damage to the cornea.

3. Chest injuries include injuries to the lungs and fractures to the ribs.

4. Abdomen area injuries include bowel contusions, heart perforation, liver lacerations, renal contusion, spleen rupture, and traumatic hernia.

5. Musculoskeletal injuries include dislocations, fractures, and strains. Wrists and collarbones are particularly vulnerable to fractures in bike accident injuries.

6. Soft tissue and skin injuries include contusions, lacerations, and road rash, which can result in permanent nerve or tissue damage.

Choose a Top Rated Bike Accident Lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT

Under Utah law, an injured cyclist may recover compensation for medical expense, lost wages, pain, and suffering. Non economic damages including loss of consortium might also be available. There are many lawyers to choose from, but not all are equal. When you retain our firm, you can feel confident in knowing we:

• Have handled numerous bike accident cases
• Know the most up to date bike laws, traffic laws, and other relevant legislation
• Understand how to effectively negotiate with insurance companies
• Have recovered full settlements within a short period of time
• Are always ready to go to trial
• Have the necessary financial resources to investigate your claim
• Work with some of the top expert witnesses and investigators
• Won’t settle for anything less than maximum compensation

To schedule a consultation with one of our top rated bicycle accident lawyers from our Salt Lake City, UT office, call Rasmussen & Miner.

To recover compensation, a Salt Lake City, UT top rated bicycle accident lawyer must first establish that negligence on part of another driver caused the crash. Sometimes more than one party will be liable, making it difficult to determine who is financially responsible.

When investigating a claim, our bicycle accident lawyers work hard to investigate and secure evidence that can be helpful to your claim. Our lawyers may:

• Take a recorded statement from witnesses
• Review police reports
• Assess medical records
• Call upon expert witnesses
• Analyze photographic or video evidence
• Order driving records from every party involved

After reviewing this information, we are able to put a value on your claim. In general, the more serious the injuries are, the more compensation you may recover. It is important to discuss your accident with the most trusted top rated bicycle accident lawyer Salt Lake City, UT has to offer. Contact Rasmussen & Miner today to schedule a consultation.

Liability in a Dooring Incident

Dooring occurs when the driver or passenger of a vehicle opens a door into the path of an oncoming bicyclist. If the cyclist cannot stop in time to avoid the door, he or she usually has one of two options: run into the door or swerve into traffic lanes to avoid it. Either way, the bicyclist can sustain serious injuries as a result. Dooring incidents are most common in urban areas where lanes tend to be more narrow, traffic tends to be heavier, and parallel parking is more common.

If you have been doored as a cyclist, please call a top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT for more information about your ability to recover compensation.

Cyclists’ Restrictions and Drivers’ Responsibilities

Riding a bicycle in the city can sometimes be a Catch-22. For the safety of pedestrians, many communities prohibit bicyclists from riding on sidewalks. Some cities require bicyclists to ride in special designated bike lanes. Where these do not exist, bicyclists must ride as far to the right as possible to avoid traffic. This puts them in close proximity to parked cars and increases the probability of dooring incidents.

However, the law is not entirely against the bicyclists. Some areas have provisions in their laws stating that cyclists can take the traffic lane if remaining in the bike lane is unsafe. Furthermore, every state has laws that require motorists and their passengers to look behind them before opening the door to check that it is safe to do so. If they fail to do this, they may be held liable for the dooring accident. In the event of a cyclist being doored by a driver or passenger of a car, you should consult a top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT to determine whether or not you can proceed with a legal claim.

Liability Questions

On the surface, the question of liability seems fairly straightforward: the person who opened the door is liable for the accident. However, many extenuating circumstances can come into play to complicate the matter.

If the driver of the car is also the owner and opens the door without checking first, dooring a cyclist in the process, the driver is to blame. In this instance, the cyclist may be able to file a claim with the driver’s insurance company. However, sometimes the car is driven by someone other than the owner. For example, taxi or ride-share drivers typically do not own the vehicles they drive for work. Rather the cars are provided by a company that hires them to carry passengers. In that case the driver and/or owner of the vehicle could potentially be liable for the dooring incident, depending on the circumstances. In this case you would want to talk to a top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT.

Another complicated scenario is one in which a passenger causes the dooring incident. The same rules about checking traffic before opening the door applies to passengers, but their actions may not be covered by the driver’s insurance. A top rated bicycle accident lawyer Salt Lake City, UT has to offer can help you to understand what applies to your situation.

Furthermore, different states have different rules that govern how bicycles and motor vehicles share the road. It is best to talk to a top rated bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT if you have questions about a dooring incident. Contact our office for more information.

Let Top Rated Bicycle Accident Lawyers Salt Lake City UT Victims Rely On Help

A bicycle accident lawyer from Rasmussen & Miner will be equipped with the right knowledge, skills, and experience you may need for a successful settlement. By choosing an attorney from Rasmussen & Miner to be your legal advocate, you can feel peace of mind in knowing your case is in good hands. Whether you crashed after your bike broke, or were been doored, cut off, side-swiped, or rear-ended, we want to hear from you.
We can schedule you an appointment with one of our top rated bicycle accident lawyers in Salt Lake City UT so we can go over the details of what happened in further detail. We hope to speak with you soon and look forward to helping you get to a better place of health.

Call us today at (801) 363-8500 to get your first free consultation with one of our top rated bicycle accident lawyers Salt Lake City UT provides at Rasmussen & Miner.