Being involved in a bicycle or motorcycle accident can be extremely frightening, as well as extremely dangerous. Bicycles and motorcycles provide very little protection in an accident, because there are no sides of the bike to absorb any of the impact. These kinds of accidents can be even worse if the bicyclist or motorcyclist was not wearing the proper safety equipment. If you are on a bike or a motorcycle and are hit by another car, you could suffer from serious injuries — along with all of those medical bills you will have to pay as a result. The combination of the medical bills, repair to your vehicle, and paying your other bills (especially if you can’t work and earn an income) leave many accident victims strapped financially.
Unfortunately, accidents involving bicycles and motorcycles are relatively common in Philadelphia and across the state. In 2012 in Pennsylvania, there were over 4,000 motorcycles and almost 1,400 bicycles involved in crashes. There were 210 occupant deaths on motorcycles that year, as well as 16 occupant deaths on bicycles. These kinds of accidents are less common than car accidents because fewer people drive motorcycles or ride bicycles, but even considering that, they occur often and result in serious problems for the motorcycle driver or bike rider.
The injuries that motorcyclists or bicyclists can receive in traffic accidents can be extremely serious, precisely because of the small amount of protection they get from their vehicle. While the other car in the situation can usually walk away relatively unharmed, the cyclist is going to end up with some serious injuries as well as major damage to their bike or motorcycle. Even if the motorcycle or bicycle collides into something stationary, it can still cause serious damage to the rider, especially if the stationary object was a concrete median or other kind of traffic barrier. This is why it is so critical for riders to wear protective gear like helmets and pads, as well as reflective gear at night, in order to minimize the potential for collision and to protect their bodies from serious injury. However, sometimes these measures are not enough, and you could land in the hospital or emergency room and facing steep medical bills. If this has happened to you or someone you love, you need to call a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer right away.
The kinds of injuries that bikers and motorcyclists usually receive include whiplash, broken bones, head and spinal cord injuries, and in the worst cases, even death. If you survive the accident, you will almost surely have to undergo surgery or other medical treatments to try to take care of your injuries. However, you may still suffer lasting disabilities like paralysis, blindness or deafness, memory loss, and other lasting issues that can result from these kinds of injuries. And to make matters even worse, you still have to pay for all of your medical treatments, as well as any prescriptions or physical therapy you will have to undergo after the accident.
The best way to make sure that you can afford to cover these expensive medical bills, especially while you probably can’t work, is to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer. It is very difficult to navigate these kinds of cases of alone, and an experienced injury attorney’s advice can be invaluable. After you take care of your health and your injuries, your lawyer will first help you to gather the information you need. This can include pictures from the accident, statements from witnesses, your medical bills, the insurance information of the other driver if one was involved, and other important records. Please note that your lawyer can make a hospital or house visit if you are too sick to move or travel. Your lawyer will then begin the negotiation process with the insurance company who would be responsible for awarding you the compensation that you deserve as a victim of a traffic accident.
Having an injury lawyer is particularly important at this step. Insurance companies are notorious for trying to give victims less money than they deserve, assuming (often correctly) that victims will take whatever sum they are offered. Your lawyer, however, will know exactly how much you deserve and will fight hard to make sure the insurance company gives you the right amount. If they don’t, we are not afraid to take your case to trial. We will not leave you financially burdened by the medical bills from your bike or motorcycle accident.