Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers is an advocate for safe rides for Fort Lauderdale cyclists of all ages. We fiercely fight for the rights of bicycle accident victims across Broward County. Our Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident lawyers offer free consultations to all injured victims. Contact our offices to find out what your case may be worth and how to hold a reckless driver fully responsible for what you’ve been through.
How Do I Know If I Need a Lawyer After a Fort Lauderdale Bicycle Accident?
If a driver forces you into a collision that results in a serious injury, like a broken ankle, or even a spine injury, a lawyer is an important protection for your case. Insurance companies like to convince the victims of collisions that their injury claims are worth very little or nothing at all.
Your Fort Lauderdale Bicycle Accident Lawyer fully investigates your case and makes sure car insurance companies can’t wiggle out of liability. Your lawyer makes sure insurance companies know what recovery costs they are responsible for and demands a fast and fair response so you aren’t left facing mounting doctor bills. If your bicycle accident results in more than just a few scrapes and bruises, you should speak to a lawyer about your options and learn about the potential value of your case.
Bicycle Accident Risks in Fort Lauderdale
Cyclists can find some nice bike paths and even some bike lanes through Fort Lauderdale. They may hop on the beach boardwalk promenade for a ride in the ocean air. Families may take out their children for a neighborhood ride.
Yet, riders will encounter motor vehicle traffic in many sections of the city. Even bike lanes are no guarantee of safety from the rush of cars and SUVs. Drivers are supposed to slow down and share the lanes with cyclists whenever they see riders. But motorists can be looking at a cell phone or traveling way too fast to put defenseless cyclists at risk of a dangerous accident.
The Florida Highway Safety And Motor Vehicles Department (FLHSMV) totals the devastating bicycle accidents in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County each year. The county recorded 475 bicycle accidents in 2022. Those accidents led to at least 7 deaths and around 450 serious injuries.
Our attorneys at Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers take action to make sure surviving victims of bicycle accidents have the money to pay for the best care available so they can one day return to the rides they love. We also compassionately represent families who lose loved ones due to a careless driver’s mistake. We seek full support for grieving relatives, so they don’t face financial turmoil in the years ahead.
Compensation Available in a Fort Lauderdale Bicycle Accident Case
Bicycle accident victims can suffer devastating injuries like shattered leg bones, facial lacerations, and Traumatic Brain Injuries.
Everyone heals differently and the severity of wounds will always vary, so victims must be looking out for their futures. They should consider what they may need in the months or years ahead to heal from an injury or what they’ll need to live with a long-term disability.
Your lawyer will be demanding that these and other factors be considered when deciding on the size of a bicycle accident settlement check:
- Support for all current medical bills and estimates on the cost of care that could be necessary in the years ahead.
- Long-term costs associated with a permanent physical disability and/or a permanent disfigurement.
- Support for physical pain victims suffer through. This includes the pain felt in the collision and the recurring pain that may return every time the victim rides a bike.
- Support for the emotional trauma suffered during a long, difficult recovery. Victims may suffer from PTSD symptoms going back to the moment of impact.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Depression and anxiety may arise. Victims will struggle when they can’t return to the street for the rides they enjoy so much.
- Travel costs as patients must find ways to get to and from doctor appointments. They may be on crutches or in wheelchairs and unable to drive.
- Money for bicycle repairs or replacement.
- Paychecks and benefits victims lose while missing work.
- Wrongful death benefits. Families who lose a loved one in a tragic bicycle accident can ask for help with burial costs and paying leftover emergency response fees. They should also demand support for the years to come when a loved one’s guidance and financial support will no longer be available.
Helping Child Bicycle Accident Victims Earn the Support They Need to Recover
Children are a special concern after a bicycle accident happens. Young riders will usually be lower to the ground on smaller bikes. Drivers who aren’t watching the road properly can miss spotting a child on a bike altogether. Child victims are more often closer to the wheels of a vehicle and suffer frightening collisions that may end in a child being run over.
A Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident lawyer can help children and their parents hold at-fault drivers fully accountable. The support earned should completely cover the child’s medical bills and rehabilitation costs for as long as necessary.
With child patients, it’s also critical to secure compensation for any medical expenses that may arise in the future. Children are still growing and when they get hit by a car, injuries can affect how they mature. Their development may get stunted by an injury that just won’t heal right. Children should receive everything they need to get care in their teen years if their maturation is affected by a bicycle accident wound.
Helping Bicycle Accident Victims Struck by Hit-And-Run Drivers
Unfortunately, hit-and-run drivers remain problems everywhere in Florida and in Fort Lauderdale. This is an especially heartless act when a collision involves a cyclist. A hit-and-run driver can leave a victim in a roadway, in the path of unsuspecting drivers.
When a driver speeds away and doesn’t report a bicycle impact, a victim may lay on the ground waiting longer for medical care until someone else comes along to call 911. The at-fault driver also leaves the victim’s family to have to handle the enormous medical bills that may come due.
But bicycle accident victims can seek compensation even when a hit-and-run driver isn’t found and arrested. If victims have their own car insurance policy, they can file an injury claim on their uninsured motorist coverage. If victims don’t have car insurance, it’s important to check if they are covered by a family member’s policy.
This can earn victims help with their recovery costs, but it’s important to note that even their own insurance representatives will work to limit the support they receive. A skilled Fort Lauderdale hit-and-run lawyer can make sure insurance adjusters aren’t able to shortchange cycling accident victims on the support they need.
Frequently Asked Questions After Fort Lauderdale Bicycle Accidents
Can I ask for injury support if I wasn’t wearing a bicycle helmet when I was struck?
Yes. At-fault drivers aren’t let off the hook if they strike and injure a cyclist who wasn’t wearing a helmet. Victims may seek full injury support. Florida law only requires children under 16 years old to wear bicycle helmets.
How long do I have to file an injury claim after a Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident?
The Florida statute of limitations on filing a bicycle accident injury claim is four years from the date of the accident. You shouldn’t wait years to file. Evidence can be harder to find the longer you delay.
What if I can’t afford to pay for an attorney after a bicycle accident?
You can secure powerful representation even if you aren’t left with any extra money at such a vulnerable time. Cowen Edwards Law doesn’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our attorney fee comes out of the settlement money insurance companies pay you.
Contact a Fort Lauderdale Bicycle Accident Lawyer
A bicycle accident in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood can leave riders in pain and feeling powerless. You may need major financial assistance to keep up with medical bills and also to keep up with your normal monthly bills while you are out of work. An at-fault driver’s car insurer may also try to pin the blame on you for what happened. Trust a skilled Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident lawyer to protect your case and hold auto insurance companies fully responsible.
Allow Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers to handle the stress and frustration of battling the car insurance companies while you use that time to focus on healing and returning to your bike. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and tell us what happened. Let us know about your biggest hardships since the accident and then let us go to work holding a careless driver accountable.
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