Savannah Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Riding your bicycle on the road is certainly not devoid of risk. What could start as a refreshing morning exercise routine can quickly go south if a distracted driver happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you’ve been in an incident involving a bicycle and aren’t sure where to start, that’s where the trusted personal injury attorneys at The Law Offices of Joseph J. Steffen Jr. come in.

As an avid cyclist himself, Joseph Steffen is no stranger to the dangers that regular riding can impose on your life. As a specialist in local cycling law, Joseph has spent years of his practice learning the ins and outs of what it takes to make a solid case if an incident should occur. Understanding these laws and how they apply to your unique situation can make all the difference when it comes to attaining the settlement you deserve. Reach out today to begin working with a Savannah bicycle accident lawyer.

Common Bicycle-Accident-Related Questions

There are many factors involved in pursuing a bicycle accident claim. Some common questions you can ask yourself include:

• Have you been in an accident that involved both a bicycle and a motor vehicle?
• Were you recently injured while riding a bicycle on a roadway?
• Have you been charged with reckless driving involving a bicyclist?

Answering these questions is the first step to deciding how to approach your case. Even if you’re the one technically at fault, there are varying degrees of responsibility that take outside factors into account. A bicycle accident lawyer in Savannah could give you more information during a private case consultation.

Gathering Evidence to Support a Bicycle Crash Claim

After getting a basic idea of what happened in the buildup to a bicycle accident, the next step in the civil litigation process is establishing conclusively that someone else is to blame for it through a preponderance of evidence. This is the standard of proof for personal injury claims in the same way that “beyond a reasonable doubt” is for criminal cases. While it is not quite as demanding as the criminal standard, it can still be a high bar to clear without support from a Savannah bicycle accident attorney.

When constructing a bicycle crash claim, collecting and preserving evidence from multiple sources is vital for a comprehensive picture of how the incident happened and how it could have been preventable if not for a specific irresponsible act by a named defendant. This can include but is not strictly limited to things like:

• The accident report created by police officers who responded to the crash scene
• Surveillance or dashboard camera footage
• Eyewitness testimony
• Photos/videos of the accident scene, including damage to vehicles involved and nearby traffic patterns or obstacles that may have blocked line-of-sight
• Input from accident reconstruction experts

It is also essential to have as much evidence as possible establishing the nature and severity of losses caused by a bike crash—for instance, medical bills to establish the costs of treatment and previous pay stubs or timesheets to show lost work income.

What About Non-Economic Forms of Harm?

Of course, losses like physical pain, psychological suffering, and a decline in overall quality of life stemming from a serious bike wreck cannot have an objective financial value assigned to them based on evidence like bills and receipts. Instead, recovering for non-economic damages requires a more subjective approach.

Input from qualified medical professionals is valuable to establish how the physical and emotional trauma of an accident has negatively affected an injured person’s life. The same applies to testimony from family and friends and personal recollections such as diary/journal entries. Support from a seasoned bicycle accident lawyer in Savannah can be especially vital since they can lend credibility to an injured person’s own recollections and estimate a fair value for their damages based on verdicts from similar cases in the past.

Contesting Accusations of Comparative Fault

In addition to proving that someone else is at fault for a bicycle wreck in Savannah, it is also critical for an attorney to prove that the injured bicyclist filing suit over that wreck was not to blame for it themselves. Otherwise, the court could assign a percentage of comparative fault to them for their negligence in causing or worsening their injuries.

If an injured plaintiff is found to hold less than 50 percent of the total fault for their accident, the Official Code of Georgia §51-12-33 allows the court overseeing their claim to reduce the total compensation available to them by whatever percentage of total fault they hold. However, if a plaintiff is 50 percent or more to blame for their bike accident, O.C.G.A. §51-11-7 will likely bar them from receiving any compensation at all for that particular incident, even if someone else was partly at fault for it.

A Savannah Bicycle Accident Attorney Can Help Take Action

If you are looking to press charges or defend a charge related to a bicycle injury, the details are essential to understanding the scope of the incident. Details like riding in a construction zone at the time of injury or some other road obstruction can all be valid factors to consider in a legal case.

Whether you were a bicyclist or a driver during the incident, there is room for error on all sides. If you still aren’t sure about the strength of your claim, give us a call to schedule your free consultation. A Savannah bicycle accident lawyer could be the steadfast ally you need to obtain every cent of the restitution you deserve.