Personal Injury Lawyer Secures Settlement for Bicycle Accident Victim

 The New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm obtained a $400,000 settlement on behalf of a plaintiff (injured person) who suffered injuries in a bicycle accident. According to court documents (Case No. 155489/14), the incident occurred in April 2014 at a Harlem intersection. Court documents states that the driver was operating his vehicle at an excessive rate of speed and collided with the bicyclist at the street intersection. The lawsuit also alleges negligence on the part of the motorist for failing to apply the brakes and operating the vehicle in an unsafe manner. The plaintiff in this case suffered a broken leg.

Bicycle Accident Statistics
Citywide, 14 fatalities and 4,433 injuries were reported as a result of bicycle accidents in 2015, according to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT). Of those, two deaths and 1,324 injuries were reported in Manhattan. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), each year, about 2 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths involve bicyclists. In a majority of bicyclist deaths, the most serious injuries are to the head.
Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents
Studies show consistently that a majority of bicycle accidents are caused by drivers of motor vehicles. Here are some of the most common ways in which serious injury bicycle accidents occur:
• When a driver rear-ends a bicyclist. This may happen when a driver is impaired, distracted or inattentive. Rear-end collisions may also occur when a driver is operating recklessly or driving at an unsafe speed.
• When a driver intrudes into a bike lane. For bicyclists, bike lanes are safe spaces. However, when a driver is impaired or distracted, there is the potential for them to swerve into the bike lane and collide with a bicycle.
• When a driver turns right and into the path of a bicycle traveling in the same direction. This may happen when a driver fails to use of turn signal or is in a position where the turn signal is not visible to the bicyclist.
• When a driver turns left and into the path of an oncoming bicyclist. Drivers must remember at all times that bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other motorists. This means that before making a left or a U-turn, drivers must yield the right of way to all oncoming vehicles, including bicyclists. A turn should be made only when it is safe to do so.
• When a driver sideswipes or opens a door in front of a bicyclist. Opening a door in front of a bicyclist may cause the rider to get thrown into the path of oncoming traffic and suffer serious or even fatal injuries. Again, this occurs mostly due to inattention on the part of motorists.
If You Have Been Injured
The worth or value of a bicycle accident claim depends on the nature and extent of the victim’s injuries. For example, when a bicyclist suffers permanent injuries such as brain trauma or spinal cord damage, the value of a claim is much higher than when there are no injuries or just property damage or relatively minor injuries. Bicycle accident personal injury claims usually seek compensation for the injuries, damages and losses that result. Injured bicycle accident victims can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and wages, hospitalization, rehabilitative therapy, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a reckless driver or due to someone else’s negligence, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com