Bicycle Accident Lawyer Santa Monica

Article Updated:  April 23, 2022

Bicycle Accident Lawyer Santa Monica

Our lawyers have historically been avid cyclists.  Why does that matter in your search for a bicycle accident lawyer in Santa Monica?

Cyclists are treated like second class citizens.  We know, and have dealt with it on a personal level.  It’s not fair, and we take it personally.

The last bicycle accident case one of our lawyers handled was a death case.  Our lawyer told the insurance lawyer straight up – this case is personal, I’m coming after the trucking company, and I want you to know that.

It was a case where a truck made a lane change and drove over an innocent cyclist, killing her on site.  The IAG lawyer got $1,700,000 for that case.  One of many bicycle accident victories we achieved for our fellow riders.

Keep reading to learn more about what we, as dedicated Santa Monica bicycle accident lawyers, can do to help you with your cycling injury claim.  To schedule your free consultation, call, email, or complete a contact form.

Bicycle Accident Liability

The main issues in every bicycle accident case are:

♦   The other driver’s breach of their duty to follow the rules of the road

♦   Your compliance with those same safety rules

99.99% of the time, the other driver will point the finger at you.  This is why it’s important for you to follow the bicycle accident lawyer tip below.

Similarly, it’s important for you to follow necessary safety rules.  For example:

♦   Signal with your hand before you change lanes

♦   Have a rear-reflector on your bicycle

♦   Don’t suddenly stop

♦   Don’t ride on the sidewalk

♦   Don’t ride in a crosswalk to cross a street

Those are the most frequent issues we see come up, especially the last one.

Cars are not expecting people moving at 10-15 miles per hour to be in a cross-walk.  When you attempt to cross a street in a crosswalk via your bicycle, you are running a big gamble.  Very likely, you will share some degree of negligence.  Your claim value, and more importantly your physical health, are compromised when you do so.

Because we are avid riders, we can put ourselves in your shoes and analyze the facts through a lens that is favorable to you.  We use that lens to paint your story for the insurance adjuster and, if necessary, for a jury.

To read more in depth bicycle accident claim analysis, check out our bicycle accident page, or continue reading for analysis of the most frequent bicycle accident injuries.

Bicycle Accident Injuries

The great majority of bicycle accident injuries fall into these two categories:

♦   Fractured bones

♦   Head injuries

Even if you are wearing a helmet, a head injury is an almost certainty in a bicycle accident.  These injuries happen, not because your head hits something hard, but because your brain moves in opposite directions inside your skull very quickly as a result of momentum shifts.  Those shifts can cause micro tears, and leave you with long lasting, permanent injuries.

Where fractured bones are involved, our lawyers are sufficiently medically savvy that we know how to review most radiology images.  We find the right slides from your imaging to convert into exhibits to show the adjuster how bad the injury is.

If surgical hardware was inserted in your body, that’s always a permanent injury.  We have a library of surgical demonstratives that show how invasive hardware implantation procedures are, and why you deserve compensation for suffering those injuries.

To get our help building your non-economic damages to ensure you get a full recovery, call or email us to speak with a Santa Monica bicycle accident lawyer from our office.

Bicycle Accident Lawyer Tips

Our lawyers have collectively logged over 10,000 miles on our bicycles.  One of our lawyers had his $1,500+ CAD-10 destroyed in a crash, and learned an important lesson that is being shared here.

The very moment you are hit, from wherever you land, take out your phone and take pics.  Quite literally, I mean before you even get up.  Log, via photographs, the position and location of your bike.

If you don’t do that, I have $100 betting on the vehicle driver claiming your bike was not where you claim it was.  Given the bias against cyclists, you may be at a disadvantage in that he-said she-said battle.

As a bicycle accident lawyer who is also a cyclist, please do this – take the photographs, and collect the evidence.  If not to protect your claim, at the very least it will help defend you if the other driver says you were at fault and tries to sue you (yes, we’ve seen this happen, they want you to pay for the deductible to get their car repaired).

Santa Monica Bicycle Accident Data

The full snapshot of the most recent California accident data for Santa Monica is here:

What’s interesting is that Santa Monica is terribly dangerous for bicyclists (ranking #8 in bicycle accidents), but relatively safe for bicyclists under the age of 15 years old (ranking #87th).  I don’t have a good explanation for this dichotomy in the data.

For adult bicyclists, and those over the age of 15, this data helps prove that it is reasonably likely (i.e., foreseeable) that vehicle/bicycle collisions will and do happen in Santa Monica.

That reasonable foreseeability means drivers cannot play ignorant of the dangers associated with sharing the road with cyclists.  Those dangers, quite obviously, are heavily on the shoulders of the cyclists.  Make sure to use this data, in conjunction with the elements necessary to prove your negligence claim, to box the defendant driver in on liability related issues.

Want to learn more?  Call, email, or submit the contact form below for a free consultation.

Santa Monica Bicycle Accident Settlements With IAG

Unlike many bicycle accident lawyers in Santa Monica, as cycling enthusiasts, our legal team appreciates the unfair discrimination that bicyclists endure when out on the roads.  We take bicycle accident claims very seriously, and don’t take any nonsense from the insurance company when fighting for your case.

Get the recovery and closure you deserve.  Call, email, or message us via the contact form below to speak with dedicated bicycle accident lawyer at the Santa Monica or Beverly Hills offices listed below.

Speak with a Bicycle Accident Lawyer in Santa Monica

Bicycle Accident Lawyer Santa Monica
Serving Los Angeles, California & Nationally

Serving all of Los Angeles, including Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Canoga Park, Chino, Chino Hills, Covina, Diamond Bar, Downey, East Pasadena, El Monte, Encino, Highland Park, Inglewood, La Verne, Long Beach, Malibu, Montebello, Monterey Park, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Reseda, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Dimas, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, South Bay, South LA, South Pasadena, Sunland, Tarzana, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Van Nuys, Venice, West Covina, West Hollywood, and Westlake Village.

Serving all of California, with a focus on Kern County, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County.

Serving nationwide in all 50 states on a case-by-case basis with a national network of relationships and on a Pro Hac Vice basis.