New Orleans Bicycle Accident Lawyer
The devastation caused when you are struck by a motor vehicle while traveling on your bicycle can dramatically alter life as you once knew it. Reach out to a dedicated bicycle accident lawyer in New Orleans who can help you obtain the compensation you’re entitled to.
Being hit by a motor vehicle of any kind when you are riding your bike can cause tremendous physical and psychological harm that can take years to recover from. You will also more than likely be unable to work while you recuperate, which could have serious ramifications on your financial situation, particularly if you are surviving paycheck to paycheck, as the majority of the population does.
Your injuries should never leave you in financial ruin. At the Law Office of Braud & Gallagher, we understand the importance of bringing the negligent party to justice. Working for you, your New Orleans bicycle accident lawyer will work diligently to determine who is responsible for causing your injuries and do what’s possible to procure a sizable remuneration that will help you be able to move forward with your life.
Liability in a Biking Crash
More often than not, the person responsible for causing the bicycle accident is the driver of the vehicle that struck you. Whether it be due to driving while distracted or fatigued, driving aggressively by weaving in and out of traffic without signaling, speeding, ignoring traffic signs and lights, or operating the vehicle while inebriated, the other driver was probably engaging in unsafe driving practices when you were hit on your bike.
Sometimes, however, the other driver has done all they can to ensure safe driving and they still end up in a collision with a bicyclist. If this is the case, we will examine liability on the part of vehicle parts manufacturers or bike parts manufacturers if a vehicle or bike part was faulty or malfunctioned. We can also see if the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) is liable in some way—say if a pothole, missing street sign, or other roadway hazard caused your accident.
You can expect in our negotiations with the insurance company for the insurer to attempt to place blame on you for the cause of the accident. Louisiana comparative negligence law allows for your total award to be reduced according to the percentage of fault you are deemed to carry. So if the insurance company is able to blame you, they’ll be able to minimize the amount they’re required to settle for.
Your attorney will work to put a stop to these reduction strategies and ensure that you don’t settle for less than what your claim entitles you to. The culpable party should pay for the harm they’ve caused so that you aren’t forced to endure any further trauma.
How You Can Be Compensated
For you to get the most out of your New Orleans bike crash claim, it is of utmost importance that we examine every aspect of your life that has been, or is expected to be, impacted by the injuries you sustained in your bicycle crash. These will include those that pertain to your finances, commonly referred to as economic damages, and those that leave a mark on your life in other ways, also known as non-economic damages.
Your economic damages will usually include the wages you lost from being unable to work; the full extent of your medical expenses; the loss of future earnings, such as with contributions to your 401K or raises to your salary; and the costs of repairing or replacing your bicycle.
Non-economic damages can often have a greater impact on your life than those losses that are more easily quantifiable. Some of these commonly sought damages could be your pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, loss of household services, the effects of disfigurement, and the loss of consortium.
Occasionally, the judge will determine that the actions of the defendant were particularly egregious and that these behaviors warrant an award of punitive damages as a way to punish them for their wrongdoing. These damages can drastically increase the amount you walk away with and will hopefully deter future wrongdoers from making similar decisions.
Call a New Orleans Bike Crash Lawyer
When you were following the same rules of the road that those traveling in automobiles and other vehicles are supposed to follow, there is no good reason why you should have been struck. When the negligent actions of another have caused you injuries and you are facing a tremendous amount of medical debt and other related expenses, do what you can to get them covered by the liable party.
If you would like to discuss the details of your collision further with a knowledgeable New Orleans bicycle accident lawyer at the Law Office of Braud & Gallagher, simply fill out the convenient contact form we’ve placed at the bottom of this page or give our offices a call at 1-800-256-5674 to schedule your free, no-obligation claim assessment today.