Have you or a loved one been injured in a bicycle accident in or near Mandeville, Louisiana? Wimberly Law’s personal injury lawyers can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Bicycling is an increasingly popular pastime along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and for more environmentally conscious commuters in Mandeville. Unfortunately, the city has seen a corresponding rise in bicycle accidents despite Louisiana’s efforts to increase road safety and driver awareness.
While the gorgeous oaks of Mandeville are a draw for bicyclists near and far, the roadways are not nearly as safe as the parks for bicycle riders. Accidents with drivers are all too common and tend to result in injuries for bicyclists who lack the protection of a vehicle around them.
These injuries are often expensive, and the worst can be life-threatening or life-altering. Fortunately, local personal injury lawyer Jesse Wimberly can help you recover financial compensation for the costs and losses associated with your bicycle accident injury.
Being hit by a car or forced off the road by a truck and injured while riding your bicycle is traumatic enough as it is. But to add insult to injury, the bills will then start to roll in. Medical costs will pile up, just as your income takes a hit from the time you are forced to stay home.
That would all be manageable, however, if insurance companies made the personal injury claim process easy and did not do seemingly everything in their power to reduce, deny, delay, and limit personal injury claims from bicycle accident victims like you.
From blaming you, the cyclist, for the injuries inflicted upon you by a car to contesting individual medical bills and injuries to trying to trick you into accepting a small settlement before you understand the true size of your claim, insurance company tactics are as diverse and varied as they are underhanded.
Fortunately, in over 40 years of personal injury practice in Mandeville, Jesse Wimberly has seen all of their strategies and knows exactly how to help you take on the insurance company blocking your claim.
If you have been in a bicycle accident, what you do immediately following your crash and in the upcoming weeks can be decisive in determining how easy or difficult it will be to get the full amount of personal injury compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance.
It would be impossible to fit all the lessons of Mandeville personal injury attorney Jesse Wimberly’s lifetime of experience fighting for accident victims into a single article, but the following three guidelines will help any bicycle accident injury victim improve your chances.
Your first priority after a bicycle accident should always be your own safety and health. Get yourself out of the road and call, or have someone call the police and an ambulance if you are injured.
Calling emergency services and the police is particularly important, even when your injuries do not seem to be so severe, even when the other driver seems to be cooperating.
Doing so produces two important pieces of evidence for later: the police report of the events that occurred and the observations of any medical personnel who will be able to speak to the direct link between your bicycle accident and the injuries you will need compensation for.
While the police and any emergency services are on the way, there is always important evidence you can gather at the scene of the accident, though be careful not to put yourself in any danger or risk to do so.
If you are capable of taking pictures and gathering other evidence, you should always do so; if you are not, try to convince a witness, family member, or passer-by to help.
You should try to take pictures of your bicycle, the vehicle that hit it, the place where the accident took place, your injuries, and any relevant road or weather conditions that might have contributed to the accident. Since bicyclists are often blamed for their lack of safety gear, you may even want to document your outfit.
In addition, if you can gather the names and contact information of the drivers involved in the accident, as well as those of any witnesses present at the scene, those can also be invaluable later.
All too often, bicyclists involved in seemingly not-so-serious accidents in Louisiana will simply continue along their way, heading to work or home to rest. This is almost always a mistake. You should see a doctor, if not immediately, as soon as possible after any kind of bicycle accident injury.
For one thing, your system may be in shock, in which case the limited pain you feel could only be a tiny fraction of the impending pain to come. For another, many injuries can go undetected or misdiagnosed if you trust your own judgment or online advice. What may seem like a sprained wrist could be fractured in the bones of your hand, and a simple concussion could hide internal bleeding.
Only a doctor is qualified to ascertain the extent of the damage you have suffered, and even if they do not discover any hidden or undetected injuries, their medical report will help establish a chain of evidence needed to obtain compensation later.
It goes without saying that you also need to follow your doctor’s advice. Fully. Even if it seems unnecessary or inconvenient. If they order you to stay off your feet, carry nothing heavier than 10lbs, or any other restrictions, following them is not only good for your physical recovery, but also for your financial recovery options.
Wimberly Law Farm | Get immediate legal advice and long-term assistance with your Louisiana personal injury claim after a Mandeville bicycle accident.
If there is anyone’s advice you should follow after a bicycle accident injury, it is surely that of Mandeville personal injury powerhouse Jesse Wimberly. Having practiced personal injury law in Louisiana for over 40 years, he knows exactly what the insurance companies will be looking for in your bicycle accident personal injury claim.
The sooner you contact a personal injury lawyer after your bicycle accident, the more we can do to help ensure your claim against the insurance company goes off without a hitch. So, if you or a loved one have been injured in an accident while riding a bicycle in Mandeville, call (985) 200-8466 immediately or book a consultation online as soon as possible.