If you’re here, chances are you were involved in an accident where you were a bicyclist and you were struck by a motor vehicle in New York. I often get clients who make three common mistakes, and I’m going to go through those with you now.
The first common mistake is that people leave the scene of the accident right after the accident happens. They don’t think that they suffered a significant injury. They’re in pain, but they want to get to where they need to go, they don’t want to wait for the police, and they leave the scene. That’s crucial, big error number one. You want to stay at the scene of the accident. You want to make sure the police come to the scene of the accident. You want to make sure it’s documented. Mistake number two that I often see made is that the individual doesn’t seek medical attention early enough. I had a client call me the other day who was involved in a bicycle accident a month earlier, and she just went to the doctor the day before she called me. I asked her, “Why? Were you feeling any pain on the day of the accident?” She said, “Yeah my shoulder was killing me.” “Well, why didn’t you go see a doctor?” She said she didn’t go because she had other obligations and she just thought maybe the pain would go away. That’s a mistake. You need to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
The third mistake is – the same client – not calling me earlier. If she had called me earlier, soon after the accident occurred, I would have guided her through the initial process to make sure that the things she needed to do, she would do, so that it wouldn’t become a problem down the road.
Statute of Limitations
If you’re here, chances are you were involved in an accident where you were a bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle in New York. One of the questions that you may have is, “How long do I have to file a claim?” The answer is to do it as early as possible. You want to do it early because you want to make sure the evidence that you need to prosecute the claim is preserved. An example, you want to make sure that witness statements are taken. You want to make sure photographs are taken of the accident scene. The earlier you begin the process, the better off you are.There are some legal deadlines that you need to be aware of. You have three years to file a lawsuit in New York if we’re talking about a private defendant. If we’re talking about a municipality, it’s an even shorter time frame. An example is in the City of New York, you must file your claim within a year and 90 days, but there are also notice of claim requirements that have to be met within the first 90 days.
It is important that you retain competent council to guide you through this process. They’ll help and they will make sure that witness statements are taken when necessary, that photographs are taken of the accident scene, and our office can properly guide you through that process.
Case Value
If you’re here, chances are you were involved in an accident where you were a bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle in New York. One of the questions I get all the time when I meet with new clients is, “How much is my case worth?” It’s not an easy answer. It depends on your injury and the extent of your injury; it depends on whether or not your injuries are permanent in nature, and that may take time to evaluate. Say you broke your arm in the accident, you go through the initial healing process and you go through physical therapy and it’s a year later, and you’ve maximized your physical therapy, and it turns out you have some permanency, meaning that there’s some restriction in the use of your arm. That’s important and we need to add that to the value of the case.
Another issue that comes up is liability. Whose fault is it? Who are we blaming? Sometimes there’s an issue as to whether or not you might have some culpability. There’s maybe some finger-pointing. These issues are important and have to be ironed out to come up with the appropriate value. I will tell you that this firm will make sure that you get the most possible compensation that you’re entitled to for your injuries.
Were you or a loved one seriously injured on a bike and have questions about what you should know about a bicycle accident? Contact the Law Offices of Brian J. Elbaum today for a free case evaluation. Let our experience work for you.
