New York City Bicycle Accident Attorney – Bicycle Accident Lawyer NYC

Our bike collision lawyers understand how vulnerable cyclists are in collisions with motor vehicles and are passionate advocates for injured cyclists.  We handle all bike accident cases on a contingency fee basis and never charge a fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf.  Call today, the consultation is free.

Why You Should Hire Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff, LLP, for Your NYC Bicycle Accident Claim

If you sustain injuries in a bicycle accident in New York City, the courts could award you financial compensation to recover damages lost during the accident’s aftermath. If you lost a loved one in a bicycle accident someone else caused, the courts may award damages to you and your family. We at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff, LLP, are here to assist you with all your bicycle accident legal needs. You won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we win your case.

The aftermath of a bicycle accident can be scary and overwhelming, and it can be difficult to decide what to do next. At this moment, you may think that the easiest, simplest route is to file a complaint with the at-fault party’s insurance company or to file a claim with your own. Our attorneys can help you navigate all your options and show you the pros and cons of each of them.

Why You Need NYC Bicycle Accident Law Firm

While insurance companies do offer protection insurance to victims of bicycle accidents, these companies tend to offer lower compensation amounts to victims without proper legal representation. In addition, insurance companies can only provide compensation up to their policy limits – that means if you have multiple medical bills or suffer from extreme mental anguish because of the accident, you won’t receive full compensation to cover the costs of the accident.

Hiring a skilled NYC bicycle accident attorney to engage in negotiations with insurance companies or file a lawsuit is the path to take if you want to recover maximum compensation. The services of a dedicated and seasoned bike crash lawyer can help you navigate the complex world of personal injury law. An attorney will lift the responsibilities of the legal process off your shoulders, so you can focus on recovery and healing.

At Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff, our dedicated team of New York City bicycle accident attorneys will work with you to recover appropriate compensation for your bicycle accident. We have fought tirelessly for injured bicyclists and their family members for decades, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for our clients throughout the New York City area.

What Type of Compensation Can I Claim After a Bicycle Crash?

Victims of bicycle accidents can receive monetary compensation to get back on their feet and manage the difficult aftermath of an accident. You may be severely injured, requiring multiple surgeries, follow-up visits, and medications leading to massive and mounting medical bills. You may have not been able to work due to your injuries, losing weeks or months of wages to the detriment of your family. You may experience PTSD, severe physical pain, or other forms of suffering in the aftermath of the accident.

You can recover damages to compensate for these injuries and impairments following a bicycle accident. Examples of these damages for people injured in a bicycle accident include:

• Medical expenses. If you needed to visit a hospital or a doctor, receive an expensive surgery, attend follow-up appointments, or take expensive medication, damages recovered in a lawsuit can compensate for these expenses. These medical expenses must directly relate to the accident.
• Damage to personal property. If the accident destroyed, broke, or otherwise harmed your bicycle or other personal belongings, you may receive damages to repair or replace these belongings.
• If the accident caused you to become severely injured or impaired to the point where you were unable to work, you can recover your lost wages via damages. These damages are often wages lost from the day of the accident to the settlement.
• Rehabilitation expenses. If you had to participate in physical therapy or another rehabilitation program because of injuries sustained in the accident, these damages can cover the program costs.
• Pain and suffering. If the accident impacted your quality of life, you may recover damages. Pain and suffering can be mental or physical in nature. It can include permanent physical impairment, chronic pain, altered quality of life, PTSD, and other trauma-related mental conditions.

Not all bicycle accidents result in bcycle injury. In severe cases, especially in vehicle-bicycle collisions, these accidents result in wrongful death. The loss of a loved one becomes even more painful if the accident that caused his or her death was preventable. In these cases, the estate-holder of the deceased may file a wrongful death lawsuit.

Damages that the family of a person killed in a bicycle accident can recover in a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Burial or cremation costs.
• Funeral expenses.
• The deceased’s wages and benefits if the family depended upon that employment prior to death.
• Medical expenses if a doctor or hospital provided care to the deceased before death.
• Pain and suffering damages if the death caused emotional anguish.

What Types of Bike Accidents Occur in New York City?

The city’s bustling roads are treacherous for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists alike. With thousands of tourists crowding the streets every day and back-to-back traffic between all the boroughs, bicycle accidents are all-too-common among New York City’s cyclist community.

Several common types of bicycle accidents occur in New York City, including:

• Stoplight collisions occur when the cyclist or driver enters an intersection during a red light and collides into the other.
• Uncontrolled intersection collisions occur when the cyclist or driver doesn’t follow the right of way rules of uncontrolled intersections and collides with the other.
• The right hook occurs when a cyclist is on the right side of the road and the driver turns right, colliding into the cyclist.
• The left cross occurs when a vehicle turning left crosses the path of a cyclist crossing the street, hitting the cyclist. They happen when a cyclist or driver doesn’t follow the right of way rules of stop sign-controlled intersections and he or she collides into the other.

The cause of these accidents varies based on the circumstances. Often, disputes about the right of way lead to these accidents and later provide the basis for determining negligence in the courtroom. Negligent drivers may also cause accidents due to:

• Opening car doors without checking for clearance, leading to a cyclist’s collision with the door.
• Texting, talking on the phone, or engaging in other forms of distracted driving.
• Misjudging the space between the car and a passing cyclist, leading to sideswipes and rear-end collisions.

If the courts find any of the above circumstances to be true, the driver is liable for the bicycle accident.

New York City Bike Accident Laws

In New York state, cyclists must follow the same traffic laws as drivers of motor vehicles. Cyclists do not automatically have the right of way simply because they are on bikes. It is important to know that most bicycle accident cases involve the determination of right of way to decide who is liable for the accident.

However, it is important to not admit fault until you speak with an experienced attorney for bicyle crashes. The circumstances of bicycle accidents are not always clear, and a skilled lawyer can help you properly investigate the incident, such as gathering evidence, collecting witness testimony, and reviewing security footage.

Both drivers and cyclists are subject to various laws to keep cyclists safe. Drivers must:

• Keep bike lanes clear at all times.
• Not get out of a vehicle in a way that endangers cyclists, risking a door collision.
• Communicate to cyclists while driving.
• Give warning to cyclists when necessary, such as honking.
• Take care not to collide with a cyclist when on the road.

Cyclists must follow certain traffic laws as well. Under New York law, cyclists must:

• Always keep one ear open and only wear headphones in one ear.
• Always use hand signals while turning and changing lanes.
• Always use bike lanes when available and safe.
• Not ride bikes on the freeway.
• Always keep one hand on the bike’s handlebars.
• Not drift or hitch a ride by holding on to the back of a moving vehicle.
• Follow all traffic laws and report accidents to the police.

If an investigation finds that a cyclist has violated a traffic law, the cyclist would be partially liable for the accident. Speak to a New York City

The Total Number of Bicycle Injuries in New York City – 2017 Data

According to data from the New York City Department of Transportation, there were 4,397 bicyclists injured in 2017. It is no surprise that the majority of bike accidents occurred in Manhattan and Brooklyn. New York City also saw 24 bicycle fatalities in 2017. 10 of these fatal accidents occurred in Brooklyn.

What You Should Do After a Bike Accident

If you are involved in a bicycle accident, do not admit fault. Even if you truly believe that you caused the accident, an investigation can reveal otherwise. You may not remember all the details of the accident in the moments immediately following it. You may be in a state of shock. However, if you admit fault immediately, you limit your chances of receiving fair compensation and damages to aid in your recovery.

First, stay calm and call 911. If you’re physically able, talk to witnesses around the area and collect their contact information if they allow it – this will help your attorney collect witness testimony later. Make sure the driver stays at the scene. Collect his or her insurance information.

Make sure you obtain a copy of the accident report from the police officer, as well as the officer’s information for follow-up. Visit the hospital and collect documentation of your injuries. Contact a seasoned New York City bike crash attorney to discuss the facts of the case and begin filing your lawsuit.

If you were not able to collect all this information immediately following the accident, don’t worry. Our skilled team at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff, LLP, holds decades of experience in investigating bicycle accident cases, collecting evidence and interviewing appropriate witnesses and involved parties.

Our top bicycle accident attorneys are here to help you through this process – so don’t hesitate to call today. Contact Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff, LLP, online to schedule a free, confidential consultation today. If you are unable to visit our New York City offices, we will gladly travel to your home or hospital room for maximum convenience.

How Do Bicycle Accidents Occur in NYC?

Many traffic crashes between motor vehicles and bicycles are caused by driver negligence. Bicycle accidents can occur when drivers fail to:

• Yield to bicyclists the same as motor vehicles, without underestimating their speed, to avoid turning in front of a bicyclist
• Search vehicle surroundings for bicycles and other vehicles at stop signs, in parking lots, and when backing up
• Look to the right and behind when turning right on red to avoid hitting a bicyclist approaching from the rear
• Avoid passing too closely to a bicycle
• Obey the speed limit, reduce speed to be safe for road conditions, and drive defensively to avoid a crash

In all of these cases, the vehicle driver is liable for any and all damages incurred as a result of your accident.

Common Bike Collision Injuries

Bicycle accidents are inherently more dangerous than automobile accidents due to the lack of safety measures involved. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that 840 cyclists were killed in crashes in a recent year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in a crash between a bike and a motor vehicle, the cyclist is most likely to be injured.

Due to the vulnerability of cyclists and lack of protections compared to automobiles, bike accidents can result in serious or catastrophic injuries, including:

• Fractured Bones
• Dental injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Brain injury

Fortunately, in most cases, your medical expenses after a bicycle crash with a motor vehicle should be covered under the driver’s no-fault insurance policy immediately after the accident.

How Many Bicycle Accidents Occur in New York City?

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) reports a total of 4,378 crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles citywide in 2017. These accidents caused:

• 4,397 bicyclist injuries
• 24 bicyclist fatalities
• 33 motor vehicle occupant injuries
• 0 motor vehicle occupant fatalities

In addition to bike accidents involving motor vehicles, there were 245 single-bike crashes citywide in 2017, causing 221 bicyclist injuries and one fatality. A total of 365 crashes between bicycles and pedestrians accounted for 315 pedestrian injuries, one pedestrian fatality, 88 bicyclist injuries, and no bicyclist fatalities. Citywide, there were 63 crashes between bicycles that caused 99 bicyclist injuries and no fatalities.

Best New York City Bicycle Accident  Attorneys

In whatever manner they occur, bicycle accidents can cause serious injuries with long-term effects and requiring extensive medical treatment. If you suffered an injury in a bicycle accident, contact the best bicycle accident attorney at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP – we will fight for the compensation you deserve. Schedule your free consultation today and start the road to maximum recovery.  For a free review of your case, call Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP today at 212-344-1000 or contact us online.