Delray Beach Bicycle Accident Lawyer
More bicycle accidents happen in Florida than any other state per capita, and Delray Beach adds to that statistic. Bicyclists who are injured in a crash caused by someone else should contact an experienced Delray Beach bicycle accident lawyer to sue for damages.
Delray Beach bicycle accident lawyers offer a free initial consultation to explain the legal process and assess the merits of the facts to determine if legal action can prevail.
Personal injury attorneys will handle all aspects of the case in order to allow individuals to focus on their recovery.
Bicycle Accidents Statistics
Bicyclists enjoying Delray Beach’s nearly 1,200 bike trails and paths can be injured or killed on the roadways. Florida’s Integrated Report Exchange released in 2017 stated that 221 bicycle accidents happened in Palm Beach County and two of them resulted in death.
Statistics show that most of these accidents happen during the evening and night on weekends. Delray Beach bicycle accident lawyers can help with these accidents.
Common Causes of Bike Accidents
Generally, accidents involving bicyclists happen because of motorists driving aggressively and erratically, speeding, running red lights, distracted driving, and not yielding the right-of-way. Bicyclists also can be injured hitting pot holes and other road defects.
Riding through on-coming traffic is illegal in Florida, and breaking a law leading to the Delray Beach bicycle accident can reduce the amount of damages the rider claims.
Florida Negligence Law
Negligence is the failure to provide the care toward others that a reasonable person would in a similar circumstance, or failing to act as a reasonable person would.
Florida uses the comparative negligence standard in determining who is at fault in a Delray Beach bicycle accident and how that impacts damages.
The law requires that anyone who shares blame for causing an accident will have damages reduced by the percentage of fault, which is determined by a judge or jury in court cases. So, a person who is 60 percent at fault may only claim 40 percent of the damages. The reasoning is that lawmakers want to hold financially responsible people who have any blame in an accident.
Elements of Negligence
Comparative negligence is comprised of four elements and each must be proven to have a successful case in a Delray Beach bicycle accident case. These are:
- Duty of care: People have a legal responsibility to use care toward others to avoid causing them harm or property damage
- Breach: An act, or an omission, that disobeys duty of care
- Causation: The breach caused the foreseeable potential of harm or damage
- Damages: A financial loss did result from the negligent act
Possible Damages
The lawsuit’s aim is to achieve damages to pay for the expenses and compensate for the harm caused. These include:
- Medical care including X-rays, hospitalization, and nursing care
- Therapeutic treatments and equipment rented or purchased
- Loss of present and future income
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Mental anguish
- Loss of companionship
- Punitive damages, if the negligent act was horrendous
If the bicycle accident resulted in death, other damages such as funeral expenses may apply and the case becomes wrongful death.
Consult with a Delray Beach Bicycle Accident Attorney
A Delray Beach bicycle accident lawyer will build a lawsuit based on three areas of evidence: documentary, detailing all expenses and estimates of future expenses; physical, taken from the accident scene and photographs of the injury; and testimonial, developed from questioning under oath all parties involved.
The attorney will keep the accident victim apprised of the status of the case and prepare for trial. However, many civil cases are settled and the attorney will negotiate a fair settlement that is satisfactory to the bicyclist.