St. Tammany Parish Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Whether you are commuting to work, running errands, or simply enjoying the outdoors, bicycle riding is a common part of life in Louisiana for many residents. Accordingly, drivers are expected to pay attention to their surroundings and safely share the road with nearby bicyclists.
If a driver acts unreasonably, striking a bicyclist as a direct result, a local personal injury attorney could help that bicyclist file suit against the driver for damages. To learn if your circumstances constitute grounds for a civil case, consider consulting a St. Tammany Parish bicycle accident lawyer to learn more about your legal options.
Recoverable Losses and Damages
The foundation of every personal injury case in Louisiana is a calculable and compensable physical injury that required medical attention in some form. Furthermore, they must show that the injury they are filing suit for occurred as a direct result of the defendant breaching their duty of reasonable care towards them. These criteria form the basis for an argument of legal negligence.
If negligence can be successfully proved, a St. Tammany Parish bicycle accident attorney could pursue compensation on a plaintiff’s behalf for any and all expenses they had to endure as a result of the defendant’s negligence, including medical bills, bicycle repairs, replacement of damaged personal property, and lost work wages in both the short and long term. Compensation may also be available for non-monetary losses like physical pain, loss of enjoyment of life, as well as through punitive damages in cases involving particularly egregious conduct.
Bicycling-Specific Laws and Their Application to Negligence
All drivers owe an implicit duty of care to everyone on the road, and medical documentation is usually sufficient to show correlation between an accident and a subsequent injury and defendants often try to dispute or discredit these allegations.
Often, liability can be proven by demonstrating that a driver violated a traffic law prior to the accident or ignored a signal or posted sign. In other cases, negligence may take the form of a reckless or careless action on the road such as a sudden lane change or momentary distraction by a cell phone.
Sometimes, a statute specific to bicyclists and the motorists around them may be applicable. A driver may be liable if they sideswiped a bicyclist because they did not maintain three feet of space between their vehicle and the bike as required by Louisiana Revised Statutes §32:76.1, also known as the Colin Goodier Protection Act. A bicycle wreck lawyer in St. Tammany Parish can more readily prove recklessness if security camera footage and a police report from the scene of the crash corroborate the claim.
On the other hand, bicyclists may have their recoverable compensation reduced if they are found to have been somewhat negligent themselves. Skilled legal counsel could work to protect a plaintiff from missing out on recovery in this and other ways.
Seek Counsel from a St. Tammany Parish Bicycle Accident Attorney Today
Filing civil suit under any circumstances can be an intimidating ordeal, but it may also be a critically important one after a serious bike wreck. The severity of injuries and subsequent financial and personal losses that can follow such an incident may make civil recovery crucial, not just to pay off short-term debts, but to protect long-term financial prospects.
There is no way to guarantee success in civil litigation, but retaining a seasoned St. Tammany Parish bicycle accident lawyer can dramatically improve your chances of a positive outcome. Schedule your initial consultation by calling today.