Phoenix Bicycle Accident Lawyer

In This Article:

• What to Do After a Bicycle Accident
• Establishing Fault in a Bicycle Accident
• How to Submit a Bicycle Accident Claim
• Predicting a Bicycle Accident Settlement
• Bicycle Accident Lawyers Make Your Case Simpler
• Our Team Addresses Your Bicycle Accident Losses With Care

For a free legal consultation with a bicycle accidents lawyer serving Phoenix, call 866-499-8989

What to Do After a Bicycle Accident

In the immediate aftermath of a bicycle accident, make sure you and any other injured parties get the medical attention you need. You don’t have to wait before exploring your legal options, though. You can reach out to an attorney within hours of getting in an accident if you want to discuss your possible paths forward.

If an insurance claim does not provide you with coverage that meets your needs, you can file a bicycle accident claim with a county clerk. Our team can ensure that your claim is comprehensive, thereby making it easier for a judge to approve additional legal action.

Your complaint needs to establish all the following to move into consideration:

• The duty of care owed to you by another party
• The way in which that party violated their duty of care
• Evidence supporting the aforementioned position
• The economic value of all your accident-related losses

You must submit a bicycle accident complaint within Arizona’s statute of limitations if you want a court to consider your right to compensation. According to Arizona Revised Statute § 12-542, you’ll have two years from the day your accident takes place to act.

Phoenix Bicycle Accident Lawyer Near Me 866-499-8989

Establishing Fault in a Bicycle Accident

Fault in Arizona bicycle accidents rests on something known as duty of care. Everyone on the road owes one another a duty of care. This duty dictates that each person must take reasonable action to protect one another from harm. Failing to behave in a reasonable manner can see a party held liable for another person’s injuries.

The process of proving duty of care doesn’t always seem straightforward, though. If you want to use duty of care to establish liability, you need to indicate that:

• You had some manner of relationship (situational or otherwise) with the liable party
• The liable party reasonably owed you a duty of care
• The liable party failed to uphold that duty and/or act reasonably
• The liable party’s behavior had a direct impact on the losses you endured
• All the losses you’ve indicated in your complaint can be tied back to that unreasonable behavior

The good news is that you don’t have to prove duty of care on your own. Our team steps in and helps you both gather evidence to back your claim and present your argument.

Common Bicycle Accidents

When you think of a bicycle accident, it’s often easiest to imagine liability falling to a motorist. It’s not only drivers that can be held responsible for your losses, though. Arizona courthouses can also assign fault to government bodies, construction crews, or even the manufacturer who made your bike.

If you’re struggling to assign liability to a specific party, consider the nature of your accident. If you were injured by a damaged chain, for example, you could use a claim to take your bike’s manufacturer to court. Alternatively, accidents involving a drunk driver can see you hold a motorist responsible for your financial well-being.

We’ll work with you to establish a trail of evidence and subsequently assign liability for your losses. Our team of bicycle accident lawyers in Phoenix can then back the evidence’s claim as your case goes to trial or negotiations.

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How to Submit a Bicycle Accident Claim

When you first submit a bicycle claim, either you or an attorney deliver it to a county clerk. Upon its submission, a county clerk will consider your presentation and share it with a judge. These parties must approve your request to fight for compensation before your case can proceed.

If a court does approve your request, you will have the right to summon an allegedly liable party. That said, a summons is not the same thing as subpoenas. While it’s in the defendant’s best interest to answer a summons, they are not legally required to.

If your liable party doesn’t answer your summons within a reasonable period of time, Arizona courts may see that party forfeit the case brought against them. In these cases, the defendant may be required to compensate you to the degree you requested in your original complaint with no opportunity for modification permitted.

Preparing for Negotiations or a Trial

Your claim does not box you into a single legal path. Rather, if you’re given the right to summon a liable party, you can pursue either negotiations or a trial. There are pros and cons to each of these paths, but both give you the opportunity to request compensation based on your losses. 

If you want to pursue a trial, you can forgo any settlement offers presented to you by the defendant. Instead, you can work with your representative to establish an opening statement and begin drawing in witnesses to testify regarding your losses. Professional witnesses, including medical professionals, can help you elaborate on your losses.

If you’d prefer to stay out of court, you can arrange negotiations with the party you want to hold liable for your losses. You can still rely on a bicycle accident lawyer in Phoenix for representation throughout the negotiation process. We’ll bring your estimated compensation to the liable party and fight to see that party fulfill as much of your financial request as possible.

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Predicting a Bicycle Accident Settlement

Bicyclists can face all manner of expenses after an accident. If you’ve been injured, you’ll have medical bills on your plate. If you need your bike to get to and from work, you’ll need to replace your damaged property. How much money, then, can you expect to win when negotiating for a settlement?

Neither negotiations nor bicycle accident hearings come with predetermined awards. Instead, your settlement is going to vary based on the nature of your losses. You can work with one of our attorneys to calculate what that settlement might look like ahead of time. You must include this estimate alongside your initial complaint.

Should a court approve your complaint, you can then take your estimate into negotiations with you. Alternatively, your attorney can refer back to that estimate as they present your losses to a judge and jury.

Requesting Compensation for a Bicycle Accident

With that in mind, what losses can you include in your initial bicycle accident complaint? Your estimated compensation should cover:

• Medical expenses related to your accident
• The cost of repairing or replacing your bicycle
• The cost of renting a vehicle while waiting for bicycle repairs
• Emotional damages, including PTSD
• Physical therapy
• Lost wages and/or lost opportunities for work
• Wrongful death

If you don’t know what the economic value of some of these losses may be, you can refer to the precedent set by previous Arizona court cases. Our team will work to help you request the most compensation possible.

Bicycle Accident Lawyers Make Your Case Simpler

Our team’s familiarity with Arizona law isn’t our only asset. When you choose to work with a Phoenix, AZ, bicycle accident attorney, you benefit from consistent representation in and out of court.

More specifically, our team wants to take the stress of a legal case off of your shoulders. Whether you choose to pursue negotiations or a trial, we can manage your communications with both a court and your defendant. This way, you can’t be exposed to intimidation tactics while you’re in the midst of recovering.

We also take on the legwork of your case. Whether you need us to help find evidence to establish your case or ensure witnesses appear in court on time, you can count on our team.

Our Team Addresses Your Bicycle Accident Losses With Care

When you’re out on a bike, you’re trusting other motorists and pedestrians with your safety. Anyone who violates the duty of care that they owe you does more than put your immediate well-being at risk. A bicycle accident can also upend your plans for the future.

You can fight back against the financial, emotional, and physical disarray that comes with a bicycle accident. Our bicycle accident attorneys in Phoenix at Zanes Law are ready to sit down with you and discuss the information you need to take your case to court. Call or contact our office online today to begin filing your accident complaint.