If someone else caused your bicycle accident, he could be liable for your damages, but if your only injury was road rash, you might not receive a sizeable settlement. It depends on how severe the road rash was and how it affected your life.

For example, if the road rash was on your face and resulted in significant scarring, you might get compensation for plastic surgery and other treatment to repair the injury as well as money for disfigurement. If the road rash removed a broad swath of skin anywhere on your body such that you had to undergo skin grafts, your medical bills and pain and suffering could be extensive, warranting more compensation.

The Four-Step Test for Liability in a Bicycle Accident

Before you can recover damages, someone else must be legally liable for the harm you suffered. The elements necessary to prove liability for an accident include:

Duty of care – The driver has a legal obligation to pay attention while operating a motor vehicle.

Negligence – Texting while driving breached the driver’s duty of care and is, therefore, negligence.

Causation – If the negligence caused the collision, the driver is at fault.

Damages – If you suffered road rash as a result of the vehicle hitting you, the driver is legally liable for your injuries.

The Types of Compensation You Can Get for a Bicycle Accident

Once we establish who was at fault, we will gather the documents and other evidence to build your case for recovery of damages. The value of your bicycle accident claim includes:

Medical Expenses

We will collect your bills for:

  • The emergency room
  • Hospital
  • Doctor
  • Surgeon
  • Lab tests
  • Imaging and other diagnostic work
  • Treatments
  • Prescription medications
  • Any other reasonable medical expenses you incurred because of the accident

Lost Wages

You can recover the income you lost because of the accident and your medical treatments.

Intangible Damages

Depending on the facts of your case, you might be entitled to intangible costs (also called non-economic damages) such as:

This category represents legitimate injuries that do not tend to have tangible or “paper” evidence, unlike medical bills.

What Happens When More Than One Person is Negligent

Sometimes more than one person was negligent in an accident. Not to worry, in these situations, we apply the law of comparative fault. If you somehow contributed to the accident, perhaps by swerving a bit into traffic, your negligence will reduce the compensation you will receive in proportion to the amount of your responsibility. In other words, if you were 20 percent at fault, you will get 80 percent of your damages after deducting 20 percent. So, if you had $50,000 in damages, your 20 percent of fault will reduce your compensation by $10,000, leaving you $40,000 in recovery.

The personal injury lawyers at the Montero Law Center will work hard to get you all the compensation you deserve, and we will treat you with respect and compassion at every stage of the process. Call us today at 954-767-6500 to line up your free, no-obligation consultation.