One of the joys of living in the Sunshine State is biking year-round. Bicycling is an excellent way to exercise, travel in an eco-friendly manner, and enjoy Florida’s beautiful scenery. However, sharing the road with cars and trucks also presents dangers. Florida has the highest bicyclist fatality rate in the nation, with 1,428 cyclists killed between 2011-2020 . The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported that from January 1 – December 1, 2022, there were 6,357 bicycle crashes in Florida, resulting in 5,982 injuries and 177 fatalities.
Bike accidents tend to occur in urban areas . Two of the most common types of bicycle accidents are left and right hooks. In a left hook, a driver makes a left turn, does not see the bicyclist in the bike lane coming from the other direction, and cuts off the bicyclist, causing them to collide with the car. A right hook accident is the same idea, but in this case, the bicyclist is traveling in a bike lane in the same direction as the car and the car cuts off the bike while making a right turn. Another common cause of bike accidents is when a driver parks their car and opens their door without looking, causing the bicyclist to crash into it. This can cause the cyclist to fly into oncoming traffic.
Unlike cars and trucks, bicycles offer their riders no protection, which can lead to serious injuries, such as spinal cord injuries, disfigurement, broken bones, soft-issue injuries, concussions and traumatic brain injuries. If you or a loved one have been a victim of a bicycle accident and suffered a serious injury, you are entitled to collect damages for your losses. What most do not know is that your car insurance, through the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, will cover the first $10,000 of medical bills and lost wages incurred from a bike crash. However, if you have been seriously injured, $10,000 won’t begin to cover your ongoing and growing expenses for care and treatment for your injuries.
That is where the personal injury law firm of Cutler Rader can help, by working with your medical providers and other experts to determine the value of your economic and non-economic losses. We will make a claim to the negligent driver’s insurance to cover your damages for current and future medical bills, mental and physical therapy, rehabilitation, nursing care, lost wages, pain and suffering, and mental anguish. At our personal injury law firm, we will tirelessly work to hold the at fault driver responsible and accountable for all the wrongs they have caused. When you work with Cutler Rader, if the insurance company won’t offer an acceptable settlement, we will fight the insurance company and their hired lawyers in court.
Cutler Rader is dedicated to seeking justice for victims who have been injured due to someone else’s negligence. If you are the victim of a bicycle accident, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation. If you're driving a car ... please be careful and attentive.