Bicycling is among the cleanest forms of transportation in the US. Apart from being a clean transport solution, cycling has many health benefits, and it is also very affordable for everybody.

But cycling also has risks. Unlike car drivers, bicyclers are not protected by any enclosure. So, in the event of a road accident, odds are you suffer damages – slight or severe.

A 2013 report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that due to the increase of motorists and cyclists on the roads, accidents and fatalities are occurring each day. In 2013, approximately 500 000 cyclists were severely injured, and over 1000 of them killed in bicycle accidents.

In Nevada, the statistics are overwhelming too. According to the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration, in one million bicycle-riders in Nevada, three passed on following road accidents in 2013. The crash statistics show that about 800 bicyclists, in 2016, died in Nevada car crashes.

Incurring injuries because of another person’s mistakes can harm your mental health, financial, or relationship status. The good news is you can get compensation for the damage caused to you.

The compensation procedures are lengthy in Las Vegas. You don’t want to add an energy-draining court case when in severe pain. You need a Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm to dive into the legal battle as you recover from injuries and damages.

Our injury attorneys have proven track record of winning court cases, and the clients granted their rightful compensation. Allow us to fight for your legal rights while you zero in on your healing process.

How Liability to Your Injuries is Determined in a Nevada Bicycle Accident

There are about 1500 injuries reported every day in the US following bicycle accidents. Liability for damages caused to a bicycle-rider differs from one state to another. Here, you need the help of a personal injury attorney to help determine who is at fault. For successful compensation for any injuries, you must first establish the liable party.

Bicycles are not under vehicle classification, according to Nevada law. Owing to this fact, determining the liability in a bicycle accident is challenging. But cyclists are required to follow traffic rules like motorists. For example, the three-feet rule still applies. Here, a motorist passing a bicycle-rider on a single lane must allow three feet of space between their car and the bicycle.

First Party Liability in a Bicycle Accident

According to Nevada law, a driver is liable under the negligence per se rule when they hit a bicyclist. In your injury case, you need to prove various elements, which include:

  • It was the driver’s duty to ensure your safety
  • The driver violated the obligation to ensure your safety
  • The bicycle accident was avoidable if the driver didn’t breach their duty
  • You incurred damages and injuries following the bicycle accident

You must establish negligence per se compensation claims the following:

  • Damage and injuries - Following the bicycle accident, you must have incurred injuries or property damages. Upon proving the loss, you are compensated for non-monetary and intangible losses
  • Violation of statute - Refers to the flouting of traffic safety rules owing to the motorist’s negligence
  • Cause - The relationship between the injuries/ damages you incur and the violation of traffic safety rules is distinct. You must prove that your injuries were as a result of driver’s negligence

For your claim to reach the trial stage, you need a completed personal injury attorney. Your attorney will help to prove the driver’s liability and negligence for the jury to award you punitive damages.

Third-Party Liability in a Bicycle Accident

In a bicycle accident, third parties include employers of the driver or owner of the vehicle. Third parties are liable to injuries following a bicycle accident in various circumstances.

  • Negligent entrustment - Here, the vehicle's owner or the driver's employer can be liable for your injuries for the failure of proper monitoring. The employer must manage and monitor the employee
  • Respondeat superior - The employer of the driver is responsible for your damages if the negligent driver acted within the terms of his employment

Alcohol suppliers are partly liable to your bicycle accidents if they had the responsibility to hinder the drunk-driver from driving under the influence.

Types of Compensation for a Bicycle Accident

Injuries incurred following a bicycle accident can have a toll on many aspects of your life. These include finances, health, income, trauma, and many more.

Whether you or a family member are severely injured riding a bicycle in Las Vegas, Nevada, a reputable personal injury attorney specializing in bicycle injuries can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

After determining liability, your attorney will represent you in court as the plaintiff and the person(s) liable are defendants. Nevada personal injury laws for bike-riders allows the following forms of compensation.

Special Damages

Special damages are the primary category of monetary compensations offered to plaintiffs following a bicycle accident. This is because, unlike general damages, special damages show tangible effects. Also known as economic damages, this type of compensation helps plaintiffs receive compensation for the costs incurred during the crash and afterward.

General Damages

These are referred to as non-economic damages because they are meant to recompense plaintiffs for intangible harm like emotional trauma, mental torture, and other forms of psychological disturbance. Examples of damages classified under general damages include loss of life enjoyment and affection/companionship, pain and suffering, psychosocial harm, and emotional distress.

Non-economic damages help bicycle-riders whose lives never go back to normal after a bicycle accident. Before the jury orders the defendant to offer you compensation, you must prove that you incurred injuries because of the defendant’s negligence, carelessness, and deliberate action.

Various elements you could use as evidence in court include witness accounts, expert testimony, video evidence, photographic evidence, police reports, and medical reports.

Compensation for Damages Incurred after a Bicycle Accident

  1. Existing and Future Rehabilitation and Medical Costs

If a bicycle accident occurs, odds are you incur injuries, slight or severe. The severity of your injuries depends on the nature of the crash. You can suffer mild injuries like bruises and minor cuts, severe harm like long-life disability and paralysis.

Regardless of your injuries’ severity, it is wise to seek immediate medical attention. Medical treatment ensures internal injuries like brain injuries and internal bleeding are treated as early as possible.

With this type of compensation, you can recover all costs you incur as hospital bills, rehabilitation fees, cost of drugs, and other treatment costs. Before claiming compensation for injuries incurred, your attorney works with your doctor or the health care facility where you receive treatment to determine the expenses you incur during treatment.

Your attorney should also ask for an estimate of future treatment costs if you have not recuperated when filing a compensation claim for your injuries.

Also, if your loved one passed on following a bicycle accident, your attorney can help make claims for costs incurred between the time of treatment to that of death and wrongful death.

  1. Lost Income and Earning Potential

The court can order the defendant to repay your lost income. Compensation is offered if your doctor states that you are not fit to resume duty. You are compensated for lost wages from the time of the crash to the time of court hearing or settlement.

Adding to lost income, the jury can order the defendant to compensate you for any lost benefits like retirement or health benefits. Your attorney should remember to ask the health care facility to include any probability of future lasting disability after the hearing.

Future records showing potential disability are imperative as bicycle-riders are likely to lose their ability to earn a living due to severe injuries after an accident.

Severe harm can hinder you from doing daily chores and running errands. You can remain in bed for a long time due to mobility concerns or to undergo physical therapy.

But plaintiffs who are in formal employment have better chances of getting compensated compared to plaintiffs in informal jobs or self-employed. If you are in non-formal employment, you must prove to the court your earning history before the crash.

According to Nevada law, compensation for lost wages is calculated from when the accident occurred to the ruling for settlement in court. You continue to receive future monetary compensation from the defendant if your injuries are severe and hamper your ability to work for a living.

Factors that are considered when evaluating future compensation include your professional training, skills, talents, health status, age, level of experience, life expectancy, and occupation.

Your previous level of income is used to calculate the compensation you deserve in case the harm after the accident hinders future wages. Compensation for medical costs covers all the expenses incurred in treatment, and compensation for lost income cater to the salaries you could earn if you were not involved in the accident.

  1. Pain and Suffering

Often, severe pain and suffering resulting from injuries incurred in bicycle accidents. The pain and suffering might continue in the form of mental and physical distress for a long time. Here, the compensation zeroes in on the amount of pain caused by injuries and the possibility of pain continuing in the future.

You need a well experienced personal injury attorney to help you receive compensation for future projection of pain following the bicycle accident. For a successful claim, your lawyers must gather all vital documents that prove the severity of your pain, the period of suffering, and other losses caused.

Under this compensation, there are different types of pain and suffering that your attorney needs to take note of and present in court. These include:

  • Probability of future deterioration of your health
  • Emotional trauma and mental distress
  • The severity of your disfigurement that can compromise your professional reputation

It’s challenging to quantify these damages. This means it is hard to verify the intensity of somebody's pain and suffering. Hence, the need for an experienced attorney.

  1. Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Imagine spending the rest of your life with crutches or in a wheelchair following your bicycle accident. You cannot participate in cycling competitions, sports, recreational activities, or other interests. Also, a severe injury can prevent you from enjoying pleasurable moments you had before the accident, like particular intellectual activities.

Physical activities are needed for better health. When you cannot participate in these, your mental and physical well-being gets compromised. As such, the pleasure you enjoyed before your bicycle accident is gone.

Compensations such as economic damages are ideal for loss of particular enjoyment. But determining the amount of payment you deserve is challenging, and the ruling is entirely on the jury’s discretion after you present substantial proof. The imperative thing you ought to do for you to receive compensation is seeking the intervention of an attorney in Nevada. The lawyer is the go-to person to learn the amount of compensation you can receive.

  1. Emotional Distress

A victim of a bicycle accident can undergo emotional distress, thus, hampering their healthy life. In your injury claim, you need compensation for psychological issues the inquiries cause.

Your doctor can determine any signs of emotional distress and write a report, which your attorney presents to the court. Signs of emotional distress include lack of sleep, fear, and anxiety. Note that psychological distress is subjective and varies from one victim to another.

These medical reports are what help the jury determine the amount of compensation you deserve. Also, the medical document can be handy when making claims to your insurance provider.

An ideal way to gather evidence of how you feel after a bicycle accident is writing about different feelings daily. You can record the information in a daily journal or personal diary.

  1. Property Damage

Property damage is a type of compensation for damage to personal stuff following the bicycle accident. Examples of property you can claim compensation for include clothing, cycling helmet, and an external fixture on your bicycle when the accident occurred.

If the mending costs of your bicycles are lower than its value at the time of road crash, you can make claims for repair and maintenance costs. But if the repair costs exceed your bike's amount at the time of the accident, you can make compensation claims worth the state of your bicycle before the accident.

Before you can receive compensation, proper paperwork and documentation is a must from an authorized bicycle outlet. Paperwork is done by a bicycle expert to determine and document the extent of the bicycle’s damage and its market value too. Together with your lawyer, the bike expert makes valuations like:

  • The market value of your bicycle immediately before an accident - What your appraisal states should match with the exact value of your bicycle's current state.
  • Costs incurred repairing your bicycle - Engage a bicycle expert to value the extent of damage and an estimate of repair costs.
  • The market value of your bicycle after the crash - The price of the bike includes any component fitted on it.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are compensation types granted to you for the exact damages done to you and your bicycle after the accident. These damages come in handy to reprimand the motorist whose acts led to your harm. But for the jury to offer you these damages, you have to offer enough proof showing that the offender is liable for misconduct or negligence.

Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium compensation is offered to a plaintiff whose injuries, following a bicycle accident, have adverse effects on the relationship with their spouse. After your bicycle accident, you might lose companionship or the ability to have a pleasurable sexual relationship. Loss of consortium also compensates for a broken relationship between the bicycle-rider and their kids because of the injuries incurred. The jury can also choose to award the damages to your loved ones instead as they, too, suffer the loss.

Wrongful Death Damages

It is sad when your loved one passes on after a bicycle accident. The surviving family can claim damages for:

  • Costs incurred during the treatment of injuries before the victim died
  • Funeral expenses
  • Emotional trauma for serving loved ones
  • Loss of financial aid, if the surviving family depended on the victim’s financial support

Before the jury can offer you this type of compensation, you have to prove elements like:

  • The victim died because of the bicycle accident
  • The victim’s death was caused because of the motorist’s delinquency or negligence
  • You are an heir of the victim
  • You suffered damages and loss of financial aid because of the victim's demise

Replacement Services

If you have suffered severe injuries after a bicycle accident like back injuries, odds are you need long-life assistance. You need to hire someone to help you move around the house or running errands on your behalf, especially if you broke your limbs.

these people need the payment for this kind of work such as cooking, grooming you and your kids, mowing the lawns, and helping you move around. You can claim compensation if you have to hire assistance for activities that you used to do yourself.

The jury, before grant your replacement services compensation, you have to prove that you cannot perform the tasks you need help with. Here, you need a competent lawyer and doctor to help you gather this type of evidence.

Filing a Bicycle Accident Lawsuit to Seek Compensation

10% of the total bicycle accidents occurring in the USA are not reported. Pursuing a bicycle lawsuit in Nevada is quite a challenge and need you to seek help from a competent personal injury lawyer.

After a bicycle accident, regardless of the injuries incurred, visit a health care facility. You may not feel pain immediately after the crash, perhaps because of shock and high levels of adrenaline rush.

Before moving to court, your attorney can attempt to approach the at-fault party for compensation. But if these attempts bear no fruits, it's time to file the lawsuit.

Your personal injury lawyer looks for any evidence that would help you receive compensation. Examples of evidence you can use to claim compensation in court are:

  • Weather reports
  • Expert testimonies from a doctor, bicycle expert, and accident reconstruction
  • Doctor’s treatment reports
  • Clear images of the accident scene
  • Footage from video surveillance

With these at hand, your attorney can prove to the jury that the defendant is subject to liability. The good news is, the burden of proof here is less compared to a criminal trial, where enough proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) is needed.

Who Can You Sue?

Based on the situations that led to your bicycle accident, there are several potential defendants you could sue. Possible defendants are:

  • The driver/ motorist
  • The manufacturer of your cycling helmet - You could sue the manufacturer if the helmet failed to protect you
  • The state government, county, or city authorities - You could file a lawsuit against these if poor road conditions were the primary cause of your road accident
  • The manufacturer of your bicycle mainly if the evidence is found that the bike was defective from the industry

Find a Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Specializing Bicycle Accidents Near Me

A bike is no match for an automobile. If an automobile like a truck is involved in a road accident with a bicycle in Las Vegas, Nevada, the aftermath can be fatal or disastrous. 

There are many losses incurred and damages done to you following a bicycle accident. Often, these expenses can drain your savings account and hamper your future potential, for example, earning a living.

In the event that the victim dies following a bicycle accident, the surviving family members can file a lawsuit and claim compensation through wrongful death damages.

Our Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm has competent lawyers ready to take on the at-fault parties and ensure that you receive reimbursement of all the financial loss and damages you incur after your bicycle accident.

Our able attorneys are ready to protect your rights and will help you get all that you are entitled to recover under Nevada law. To arrange a private discussion and case evaluation with our personal injury lawyers, kindly reach out to us at 702-996-1224.