Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.harveyhyman
05-17-05, 04:00 PM
Nothing beats cycling for fun, stress relief, physical challenge, comradeship and outdoor exercise in scenic spots. Sadly, cyling is dangerous because of careless car and truck drivers, poorly maintained roads and unmarked road hazards. No matter how careful you are, you can get seriously hurt or killed out there. Last year a drunk driver in Sonoma County left the road, entered the marked bike lane, killed a male cyclist and caused brain damage to the female cyclist he was riding with at the time. Both of them were riding safely, wearing bike helmets and staying wholly within the bike lane. It is a commonplace in California for drivers to hit and injure a cyclist, and then flee the scene. I have successfully handled multiple hit and run driving cases for injured cyclists by going against their own uninsured motorist coverage. The California Dept. of Health Services reports that between 1996 and 2000 some 22,441 cyclists were severely injured and 619 cyclists killed in road accidents. The injuries one suffers in a non-lethal bike accident not only cause pain and discomfort, they can saddle you with substantial health care costs and reduce your earning capacity for years to come, as well as limit your ability to bicycle, socialize and engage in lesiure and recreational activities apart from cycling. As a lawyer-cyclist I am very concerned about my fellow cyclists and sensitive to the issues that come up in their injury cases. The cardinal rule insurance companies follow in defending cycling injury cases is to blame the cyclist. Examples are: he wasn't wearing a helmet; he was going too fast; he was not watching the road; he did not brake for or steer away from the hazard; he did not stay on the right edge of the road; he cut in front of the car; he was under the influence of alcohol; he did not wear visible clothes; and the list goes on. Although these defenses sound devastating, investigation may show there are insufficient facts to support the defenses or they do not not apply. A cyclist cannot see and avoid an unmarked road defect that is completely concealed by dappled tree shade. A cyclist who is not wearing a helmet did not cause his injury if the car launched him onto his jaw or the base of his skull below the helmet edge.
I am eager to help fellow cyclists who have been injured in California get fair compensation through the legal system. However, I do not take every case and sometimes I end up concluding the cyclist was either wholly or largely at fault. If I do find the cyclist was the victim of someone else's negligence, I fight hard for the cyclist and use every available resource including experts in bicycle accident reconstruction, automobile collision reconstruction, human factors, biomechanical engineering, medicine, pain management, vocational rehabilitation, life care planning and economics. My website is located at
www.bicycleinjurylaw.com
I am eager to help fellow cyclists who have been injured in California get fair compensation through the legal system. However, I do not take every case and sometimes I end up concluding the cyclist was either wholly or largely at fault. If I do find the cyclist was the victim of someone else's negligence, I fight hard for the cyclist and use every available resource including experts in bicycle accident reconstruction, automobile collision reconstruction, human factors, biomechanical engineering, medicine, pain management, vocational rehabilitation, life care planning and economics. My website is located at
www.bicycleinjurylaw.com