The legal team at Child & Jackson is here to represent cyclists who suffered injuries because of a bike accident in Sacramento. If you or a loved one has sustained harm and losses because you were injured by another person’s negligence while enjoying a bike ride, reach out to the Child & Jackson office staff to schedule your free consultation and case evaluation.
Soon you will have a complete understanding of the legal merit of the case, your ability to pursue a Sacramento bike accident lawsuit, and the services offered by our skilled bike accident lawyers.
After you or a loved one is hurt in a bike accident in Sacramento, you need to understand that you are never legally obligated to hire a lawyer or retain any legal services to file a lawsuit. All personal injury victims have the right to pursue a lawsuit on their own. However, no special dispensations are offered to a victim who has chosen to represent themselves in a Sacramento bike accident lawsuit. So, you will need to follow all of the requirements of preparing and filing the case to ensure you have the opportunity to secure the compensation owed to you for your losses and expenses caused by the bike injury incident.
As you think about the time and effort that will be needed to handle a lawsuit of this magnitude, it is also vital to understand that you are likely not saving yourself any money. Instead, you are much more likely to be losing money, as cases that are managed and litigated by legal professionals typically result in a significantly larger settlement amount or compensation award for the victim than cases handled by the victim without legal services.
At Child & Jackson, we appreciate the hardships and struggles faced by victims of bike accidents.
The impact with a vehicle or the ground is often extremely harmful to the human body.
Please know that our Sacramento bike accident lawyers are ready to provide you with the information and answers you need to make a wise choice about legal action and hiring a professional to handle the matter on your behalf so that you can focus on your healing. In addition, even after gathering all this vital information, you are never obligated to hire our firm or take any action.
Our goal is only to ensure you are well-prepared to make choices that will impact your future and the ease with which you get the medical care you need to make a complete recovery from your bike accident injuries.
In California, there are a variety of bike lanes and designated areas for cyclists.
Of the four designations, Class I bikeways are generally the safest for cyclists because they include paths and trails that are closed to vehicles. Other than other bikes, you will typically only encounter pedestrians on these bike paths. An example is seen on the right, where a rider is using the Class I shared use path in Discovery Park.
Class II bike lanes are found on many California streets and are marked with painted lines and signage to indicate their presence along the lanes used by vehicles.
When you find a street that has a sign indicating it as a bike route, cyclists are required to share the lanes with vehicles in these Class III bike routes. There is no special protection or space that is to be used solely by a cyclist.
Finally, Class IV bike lanes are fully protected, with physical barriers to prevent vehicles from encroaching on the bike space. These lanes can also be denoted by green paint lining the safe biking zone.
Even with these designated safer spaces for cyclists in Sacramento, there are potential issues that cannot be avoided when riders cross traffic at intersections or ride in Class III areas that offer no bike-only lanes. It is often in these less protected areas that a rider will sustain injuries because a driver is not focused and paying attention, causing one of these common bike accident incidents:
As an experienced cyclist, you know that you must keep your eyes moving and watch everywhere around you and your bike to ensure your safety.
But you really never keep a mental list of how many different ways you might get hurt on a ride because that would completely ruin your enjoyment of the activity. It might only be after your Sacramento bike accident that you genuinely understand how many parties could be wholly or partially liable for an accident that causes you serious injuries. That lengthy list can include:
When you sustain injuries because of the negligence of someone else, you have the right to pursue compensation for the damages you incurred. As a cyclist, it is not uncommon to suffer serious injuries and extensive damage to your bike when you are involved in an incident with a vehicle. The Sacramento bike accident lawyer at Child & Jackson who meets with you for your free consultation can help you immensely with compiling all of your economic and non-economic damages, which will make up the majority of your lawsuit compensation.
Economic damages are the items that have a clear dollar value as a loss or expenses caused by the bike accident, such as:
The non-economic damages you face after a Sacramento bike accident are items or issues that affect your quality of life more than they create a financial challenge, and can include:
Victims of a Sacramento bike accident typically have 2 years from the date of the injury to prepare and file their lawsuit with the court. However, if the liable party in your bike accident was a government entity, agency, or an employee of one, that time limit is reduced to only six months from the accident. So, if you were struck by a City of Sacramento service vehicle or a Caltrans vehicle, you have significantly less time to decide if you wish to pursue legal action to secure compensation for your losses and expenses.
In addition to this time limit, you must be aware of the ramifications of failing to have your lawsuit filed with the court in the appropriate time frame. Once the Statute of Limitations has expired, victims of a bike accident are stripped of their right to take legal action. In addition, there are minimal exceptions that would grant victims added time to file a lawsuit once the time limit has passed.
In most cases, before a lawsuit in Sacramento reaches the courtroom, the matter is settled through negotiation. Your legal team at Child & Jackson will work diligently to resolve the case in this manner, as it is often much swifter and delivers the funds you need without the stress of going to court.
Yes, if the accident occurred on private property but was due to someone else’s negligence, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover compensation for your damages. Reach out to Child & Jackson today to request a free consultation with a bike accident lawyer to explore the case and your options.
Yes, you can still pursue legal action if you were a liable party and a victim of the same incident. California is a pure comparative negligence state. That means the liability for an accident can be distributed among multiple parties. You will be assigned a share of the liability that is deemed equal to your responsibility for the incident. If you face damages because of the bike accident, you are permitted to sue the other liable parties in the incident for the percentage of your damages that is equal to their percentage of the liability for the accident.
Bike accidents can be scary and costly events that could alter the course of your entire life. Reach out to the expert team at Child & Jackson to discuss the case and your options with a Sacramento bike accident lawyer.
We are ready to help you understand your options and answer any questions you might have about the legal process of pursuing compensation and justice for your damages.
You will also be relieved to learn that when you hire our firm to handle your bike accident lawsuit, we never ask for any out-of-pocket payments or fees. Our firm works only on a contingency basis, so we get paid only after the matter is resolved. This simple process allows our clients to get the legal help they need without added stress or financial hardship.
