How to Find the Best Philadelphia Bicycle Accident Lawyer

A bicycle crash in Philadelphia can leave you with devastating injuries and questions about how to protect your legal rights. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re likely wondering: How do I find the best Philly bicycle accident lawyer to handle my case?

To find the best Philadelphia bicycle accident lawyer, look for someone with proven experience in personal injury law, strong client reviews, successful case results, and a reputation for fighting aggressively for maximum compensation.

With decades of personal injury experience, I’ve helped injured cyclists throughout Philadelphia get the justice and compensation they deserve. Let’s go over what to look for in an attorney, the red flags to avoid, and how to make the right decision for your case.

 

 

Understanding Bicycle Accidents in Philadelphia

Bicycle accidents are a common occurrence in Philadelphia, with many cyclists injured or killed each year. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, there were 810 bicycle accidents in Philadelphia in 2024, resulting in serious injuries and fatalities. These accidents can happen anywhere, but some areas are more dangerous than others, such as intersections, areas with heavy traffic, and areas with poorly maintained roads.

Common causes of bicycle accidents in Philadelphia include dooring (when a driver opens their car door into the path of a cyclist), road hazards like potholes and debris, and drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Bicycle accidents can result in a wide range of injuries, from minor scrapes and bruises to catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage.

Understanding the common causes and locations of bicycle accidents can help you stay vigilant and take precautions to protect yourself while riding. However, even the most cautious cyclists can fall victim to the negligence of others, making it crucial to know your legal rights and options if an accident occurs.

Referrals

Your friends, family, neighbors, and others may have experience with a personal injury lawyer. A referral from a former client is priceless. Additionally, seeking referrals for experienced personal injury attorneys can ensure you receive adequate compensation and navigate the complexities of filing lawsuits.

Contact the Bar Association

The Philadelphia Bar Association can provide a list of lawyers practicing in the personal injury space. They can also help you find lawyers experienced in handling bicycle accident lawsuits.

Visit Legal Websites

Legal websites like Nolo and Avvo offer reviews and referrals.

Google Search

Visiting the lawyer’s website can provide valuable information and links to testimonials, reviews, and other helpful data.

Finding a lawyer who understands the specific needs of bicycle riders can be crucial for your case.

Why You Need a Bicycle Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident, it’s essential to have an experienced bicycle accident attorney on your side. A bicycle accident attorney can help you navigate the complex legal process and fight for the compensation you deserve. They can investigate your accident, gather evidence, and negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf.

A bicycle accident attorney can also help you understand your legal options and make informed decisions about your case. They can explain the process of filing a personal injury claim and help you determine the value of your case. With the help of a bicycle accident attorney, you can focus on recovering from your injuries while they handle the legal aspects of your case.

Moreover, an experienced bicycle accident lawyer understands the nuances of bicycle accident cases and can anticipate the tactics used by insurance companies to minimize payouts. They will advocate for your rights, ensuring that you receive fair compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages resulting from the accident.

Qualities of a Good Bicycle Accident Lawyer

When choosing a bicycle accident lawyer, it’s essential to look for certain qualities that can ensure you receive the best possible representation. Here are some qualities of a good bicycle accident lawyer:

• Experience: Look for a lawyer with experience handling bicycle accident cases. They should have a proven track record of success in securing compensation for their clients.

• Knowledge: A good bicycle accident lawyer should have in-depth knowledge of the laws and regulations governing bicycle accidents in Philadelphia. They should be familiar with the local court system and have experience working with insurance companies.

• Communication: Your lawyer should be able to communicate effectively with you, keeping you informed about the progress of your case and explaining the legal process in a way that’s easy to understand.

• Empathy: A good bicycle accident lawyer should be empathetic and understanding, recognizing the physical, emotional, and financial toll that a bicycle accident can take on you and your family.

• Aggressive Representation: Your lawyer should be willing to fight aggressively for your rights and interests, negotiating with insurance companies and taking your case to trial if necessary.

By looking for these qualities in a bicycle accident lawyer, you can ensure that you receive the best possible representation and secure the compensation you deserve. An experienced and dedicated attorney will work tirelessly to protect your rights and help you achieve a favorable outcome in your bicycle accident case.

What Does a Bicycle Accident Lawyer Do in Philadelphia?

Bicycle accident lawyers go up against insurance companies to win their clients the compensation they deserve. Success in this endeavor requires the skills and experience needed to build strong cases, negotiate to win, and persuade juries. A lawyer’s expertise in handling a bike accident case can significantly impact the outcome.

Key facets of the bicycle accident lawyer’s job include the following:

Investigating the Claim

Your bicycle accident lawyer starts by investigating your claim. Success in court requires evidence that proves the four essential elements of a personal injury claim:

• The defendant(s) had a duty of care

• The defendant(s) breached that duty

• The specific breach alleged caused the injury

• The plaintiff has actual damages from the incident

Bicycle crashes are frequent and serious, especially in urban areas like Philadelphia, where a significant percentage of these incidents occur.

The investigation naturally starts during your initial consultation. During this session, your attorney listens to your story and asks pertinent questions. He or she needs to know if you have a case based on the ability to establish the four elements described above.

Some of the information your lawyer may need include the following:

• Your demographic information

• Your insurance coverage, if applicable

• The contact information for any witnesses

• The contact information for the defendant (s)

• The defendant’s insurance information, if available

• Your recollection of events

• Details on your injuries

• Relevant medical records

• Any other evidence, such as photos or videos of the accident scene

• Any related reports, such as police reports

After learning what happened and reviewing any evidence in your possession, your bicycle accident lawyer provides an evaluation of the claim. Your attorney will foreshadow the legal process, give an opinion on the strength of the case, and apprise you of comparative negligence and its potential impact on your claim.

Your attorney then prepares a complaint and submits it to the court. Some cases settle before the complaint is officially filed. But in most cases, filing a lawsuit is necessary to convince the defendant that you mean business.

Discovery

The investigation process continues through discovery. During discovery, your attorney can demand the production of all the other side’s evidence and vice versa. This step often leads to settlement negotiations.

For instance, the defendant may be required to turn over a dash cam video that shows him striking you with his vehicle. Likely, in the face of such strong evidence, the defendant will wish to settle earlier because the images leave little room to doubt his liability.

Additionally, attorneys conduct a process called interrogatories. Interrogatories are written questions lawyers prepare for the other side’s witnesses. These serve as another investigative tool, allowing attorneys to define the facts further.

Depositions often provide key evidence in personal injury lawsuits. Depositions are face-to-face interviews of the other side’s witnesses. Witnesses answer questions under oath, and a stenographer creates an official record.

Many cases settle shortly before or after depositions. In many cases, defendants prefer to settle rather than sit for a deposition because they will be forced to make admissions under oath. Also, many defendants become amenable to settlements after depositions if they feel it favors the plaintiff.

When the defendant(s) remain intransigent, the case goes before a jury; however, the investigative process usually firmly establishes the four key elements, so most defendants settle rather than adding the cost of a trial to the damages they are sure to pay.

Proving a Personal Injury Claim in Philadelphia

Defense lawyers focus on undermining the plaintiff’s evidence for each of the essential elements. For instance, the defense may argue that the plaintiff failed to establish a duty of care existed or dispute that the incident resulted in the injury.

Furthermore, the defense frequently tries to disqualify as many of the damages claimed as possible. This can be done by disputing a medical procedure related to the injury or minimizing the plaintiff’s pain and suffering. In the case of a serious bicycle accident, the impact on the legal process can be profound, making thorough evidence collection crucial.

Therefore, it’s essential to construct an unassailable case proving the following:

Duty to Exercise Reasonable Care

No negligence exists unless the defendant has a legally recognized duty of care. When the defendant struck the plaintiff with his vehicle, the duty of care was apparent. All motorists have a duty of care to avoid collisions with cyclists. As a result, if the accident was the driver’s fault, he is liable.

In another example, a bicycle manufacturer has a duty of care toward its customers. If it sells a defective product and the rider is hurt because of the defect, the company is negligent in its duty of care.

However, the law imposes no absolute standard of care. Instead, it applies a reasonable care standard. If the party with a duty of care exercised reasonable care, the case might be dismissed even if the serious injury resulted. The presence or absence of bike lanes can significantly impact cyclist safety and influence legal cases, as these lanes are essential for promoting safe cycling and reducing accidents.

Establishing Failure to Exercise Reasonable Care

Most vehicle accidents result from human error. When a driver fails to see a cyclist or hits them because of speeding or improper lane usage, courts hold that the driver is negligent because he did not take reasonable care.

However, it is possible that the driver did act with reasonable care despite the accident’s occurrence. For instance, the defense may maintain that the collision happened due to the cyclist intruding into the lane, a situation that made it impossible for the driver to avoid the collision. In the defense’s version of events, it is the cyclist who breached the reasonable care standard.

Causation

Proving a breach of the duty of care is a bit like reaching the top of a mountain: The journey is only halfway over, and you still have several crevasses to cross. 

The first of these is causation.

To win, the plaintiff must prove that the specific breach alleged caused the injury. The plaintiff may also win if he establishes that the breach of care contributed to the injury.

For example, imagine a motorist struck you as you were riding your bicycle. The impact was low, and you seemed to have no injuries.

However, the next morning you wake to your knee ache. It hurts to walk, and you visit a doctor who prescribes pain medication and physical therapy. The pain continues despite these interventions; eventually, you must have knee surgery.

Did the Accident Cause the Knee Problem?

You walked away without trouble, so the defense may seize on this to claim the knee injury was due to some other cause. Without evidence showing causation, you cannot collect damages from the motorist even if you can prove a duty of care breach.

In this situation, your Pennsylvania bicycle accident lawyer will gather evidence to prove causation. Medical records show the injury, and the doctor’s diagnosis that the injury occurred due to recent trauma demonstrates that the accident is the cause.

Nonetheless, the defense may use the delay in seeking treatment to raise doubts. For this reason, we always recommend receiving a prompt medical exam after an accident, even if no injury is apparent at the time.

Suffered Actual Damages

Proving a breached duty of care and causation is still not enough to win a personal injury claim. The plaintiff must also establish that he sustained actual damages.

Pennsylvania law creates three types of personal injury damages: economic, general, and punitive. In the case of bicycle accidents, car insurance can play a crucial role in covering medical expenses for the victims.

Economic Damages

These are the easiest to establish. They correspond to an expense or income loss resulting from the incident. Often, documentation shows exact dollar figures.

Common bicycle accident economic damages include the following:

• Property damage

• Ambulance charges

• ER costs

• Surgery

• Medications

• Physical therapy

• Occupational therapy

• Lost wages

• Lost business income

• Lost benefits

General damages are the intangible impacts of the injury, including the following:

• Pain and suffering

• Emotional distress

• Loss of enjoyment of life

• Loss of consortium

Courts rarely award punitive damages in bicycle accident cases. For them to apply, the plaintiff must prove some extraordinary negligence, reckless, or intentional action on the defendant’s part. 

There needs to be more than a typical auto accident. For instance, courts may find for punitive damages if a defendant intentionally struck a cyclist with his vehicle during a road rage incident.

 

 

Comparative Negligence and Bicycle Accidents

Proving all four elements still does not guarantee an award or full reimbursement for damages. The defense may still claim it owes nothing or much less than the full damages because of comparative negligence.

Comparative negligence laws require juries to assign each party to the accident a percentage of fault. It can find the defendant 100% at fault. However, it can also decide that the plaintiff was partly at fault and assign a lesser number, such as 80%. In that case, the defendant must pay 80% of the plaintiff’s damages.

For instance, imagine a motorist and cyclist colliding while the vehicle is passing. Cyclists must obey traffic laws, and vehicles must exercise a duty of care in sharing the road with bicycles. It’s possible that a jury could find the motorist mostly responsible because the collision happened while the cyclist was proceeding legally in the traffic lane.

However, it could find the cyclist partly at fault, such as if the rider maintained an inconsistent lane position. In that case, if the rider had $40,000 in damages, he may receive just $32,000 due to a 20% fault finding.

Personal injury lawyers play a vital role in winning justice for bicycle accident victims. After a personal injury, plaintiffs face several obstacles to winning a settlement, including proving the four essential elements. The legal implications of bike accidents and understanding comparative negligence are crucial for individuals seeking compensation.

In addition, comparative negligence can severely reduce an award and eliminate it if the 51% bar rule applies.

 

Consult with a Philadelphia Bicycle Accident Attorney

Mattiacci Law’s bicycle accident lawyers build cases that prove fault and resonate with juries. They overcome comparative negligence claims to win their client’s total compensation. Contact Mattiacci Law at (215) 914-6919 for a free consultation.

 

Related Posts:

• What Does Personal Injury Lawyer Do in Philadelphia?

• Pennsylvania Bicycle Laws

• Is It Legal to Lane Split in Pennsylvania?

• Personal Injury Legal Terms Defined

• What is the Personal Injury Lawsuit Process in Pennsylvania?