Dallas Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Our law firm can handle your injury claim or file a lawsuit on your behalf

Bicycle accidents caused by drivers in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas often result in severe injuries. In an instant, cyclists can get seriously hurt due to reckless or negligent drivers. When a car hits a person on a bike, injured cyclists often need emergency medical care right away. In addition, drivers Most bicycle accidents occur on urban roads, and more than half of all bicycle fatalities occur on roads with a posted speed limit of 30 mph or higher. Source: NHTSA need to be held accountable for their actions.

Part of the process involves making sure drivers – or whoever’s at fault – pay for such injury-related expenses. That’s how the law works in Texas. But injured cyclists often have a hard time getting the money they rightfully deserve, even if the driver was clearly at fault.

So what should an injured biker do after an accident? What are their legal options? What are their rights? Often, the best way to hold a driver accountable for a bicycle accident is to hire an experienced bicycle accident attorney. That’s why we want to help.

For more than two decades, the dedicated Dallas bicycle accident attorneys at The Marye Law Firm have been fighting for the rights of injured cyclists in Texas. As a result, we understand how the legal system works. We know the laws that apply to cycling accidents. We’re serious about winning your case.

Bicycle accident statistics

Nationwide

$10 billion – the annual financial impact of bicycle accidents, including medical costs, lost wages, etc.
More than 1,000 cyclists are killed each year
More than 467,000 cyclists are injured each year

Texas

Nearly 2,000 cyclists injured each year in collisions with motor vehicles
59 cyclists were killed each year on average in the past decade
5 percent increase in bicycle fatalities in the past decade.

Sources: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Share The Road Texas

Who’s at risk

While anyone can be involved in a serious bicycle accident, certain people at certain times are statistically more likely to be injured in a bicycle accident. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this includes:

Adults 50 to 59 years old (highest bicycle accident fatality rate)
Children 5 to 19 years old (highest bicycle accident injury rate)
Male vs. female – Men are 6 times more likely to be injured in a bicycle accident than women
Urban vs. rural – Most fatal bicycle accidents happen in urban locations

Common causes of bicycle accidents

Fatal or serious bicycle accidents caused by motor vehicles often occur because the driver did something they should not have been doing on the road. Some of the most common causes include:

Speeding drivers hit cyclists riding alongside Beckley Avenue or another street in Dallas
Drunk drivers who crash into someone on a bicycle on Elsie Faye Heggins Street or another road in Dallas. (37 percent of bicycle fatalities nationwide involve someone under the influence of alcohol, according to the CDC)
Aggressive drivers who don’t share the road with cyclists, resulting in serious accidents.
Distracted drivers who strike a cyclist on Griffith Street or Gaston Avenue.
Texting drivers who veer off the road on Canton Street or Cesar Chavez Boulevard and hit a cyclist.

Is this how your Dallas bicycle accident happened? Or are you dealing with a different situation? Whatever the circumstances of your bicycle crash, make sure you understand the legal options available to you. Make sure you contact an experienced attorney right away.

What should I do after my bicycle accident?

If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident in Dallas caused by a motor vehicle, it’s important that you take certain steps to protect your health and your rights. Such steps include:

Call 911 and tell them you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident caused by a driver. If you cannot do so yourself due to your injury, ask someone else to call the police right away.
Ask the Dallas Police Department (or whoever responds to your crash) to send an ambulance if you’re seriously injured.
If someone saw your accident, get their name, address, and phone number. Eyewitness testimony can be a powerful piece of evidence in a bicycle accident claim.
If you can safely do so, take photos of the scene of the accident. Take pictures of any traffic signs, bike lanes, or skid marks caused by the accident – the more details, the better.
Get the driver’s name, address, driver’s license number, and insurance information.
Don’t discuss the accident with the driver or anyone else at the crash site. Anything you say could later be used as evidence to deny your claim.
Contact a lawyer as soon as possible.

Several hours or days after your bicycle accident, take the following steps as well:

Have a doctor examine you. Even if an EMT or another doctor has already examined you, many serious bicycle accident injuries take time to develop. Always get a second opinion. Don’t take chances with your health.
Follow your doctor’s advice. It’s not just about getting better. If you don’t do what the doctor tells you to do, the at-fault driver’s insurance company may deny your claim on the grounds that you didn’t get hurt in the accident.
If the driver’s insurance company contacts you, don’t talk to them. They’re probably fishing for information they can use against you.
If the driver’s insurance company makes a settlement offer, ask for a copy of the offer in writing. While you may be tempted to accept such an offer, many initial settlement offers don’t even come close to covering all your injury-related expenses. And once you accept an offer, you can’t ask for any additional money in the future. Always talk to an attorney first.
Contact the Dallas Police Department (or whoever investigated your accident) and ask for a copy of your official “Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (Form CR-3).” This is your official accident report. Carefully read it and make sure all the facts are correct.
If you have not already done so, contact a lawyer as soon as possible.

The sooner you have a Dallas bicycle accident attorney on your side, the better.

How much is my bicycle accident worth?

The total amount for your bicycle injury claim will depend on many different factors. However, the bottom line is you should be financially compensated for all your injury-related expenses. This is because Texas has an at-fault insurance system. That means the at-fault party is responsible for compensating injury victims for all their accident-related expenses.

So how much is your Dallas bicycle accident worth? You should receive money for all your injury expenses, including future anticipated expenses. This includes:

The cost of all medical treatments – past, present, and future
Replacement income if you need time off from work to recover from your injury
Future income if you cannot return to work due to a permanent disability
Non-economic damages (compensation) for pain and suffering

All of these expenses can easily add up to thousands of dollars or significantly more. And if you don’t take legal action, you could end up having to pay for such expenses out of your own pocket.

How can a bicycle accident lawyer help me?

Texas has an at-fault insurance system. This means the at-fault party is responsible for paying for your injury-related expenses due to your bicycle accident. You might think this process will be simple, especially if a driver clearly caused your Dallas bicycle accident.

Unfortunately, many injury claims turn out to be complicated legal cases. The driver might deny causing your bicycle accident. Their insurance company might agree and do everything they can to deny your injury claim.

When you have an experienced Dallas bicycle accident attorney on your side, you can hold your own against them. Instead of accepting a lowball settlement offer, you can demand more money. And if they refuse to negotiate, your lawyer can file a lawsuit in response to your bicycle accident.

Make your case matter. Contact The Marye Law Firm

You have enough to worry about after your bicycle accident. Focus on your recovery. We can take care of everything else. Contact our law firm and discover what a dedicated Dallas bicycle accident lawyer can do for you. Schedule a free case evaluation right now.

The Marye Law Firm – making a difference, one bicycle accident at a time.