Bicycle Accident Attorney in Houston

If you’re in a bicycle accident in Houston, you need a lawyer who understands the value of your case.

Factors Affecting Your Bicycle Accident Case Value:

• Injury Severity: Serious injuries often result in larger settlements. The more severe your injuries, the higher the potential payout.
• Non-Economic Damages: These encompass pain and suffering, emotional distress, and any lasting disabilities or disfigurements that diminish your quality of life.
• Economic Damages: This category includes all medical expenses for your accident, from hospital bills, emergency room visits, and surgery to rehabilitation, therapy, medications, and medical equipment.
• Available Insurance Coverage: Available insurance coverage helps determine case value.
• Fault: Determining who is at fault in the incident greatly influences the settlement.

The city is for cars, so cyclists face many road dangers. TxDOT’s history shows that car drivers caused 56% of crashes involving bicycles, and approximately 21% were because the driver didn’t yield to the cyclist. Others were driver speeding or inattention.

Some of the most dangerous areas for bikers in Houston include city streets where residents bike from home, and most bicycling happens overall. Despite the lower speed limits in these areas, increased traffic and larger vehicles mean more devastating accidents. Highways and interstates see fewer cyclists, so fewer accidents. Toll roads have even fewer accidents.

Bike accidents can cause several injuries, but some are more common than others.

Concussions: 

Between 25% to 50% of injured bicyclists sustain concussions or other head injuries. This is a serious concern, as head injuries account for over 60% of fatalities in bicycle accidents. Understanding these risks is essential for safety while riding.

Head injury is a broad term for various injuries to the scalp, skull, or brain. It’s also referred to as a brain injury or traumatic brain injury (TBI), depending on the damage severity.

Head injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability in adults.

Mild head injuries include bumps, bruises, and minor cuts, while moderate to severe injuries include concussions, deep cuts, open wounds, fractured skull bones, internal bleeding, and brain damage.

Spinal Cord Injuries:

A spinal cord injury while cycling can change your life in significant ways. Injuries to the spine can happen through fractures in the bones, damage to nerves, or harm to spinal disks. These injuries often lead to lasting changes in strength, sensation, and bodily functions below the injured area.

Recreational activities, including cycling, account for around 10% of spinal cord injuries. Bicyclists are particularly at risk, especially in accidents with motor vehicles.

Often, injuries don’t come from the collision but from the crash throwing cyclists to hard surfaces like pavement or curbs. While a well-fitted bicycle helmet protects against head injuries, no gear can completely prevent spinal cord injuries.

Broken Bones:

• Collarbones: One of the most common injuries is a collarbone (clavicle) fracture, often when a rider reaches out to break a fall. Treatment varies, from a sling to surgical options involving metal plates and screws.

• Hands and Wrists: The small bones in your hands and wrists are very susceptible to fractures when trying to cushion a fall.

• Hips and Pelvises: Serious impacts, such as being hit by a vehicle, can lead to broken hips or pelvises, posing significant recovery challenges.

• Leg Bones: Legs can get fractures that often require surgery. Post-surgery complications, including infections and blood clots, are risks, too.

• Arms: Falls can fracture the arm bones (humerus, ulna, or radius).

Cyclists can injure other bones, such as ribs and spinal bones. It’s not uncommon for riders to suffer multiple fractures in a single accident.

Some of the most common bike accidents happen because of car collisions. Many cyclists get injured while riding in traffic. Bicycles are hard to see, and when a rider rides against traffic and the car makes a turn, collisions are a severe risk.

Bicycles on the road are supposed to be treated just like a car; drivers are supposed to yield to cyclists. Right-cross and left-cross collisions happen when the rider drives on one side of the road, and then a car comes from a street on that side and strikes the cyclist. Similar accidents happen when a cyclist drives past a driveway or side street and gets hit by a car coming out.

Drivers often try to overtake cyclists and get around them. The rider receives a hit or sideswiped. This happens usually at night when it’s hard to see the cyclist. These collisions can result in serious injuries or worse.

If you are involved in a bicycle accident, start by moving off the roads to safety. Then, call the police immediately. This is particularly important if you’re injured or can’t get the driver’s information.

Take pictures of the scene, gather as much information as possible, and take notes of the experience as you remember it because time can sometimes affect memory. Don’t talk to the other parties much, and never admit fault. Get medical attention.

If you don’t think you’re injured, you might not need an ambulance, but see a doctor in case there’s something you don’t yet feel.

Call a Houston bike accident attorney who can guide you through the legal process for more support. Your lawyer will explain your rights and responsibilities after a bike accident.

If you’ve been in a bike accident in Houston, don’t try to walk it off. You deserve compensation for the trauma you suffered. Call your Houston personal injury lawyers at AP Law Group immediately at (713) 913-4627. We’ll get you through the process and the service you deserve.