San Antonio Bicycle Accident Lawyer
The Alamo City is one of the largest and most condensed urban areas in Texas. Furthermore, the weather in this part of the state is generally mild year round. This combination means an outsized number of bicyclists are on San Antonio streets. Biking is often a better way than driving to get from place to place, and there are very few days when the weather is too bad to be outside.
As a result, one would think that San Antonio drivers would keep more of an active watch for children riding to and from school and other cyclists. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Additionally, many of the safety measures in place for cyclists often do more harm than good. More on these things below.
The compassionate San Antonio bicycle accident lawyers at the Law Office of Israel Garcia understand the intense pain and suffering these victims must endure. Many of the people on our professional team are bicycle accident survivors. This understanding motivates us to work extra hard in these cases to obtain the financial compensation these victims need and deserve.
Bicyclist Injuries
Most motor vehicles weigh well over 4,000 pounds, and most bicycles weigh less than twenty-five pounds. Therefore, when these two kinds of vehicles collide, things usually end very badly for bicyclists. Some common personal injuries in these cases include:
● Head Injuries: Thin bicycle helmets usually protect riders if they accidentally fall off their bikes. But in a vehicle collision, the force of the impact usually throws riders through the air. A thin bicycle helmet cannot possibly absorb all the force in such a hard fall.
● Broken Bones: Accidental falls usually cause minor breaks that completely heal, if they’re treated promptly and properly. Vehicle collisions usually cause permanent broken bone injuries, no matter what doctors do. For example, if Becky breaks her shoulder, she’ll most likely never recover the complete range of motion in that joint.
● Biker’s Arm: During vehicle collision falls, most riders naturally extend their arms to break their falls. When they land, the force damages nerves in the brachial plexus bundle under the arms. Since these nerves control facial muscles, these nerve injuries usually mean permanent facial paralysis.
Most group health insurance companies don’t cover such injury-related conditions. To ease the financial pain these victims and their families feel, a San Antonio bicycle accident lawyer can connect victims with top-notch doctors who focus on injury-related conditions and charge nothing upfront for their professional services.
Liability Issues
Driver negligence usually causes these injuries. In the matters our San Antonio bicycle accident lawyers handle, this negligence usually comes in three basic forms:
● Behavioral: The chain of events that ends in a vehicle collision often starts before a driver gets behind the wheel. Alcohol intoxication, drug use, extreme fatigue, and medical impairments are among the most common forms of behavioral negligence.
● Operational: Governments don’t enact rules like speed limits and turning restrictions to annoy drivers. They pass these laws to protect people who cannot protect themselves. As outlined above, bicyclists fall squarely into this category.
● Environmental: We don’t get much bad weather in San Antonio, but it happens. During bad weather episodes, drivers have a legal responsibility to slow down and be more careful. Unfortunately, many drivers ignore this legal responsibility.
Bicyclist visibility is one of the common threads in these three areas of negligence. Sometimes, the safety measures on San Antonio streets make this problem worse.
Concrete pillars that separate regular traffic lanes from bicycle lanes are a good example. These pillars give bicyclists more room to operate. But they also make it harder for other drivers to see bicyclists. That’s especially true if a driver is turning right and a bicyclist is to the right. Most drivers only look to the left in these situations. So, especially if a pillar is between the two vehicles, the driver may never see the victim.
Count on a Hard-Working San Antonio Bicycle Accident Lawyer
Accident victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced bicycle accident lawyer in San Antonio, contact the Law Office of Israel Garcia. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.
