QUEENS BICYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY

QUEENS BICYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY KNOWS HOW TO GET YOUR MEDICAL BILLS PAID

Insurance coverage for bicyclists is tricky.  Your no-fault benefits should be paid by the car that hit you.  If that vehicle was uninsured, and you have a “car in your household,” the no-fault benefits will be paid by your insurance company (who is not allowed to raise your rates due to this type of claim.)  If there is no insurance at all, there is a state fund called MVAIC that will pay benefits. Your bodily injury claim will be against the vehicle that hit you, and the same scheme will apply if they have no insurance.  You will have an uninsured motorist claim against your own company. If there’s no insurance, MVAIC will cover the loss.

QUEENS BICYCLE ACCIDENT ATTORNEY KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

If your collision was with a government vehicle, there are very short time periods to a file a “Notice of Claim” and to file a lawsuit.  A Notice of Claim against the City of New York must be filed within 90 days of the accident. Of course, it must be filed with the proper information and procedures.  The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for personal injuries in New York is 3 years, but against the City, it is only a year and 90 days. Missing these deadlines can obliterate your case. These deadlines also apply if your bike accident in Queens, or other parts of New York City, was caused, even in part by defects in the road. 

Some defects that can cause or contribute to bike accidents are:

• Potholes
• Broken or improperly functioning traffic lights
• Poor placement of telephone poles
• Trees planted too close to the roadway
• Foliage obstructing stop signs or other signs
• Lack of a properly designed shoulder
• Improper design or placement of median barriers
• Improper lane width
• Improperly designed intersections
• Narrow bridge abutments
• Uncovered ditches or obstructions or poor drainage
• Construction site violations

If you bike accident was even partially caused by a defect, you should get photos of the defect as soon as possible.  Once owners are aware that a defect played a role in an accident, they might correct it, making it much harder to prove.

If you, or somebody you care about, was injured in a bicycle accident in Queens, or anywhere else in New York City, you need an experienced Personal Injury Lawyer to help you collect what you deserve.  At Wittenstein & Wittenstein, we offer you a free consultation. Please call us at 718-261-8114.

The scariest thing about riding a bicycle in Queens are the motorists on the road.  Even with bike lanes being installed along Queens Boulevard, there is still little protection from motorists moving from the service road to the express lanes.  That said, most bicycle accidents are not caused by cars, but instead by potholes and other defects in the road. The majority of accidents between cars and bikes involve children, and they are quite rare with adults.

If you are injured in a bicycle accident with a car, you should always wait for police to arrive and tell them your version of the accident.  An exception, of course, is if you are very badly hurt and the ambulance arrives first. Always protect your health first! If you didn’t think you were injured at first, but start to get symptoms later, you can seek medical attention at that time.

If you are able to wait for the police, make sure to get all the information you can about the driver and their vehicle.  Get their name, insurance information, address and information about the ownership of the car. When the police arrive, tell them your version of how the accident, and don’t be surprised if the driver lies, even if he initially admitted it was his fault.  He is probably afraid of being sued and having his insurance rates go up.

If your bike was damaged, be sure to take pictures of it before it is repaired or discarded.  Also take photos of any damaged accessories or equipment. In New York, you can file a claim for no-fault benefits with the driver’s insurance company, but be very careful when you speak to them because you will also be claiming a liability case with this same company.  This might be a good time to consider hiring a bicycle accident attorney, especially if you were seriously hurt and still seeking medical treatment. If you have lost time from work, you can also make a claim for lost earnings under no-fault.

Before you hire a bicycle accident attorney, make sure that they are familiar with bike accidents.  They need to know about:

• Bicycle traffic regulations and laws
• How to negotiate bike accidents
• Trying bicycle accident cases in court, if necessary
• The bias that is common against bicyclists
• How bikes work
• The typical speeds that bikes move on the road
• Bike riding customs
• How to get the insurance company to reimburse you for your bike damage