How To Deal With A Bicycle Accident At Intersection

The common belief is that bicycle accident are caused by other drivers on the road or the bicyclists themselves.

However, this is not always the case. Poor road hazards can cause bike accidents. The condition of the road surface is a contributing factor to these accidents.

When a bicycle accident happens due to a road accident, the government may be liable for injuries and bike damage.

This article highlights what evidence may need for such claims and how one may sue a government entity.

The Duty To Maintain Roads

The state, the local government, or the municipal entities ensure roads are free from hazards. Some of the ways in which they are responsible includes:

Issue notice of any ongoing construction.
Fixing of junk roads.
Putting up road policies and enforcing them.
Repair of potholes.

Due to the nature of the bicycles, bicyclists are more likely to lose control in poor road conditions such as potholes, trolley trails, etc.

If you were involved in a bicycle accident due to poor road conditions, make it a priority look for a Bakersfield bicycle accident attorney to help you file a claim.

It’s almost next to impossible to pursue a case against the government. But with the correct information and tactics to deal with the agency, you can recoup a fair compensation.

Evidence Needed For Your Bicycle Accident Claim

Getting compensated depends on how well you can prove what a given agency did or never did to cause you the injuries.

What to get after the bike accident will be determined by how well you have prepared for your claim.

You have to determine whether you can sue the government. This is due to sovereign immunity, allowed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).

If you believe your accident was a result of an agency carelessness. You need to have sufficient evidence. Some of the evidence to produce could be but not limited to:

There were hazards on the road, but there was no sufficient warning to help road users learn about the danger. For instance, if you were cycling and came across a fallen tree or a sewer grate that had not been repaired, nor were there any signs to show, you may claim that you suffered injuries as a result of failure to warn.Liability becomes more apparent if you prove that road hazard has been there for some time and no action was taken to mitigate it.

There was sufficient time to repair: There must be a reasonable time for the government or the responsible agency to discover the poor road condition, allowing for a suitable repair time. The government is only aware of such poor road hazards when such cases are reported or when doing their regular surveys.Note that it’s not easy to file a claim simply because the road condition was questionable. If the government was not aware of the poor road condition, it becomes hard to file a claim against it. It may be argued that the agency never knew of the condition and hence had no reasonable time to repair.

Filing Your Bicycle Accident Claim

To file a bike accident claim caused by a road hazard, you must understand how the government may be responsible for bicycle accidents caused by poor road conditions. Bicyclists have a right to be on the roads. They have to seek compensation when their rights have been violated.

If your rights have been violated, it becomes easy if you have a lawyer guide you on the relevant information needed when filing the claim. The information may include:

The condition of the road at the time of the accident. You can demonstrate the size or the depth of the sewer crater or potholes.
The exact location of the damaged road.

Even with the proper evidence, you need to know if the agency is responsible for your injuries or bike damage. Once sure of which agency, you can send a notice of claim. It’s a way to ensure you secure your rights.

Your lawyer can help you get the necessary records for your claim, such as survey records to show the government was aware of the poor road condition. Also, you are required to report your bicycle accident. This may help others to avoid such mess.

Your lawyer can help you request appropriate documents from the public entities.

The main idea of your claim will be to present how government negligence led to your bicycle accident. It would be easier to claim that other victims have also suffered due to such dangerous road hazards.

It can be argued that if the poor road condition has been there for long, the public must have provided the public with a warning about the hazards, discouraging road users from using the road.

For any query on filing a bicycle accident due to poor road conditions, you may speak to an experienced bicycle accident lawyer.