If you are looking for a Seattle Bike Accident Injury Lawyer, there are a lot of variables that you should consider when looking for someone to represent you for your injuries suffered in a bike vs car accident. Bike versus car accident injury cases are some of the most severe cases that can leave the person on the bike extremely injured.
How Bike Riders Can Get Medical Bills Paid Following a Car Accident
If you are injured in a bicycle versus car accident, you probably have very expensive hospital bills and probably need a lot of follow up and physical therapy. Most people cannot afford to pay all of the out of pocket costs that come with major injuries like this and are frustrated by insurance companies who continually deny paying for things. Fortunately, if you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will be able to find coverage that you may not have been able to find without their help.
A good Seattle bike accident injury lawyer will be able to find you insurance coverage through the other driver’s PIP policy, your own PIP policy, your own medical insurance, or guarantee to the medical providers that they will get paid out of the settlement if they provide you with the treatment that you need now to get better. Without a personal injury lawyer, you may not be able to get your own auto insurance policy to cover your injuries while you were on a bike and you may be frustrated with your own medical insurance not covering things that they say the defendant’s insurance should cover.
The defendant’s insurance will eventually pay for everything, but they will only pay for everything in one lump sum and will not pay for medical treatment as you go, like a PIP policy. Generally, the insurance company will not pay for your medical bills if you are injured in a car accident. However, if you are injured while riding a bike, as a pedestrian, or while riding as a passenger in the defendant’s car, you are entitled to their PIP policy benefits in addition to what you are entitled to. The PIP policy is good because it pays for bills now rather than later but is usually capped at $10,000.
What is a Bike Rider Injured in a Car Accident Entitled To?
People injured in bike versus car accidents are entitled to get their medical bills paid for, they are entitled to compensation for lost wages, they are entitled to compensation for lost future wages if they are seriously hurt and no longer to work in their same capacity, and they are entitled to pain and suffering.
Lost future wages can be substantial if you required a back surgery, spinal fusion, broken bones, crushed vertebrae, any form of surgery, were paralyzed, suffered a brain injury, etc. Lost future wages are important to be figured into your settlement as this can be $100,000’s or even millions of dollars depending your injuries and your salary and earning potential.
How does a bike rider injured in a car accident maximize their case value?
If you are injured in a bike accident, it is vital that you do not settle your case until all of your injuries are fully healed or healed as best as they can. In Seattle, you have three years to settle your case or file a lawsuit against the person that hit you. If you do not file the lawsuit or settle the case from three years from the date of the bike on car accident, you will lose your ability to recover damages from the defendant forever. However, you do not want to settle your case early.
Many insurance companies will approach you soon after the car accident with what sounds like a lot of money and say take it now or it will be gone. Or you are not hurt that bad and this is the most you can stand to gain from this car accident. These statements could not be further from the truth. It is best to have a Seattle bike accident injury lawyer look at your case before signing anything to make sure your rights are preserved and you maximize your case value.
Contact the Cherin Law Firm today for a free consultation about your Seattle bike accident injury case today. We are paid out of the settlement and never ask for money up front. Therefore, anyone can afford to hire us but you can’t afford not to hire us against the insurance companies.