Colorado Springs Bicycle Accident Injury Lawyer

At King & Beaty, you will work with a Colorado Springs bicycle accident injury lawyer with a track record of success in Colorado Springs and El Paso County courts. If you were injured in a bicycle accident call now for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer, 719-505-9999.

When you go on a pleasant bike ride, your journey should end with a feeling that you just did something fun and healthy; it shouldn’t end with a call to a bicycle accident injury lawyer. But cyclists do get in accidents, and when those crashes involve cars and other vehicles whose size and speed dwarf that of a vulnerable and exposed bike rider, catastrophic injuries often result.  

Cyclists may share the road with cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles, but the drivers of those vehicles don’t always do a good job sharing the road with cyclists. In fact, with alarming frequency, drivers fail to see bike riders or don’t account for their presence when making turns or lane changes or when opening their doors. While cyclists should always wear helmets, the protection they provide is simply no match for the impact from 3,000 pounds of metal or hard, unforgiving pavement. 

At King & Beaty, our experienced Colorado Springs accident injury attorneys work with individuals and families living with the fallout from a serious bike accident caused by another person’s reckless, irresponsible, or negligent conduct. 

We know how quickly a short ride can turn into a never-ending ordeal of pain and loss. Our lawyers also understand how critical it is that bike accident injury victims get the support, resources, and compensation that can help them get better and move forward with their lives. That is why we fight relentlessly on behalf of our clients, holding negligent drivers and others responsible for the damage they cause. 

Thousands Of Cyclist Deaths And Injuries Every Year

Even though bicycle trips account for only 1% of all non-walking trips in the United States, cyclists face a significantly higher risk of injury or death than car or vehicle occupants, accounting for 2.2 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2016 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The statistics are eye-opening:

• In 2016, 840 American cyclists died and almost 467,000 people suffered bike-related injuries according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• Fifty-four percent of cyclists killed in 2015 were not wearing helmets, which means that almost half of those who died in a biking accident were wearing a helmet
• Sixteen Colorado cyclists died in bike accidents in 2016, and thousands more sustained serious injuries.  

As bad as these numbers are, the reality is probably much worse. The NHTSA notes that bicycle accidents are known to be under-reported. The number of unreported crashes in Colorado Springs is unknown, but a study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration found that 33 to 57.5 percent of all bicycle crashes potentially go unreported.

Cars Are Responsible For A Third Of All Bicycle Accident Injuries

Almost one-third of all cyclist injuries are the result of impacts or crashes with cars and other motor vehicles, according to the 2012 National Survey on Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behaviors.

That is why Colorado law makes it a class A traffic violation for drivers who do not keep at least three feet between themselves and any cyclists. As with all laws, however, not everyone follows this one and drivers routinely fail to give cyclists the space that both common sense and the law require. 

There are several ways cars and other vehicles can hurt or kill bicycle riders in Colorado, including: 

• The driver’s failure to yield the right of way to the cyclist when making a left or right turn
• “Dooring,” which occurs when a driver or passenger in a parked car opens his or her door without looking behind them or in the rearview mirror for the presence of any cyclists, resulting in the bicyclist not having time to take evasive action and crashing into the door at a high rate of speed
• Drifting into a designated bike lane
• The lack of a shoulder or designated bike lane which forces a cyclist to ride in traffic while a nearby driver fails to accommodate the cyclist
• Intersection-related accidents, including failure to stop at a stop sign or red light
• Sideswipes
• Road rage.

Of course, many of the same factors involved in car accidents are often the cause of bike crashes, such as speeding, distracted driving, or impaired driving. In fact, the CDC reports that 37% of fatal bike accidents involved alcohol consumption by either the motor vehicle driver or cyclist.

Common Cycling Accident Injuries

When a vehicle and a bicycle collide, the cyclist unsurprisingly bears the brunt of the impact, making violent contact with the vehicle, the ground, or other hard objects. This kind of trauma is often fatal, but even more frequent are severe and life-altering injuries, such as: 

• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Paralysis
• Broken bones
• Eye injuries
• Loss of a limb
• Internal organ damage
• Severe burns

What To Do Immediately After Your Bike Accident

In the immediate aftermath of a bike accident, you may be hurt, in shock, or disoriented. Your top priority is getting medical attention for yourself and anyone else involved in the crash. 

You’ll also want to get the names, contact information, and insurance information of the driver. If anyone saw the crash, get their contact information as well, as they could be critical witnesses in any accident injury lawsuit you may file. Take pictures of the scene if possible, and keep possession of your bike, no matter how damaged it is. The more evidence you obtain and preserve, the better positioned you will be when you meet with a bicycle accident injury lawyer to discuss your situation. And you absolutely should meet with a lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. 

How King & Beaty’s Colorado Springs Bicycle Accident Injury Lawyers Can Help You

Your injuries and losses after a cycling accident take many forms and the impact can last for months, years, or the rest of your life. Pain and immobility, hospitalizations, surgeries, and lengthy rehabilitation, the loss of income at the same time medical and other bills mount – it can be overwhelming. It is not a challenge you need to or should face alone.  

At King & Beaty, we make sure that you can focus on getting better, while we work tirelessly to get you the resources and compensation that you deserve when someone else’s recklessness or negligence shatters your life. 

When you contact King & Beaty for your free initial consultation with a bicycle accident injury lawyer, we will take the time to listen to your story and your struggles, answer your questions and ease your mind, and lay out a plan to get you the resources you need, including compensation for: 

• Medical and rehabilitation costs
• Past and future lost earnings
• Your pain and suffering
• All other losses caused by the other driver’s conduct.

Free Colorado Springs Bicycle Accident Consultation

To discuss your bicycle accident and injuries and begin the process of getting the compensation you need and deserve, please call King & Beaty today to arrange for your free consultation with an experienced bicycle accident injury lawyer.

CALL TODAY (719) 505-9999