While some people put lawyers on retainers even if they don’t have a case in court, others are pretty hesitant to seek legal help even if they’re currently facing a legal problem. Though this is understandable, given that it’s costly to get yourself in a legal squabble, the only way out of a case unscathed is through a lawyer. If you find yourself in a motor vehicle or bicycle accident, the first thing you should do is get yourself a Bicycle Accident Attorney.
There are many types of personal injury cases, but each has different requisites and causes of action. A medical malpractice case may be a personal injury case, but it’s not similar to a simple negligence case. While the latter only indicates a failure to exert due diligence to avoid an injury, the former presumes the existence of a duty to prevent harm and damage to a person. The sense of duty of the medical practitioner aggravates whatever damage is caused to a person.
Bicycle accidents belong to the latter kind of injury. However, even if there’s no legal duty on the other party to prevent the harm, they are compelled by transportation laws to exercise an extraordinary kind of diligence while onboard his motor vehicle. The diligence required in this situation is slightly higher compared to an ordinary tort. So, do you need a lawyer for this kind of case? The answer is pretty simple. If you need a lawyer for an ordinary negligence case, all the more you need legal help when it involves collisions and accidents involving all sorts of vehicles.
What is extraordinary diligence?
Transportation law may have its own set of statutes, but its principles fall under the giant umbrella of civil law. This is why you need knowledge in both legal areas to be able to represent a client legally. The law is harsher on people who own and drives all types of vehicles, bicycles included.
This stricter treatment is best shown in cases like when a person collides with a car, with the former deliberately getting himself hit. If the car driver has the last chance to swerve and possibly prevent the accident but they were not fast enough to do what’s necessary, they can be made liable for the whole accident.
The law’s ratio for this principle is that when you travel on a highway, there’s a significant risk of causing damage to property or injury to a person. However, because it’s a necessity, the law regulates the issuance of a driver’s license. As a result, licenses are awarded to certain people who can provide that they’re of sane mind and sound body to obey the traffic rules and avoid all sorts of accidents that could damage properties and claim lives.
Aside from this, they are also required, by virtue of extraordinary diligence, to ensure that their vehicles are in good, running condition when it runs on streets and highways. Failure to observe this requisite could be prima facie evidence of neglect on the vehicle owner.
Why do you need to hire a lawyer for a bicycle accident?
One of the main reasons you need to hire a lawyer for this type of case is for insurance purposes. If you’re the party at fault, you need to report the matter to your insurer to figure out what’s covered or not. To maximize your coverage and pay for any accident-related expenses, you need to document the accident properly. Lawyers are the best people for the job because they have done this a couple of times before. As such, they know the nitty-gritty of the process. You don’t need to break a sweat to persuade your insurer to pay up.
Another reason is to get indemnification for whatever damage has been done because of the said accident. It doesn’t matter if you’re the victim or cause of the accident; you need a lawyer’s help to sort the legal aspect of the case out. A lawyer can document the case for the victims and start drafting the affidavit complaint to vindicate your rights and get indemnification for damages. For the party at-fault, the lawyer can also document the case, gather evidence to figure out if there’s contributory negligence on the part of the complainant, and refute the allegations in the complainant’s affidavit.
Your lawyer will also guide you in evidence gathering to refute your guilt, establish the other party’s negligence, or show evidence of damage or its non-existence. If the offense is so grave, your lawyer can also seek the proper remedies to keep the same kind of accident from happening in the future.
Your lawyer is your ally, no matter if you’re the complainant or victim. Once they agree to take on your case, they are automatically bound by the lawyer-client relationship to rally behind you and fight for your cause in court. So, it’s safe to say that when it comes to matters involving your case, they are your most trusted people.