North Charleston and Mount Pleasant Bicycle Accident Lawyers
Cyclists take to South Carolina’s roads and trails every day, whether using their bicycles to enjoy the outdoors, enhance their health and fitness, or as a means of efficient personal transportation. South Carolina’s plentiful farm roads and rural highways beckon to road cyclists and bicycle tourists, while mountain bikers enjoy the many miles of trails that criss-cross the state’s forested peaks. Urban commuters, meanwhile, make their way throughout Charleston and other South Carolina cities and towns as they seek to avoid the expense and environmental concerns of daily driving.
Unfortunately, the increase in riders on South Carolina’s roads and trails means that there are more chances for bicycle accidents.
The Charleston bicycle accident attorneys at Joye Law Firm understand the difficulties you face if you’ve been involved in an accident while riding. All too often, bicyclists are perceived as reckless riders who flout traffic rules. The attorneys at Joye Law Firm know better, and they understand that most bicyclists ride responsibly with a goal of staying safe on South Carolina’s highways, streets and trails.
Joye Law Firm’s Charleston Bicycle Accident Attorneys Can Help
Joye Law Firm’s personal injury attorneys have the knowledge and experience to help if you’ve been involved in a bicycle accident in Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, or anywhere else in South Carolina. What’s more, they approach each client’s case with compassion and a clear understanding of the stress and economic hardship suffered by an injured accident victim.
Joye Law Firm’s team of personal injury attorneys have over four decades of experience in helping accident victims just like you. Our proven attorneys and staff work tirelessly on each client’s behalf, seeking recovery of all money damages and benefits afforded under the law. Our goal in every case is to help our client return to a full life.
We can help you, too. Just Call Joye, and let us help you recover the compensation that you deserve. You can reach us at (888) 324-3100, or fill out an online form for a free case review.
Joye Law Firm’s bicycling accident attorneys serve clients in Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and Summerville. We’re also ready to take on your case anywhere in South Carolina.
Put Our Experience To Work For You
At Joye Law Firm, our highly qualified and experienced personal injury lawyers are committed to each and every one of our clients. With the benefit of over 110 years of collective litigation experience, several of the accident attorneys at Joye Law Firm have received an AV rating from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell peer review, and several have been recognized as Super Lawyers.
Our personal injury attorneys have an excellent record of obtaining positive outcomes for Joye Law Firm’s clients. These include a $1.9 million settlement for a family whose child was struck and killed by a car; a $5.9 million settlement for a client who suffered brain injuries in a wreck; a $1.15 million settlement for the family of a man killed in a car accident; and a $500,000 verdict for a man whose back was injured in a collision.
Of course, all cases are unique, and past results do not guarantee that a similar result can be obtained in a future case. However, our firm’s previous results do show the extent of our experience when it comes to serious injury and wrongful death cases. Simply click on the Results tab on our home page for more details about the results obtained for previous Joye Law Firm clients.
About Charleston Bicycle Accidents
Just like drivers of motor vehicles, bicyclists can become accident victims even when they obey all the traffic rules. Riding safely and cautiously with a helmet on a properly-equipped bicycle goes a long way toward preventing accidents and reducing injuries, but even prudent cyclists can be hurt or killed while riding.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 630 cyclists were killed and an additional 51,000 were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2009. Eleven cyclists were killed that year in South Carolina. Those figures mean that cyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities, and that cyclists made up 2 percent of all the people injured in traffic crashes during the year.
The federal government reports that most cyclist fatalities in 2009 occurred in urban areas (70%), and most occurred away from intersections. Almost three-fourths (72%) of the cyclist fatalities happened during the daytime.
Bicycling involves a number of factors that can make certain types of accidents more likely, and the resulting injuries more severe, when compared to accidents involving motor vehicles. Bicyclists may be less visible to drivers than other vehicles in traffic or at a distance, particularly at certain times of day or in certain weather conditions. Many drivers also are unaware that bicyclists have a legal right to use the roads in South Carolina and that motorists must share the roadways with bicycle riders.
Those factors, especially when combined with the increasing problem of distracted driving, mean that a bicyclist can become an accident victim due to a driver’s negligence even when the cyclist follows the rules of the road, rides responsibly, and uses proper protective equipment such as a helmet.
Common examples in which a driver’s negligence leads to an accident with a bicyclist include: a left turn by a driver into a cyclist’s path; a driver’s decision to pull out from an intersection or driveway without looking both ways; a driver’s failure to see and avoid a bicyclist due to driver distraction; and a driver’s failure to give adequate space to a bicyclist.
Bicyclists also lack the protection afforded by a car or truck’s surrounding structure, let alone the safety features incorporated in modern vehicles, such as seat belts, air bags, and crush zones that absorb the energy of a car wreck. Instead, a bicyclist’s body must absorb the force of a collision with a motor vehicle, as well as the damaging blows of subsequent impacts as the cyclist is knocked to the pavement in an accident.
The unfortunate result is that cyclists often suffer severe injuries or death in collisions with motor vehicles.
Defective design and manufacturing also poses a risk to cyclists on and off the road. Any accident caused by a poorly-designed or poorly-made bicycle can result in a cyclist’s injury or death.
If you’re a Charleston bicycle accident victim, a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney at Joye Law Firm will examine your case in detail, evaluate your options, and explain what strategies might reasonably lead to the best possible recovery in your favor.
At Joye Law Firm, it’s our job to protect your rights and maximize your recovery so that you can move forward with your life.
Key Things To Remember After A North Charleston Bicycle Accident
Your first priority after being involved in a serious bicycling accident is to obtain prompt medical treatment for any injuries that you, or other accident victims, have suffered. It’s important to have a medical examination and to tell your doctor about the accident, even if you’re not sure whether you’ve been injured. Some types of serious injuries do not become evident until hours, days or even weeks later.
You also should report the accident to your insurance company as soon as possible. A delayed report could result in complications with your insurer, including the insurer’s rejection of your claim.
Do not, however, give an insurance company a recorded or written statement about the accident until you have consulted with a qualified Charleston bicycle accident attorney like the ones at Joye Law Firm.
It’s a good idea to keep a daily journal with notes about your accident recovery and how your life has been affected by the injuries you sustained in your bicycle accident. Details like the ones in your daily notes are easy to forget, so keeping notes will help ensure that you can recall details later. You should also keep all receipts and other documents that relate to the bicycle accident and your treatment.
If an insurance adjustor approaches you with a settlement offer, do not sign any agreements without first talking to an experienced Charleston bicycle accident attorney. You could relinquish your rights to the full compensation you deserve.
Contact Our Charleston Bicycle Accident Lawyers Today
If you are the victim of a Charleston bicycle accident, remember: Just Call Joye! Our experienced attorneys will work to get you the money and benefits you are entitled to if you’ve been seriously injured.
You can reach Joye Law Firm at (888) 324-3100, or fill out our free online case evaluation form.
