Average Settlement for Bicycle Accidents

How much money you can receive for your bicycle accident injuries is a very important consideration after you have been hurt. You are likely paying medical bills at the same time as not being able to work. Money may be in short supply, and you may not be able to get out of a financial hole at any point in the near future. Thus, getting the right amount of money in your bicycle accident case is critical. 

How much you could expect is often the first question that people ask us when they have their initial consultation. Like any legal question, the answer that you get from a lawyer will usually be that it depends. Discuss your situation with our bicycle accident lawyers today. 

Your Bicycle Accident Settlement Can Depend on Many Factors

When you see a number that purports to be the average settlement for a bicycle accident case, there are many unknowns about how that number was reached. The average number represents many thousands of individual stories that you do not know. For example, you do not know the following:

• The severity of each individual accident victim’s injuries
• How hard they fought the insurance company to get the money they deserved
• Whether they hired a bicycle accident lawyer to handle their case
• How much insurance coverage the responsible party had
• Whether the accident victim was able to file a claim against their own insurance

You Are Paid for Your Own Specific Injuries

The individual circumstances of your case are what determine how much money you will receive for your injuries. Your case does not depend on what happened to someone else or what they did in response to their own injuries. Any number that you would read as an average is just for informational purposes only. It has no bearing on your case and how much you may get for your injuries. Thus, it is not necessarily a helpful answer for you. 

What should matter the most to you is you. Someone else’s settlement will not pay for your mounting costs, both now and in the future. The average is not even a guideline of what you could expect in your case.

What Does My Bicycle Accident Compensation Consist Of?

In any bicycle accident case, you can receive both your economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to the money that came out of your pocket, whether you had to spend it on medical care or you could not work. Non-economic damages represent compensation for how you have suffered since the accident and what you will go through in the future.

Here is what you can be paid for if you are able to prove that someone else was to blame for your accident injuries:

• The complete cost of your medical bills (including doctor’s fees, hospital costs, prescriptions, and medical equipment)
• The money that you could have earned had you been able to fully work (including a reduction in your earning capacity)
• Pain and suffering for what you have endured since your accident (including physical and emotional pain)
• The loss of enjoyment of the life that you had before the accident

Damages in a Wrongful Death Case

If you are filing a wrongful death case when your family has lost a loved one, you could receive the following:

• The wages that your family member would have earned over the course of their career
• Compensation for the emotional distress and trauma that your family has endured because your loved one tragically died
• Payment for the loss of the close relationship with your loved one

Getting the most possible money for your case depends in part on knowing how much it is worth. You can bet that the insurance company has that data at their fingertips not long after they receive your claim. You can level the playing field when you hire a personal injury lawyer who can also value your case. If you do not know how much your case is worth, you are at risk of settling it for too little. 

Bicycle Accident Injuries Could Result in More Compensation

You may see average numbers in bicycle accident cases that are higher than averages that you may read about in car accident cases. If the average is higher, it is because bicycle accident injuries tend to be more serious. There is little to protect you from impact with the car itself or the grounds. Bicycle accident injuries are more likely to be permanent or fatal. There is nothing to say that a car accident victim cannot receive more if they have been severely injured.

People who have been injured in a bicycle accident are eligible for full compensation for their injuries. If the insurance company will not pay what the accident victim deserves, they can sue the driver in court. Insurance companies are often afraid of a jury when the accident victim has been severely injured. 

Do Not Settle for Less Than You Deserve

The responsible driver’s insurance company may make you a settlement offer after you have filed a claim. If the offer is not enough to compensate you for your injuries, you are not obligated to accept it. You can reject the offer or make your own counteroffer with what you believe you deserve. You can also take your case to court (where you would likely continue settlement negotiations until the trial happens). When someone else’s careless actions have caused you harm, you are in the driver’s seat more than you know.

Contact a Northern California Bicycle Accident Lawyer Today

The attorneys at the Cartwright Law Firm will fight for you to get every dollar that you deserve when you have been injured in a bicycle accident. We know how to take on insurance companies and hit them where it hurts. First, you need to reach out to us to schedule your free initial consultation. You can send us a message online, or you can call us today at (415) 433-0444. You do not need to pay us anything unless you win your case.