Bicycling is an excellent form of exercise and transportation, but it can also be dangerous. If you were injured in a bicycle accident in Columbia, MO, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and losses.
Our Columbia bicycle accident lawyers at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers have the expertise you deserve to handle your bicycle accident case. Contact our Columbia, Missouri, office online or at (314) 444-4444 to schedule a free consultation with a Columbia bicycle accident attorney.
How Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Bicycle Accident in Columbia
With over 100 years of collective legal experience, our Columbia personal injury attorneys have helped injured clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars.
Our Columbia personal injury lawyers have been recognized as:
- National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
- Members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- Best Lawyers in America
- St. Louis Magazine – Best Lawyers in St. Louis
- Super Lawyers
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating
We’ll put our training and experience to work for you by:
- Listening to your story
- Investigating the accident
- Gathering evidence
- Assessing your damages
- Communicating with insurers
- Negotiating for a fair settlement agreement
- Fighting your case at trial if needed
Hiring one of our exceptional Columbia bicycle accident lawyers is a great first step on the road to recovering the compensation you deserve.
What Is My Columbia Bicycle Accident Case Worth?
The value of your bicycle case will likely include the total of medical costs and property damage combined. However, it isn’t that simple.
The value of your bicycle accident case will depend on many factors, including:
- The extent of your medical costs
- The extent of your injuries
- The long-term impacts of your injuries
- Whether you were partially to blame for the accident
- The relevant insurance policy limits
Our Columbia bicycle accident lawyers will estimate the value of your bicycle accident case.
What Kind of Damages Are Available to Bicycle Accident Victims in Missouri?
In Missouri, victims of bicycle accident victims can recover compensatory damages, which account for their tangible and intangible losses. Compensatory damages can be split into two categories: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate victims for the financial impacts of an accident. Economic damages are tangible losses related to the accident and are sometimes called tangible or special damages.
These damages include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Decreased earning potential
- Property damage
- Transportation costs
- Out-of-pocket expenses
To prove your economic damages, your attorney will compile receipts, invoices, and other documentation of your accident-related expenses. Future expenses, such as decreased earning potential and future medical costs, may require the use of expert witnesses to prove.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate victims for the emotional or experiential impacts of an accident. Non-economic damages are sometimes called intangible damages or general damages.
Non-economic damages:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of companionship
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of quality of life
The methods for calculating non-economic damages are less precise because you can’t put a price tag on someone’s subjective suffering. Your Columbia bicycle accident lawyer will assess a reasonable value of your non-economic damages. To prove your non-economic damages, you may need to hire expert witnesses or have friends or family testify about the impacts of your injuries.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Columbia Bicycle Accident Lawyer?
Bicycle accident lawyers and personal injury lawyers, more generally, usually charge a contingency fee. Under this fee arrangement, you won’t pay any legal fees upfront. Instead, your attorney will take a portion of your ultimate settlement or verdict amount. The immediate benefit of contingency fees is that you can hire excellent legal representation regardless of your financial resources.
Another benefit is that your lawyer does not receive money unless you do. Thus, if your bicycle accident claim is unsuccessful, you won’t be stuck with a legal fee bill that you can’t afford.
A standard contingency fee is between 30% and 40%. This rate may change depending on the complexity of the case, the attorney’s level of experience, and your location. Contingency fees balance a client’s need for experienced legal representation with an attorney’s risk in accepting a case for which they may not get paid.
In addition to contingency fees, personal injury cases may incur other costs, such as expert witness fees, filing costs, and administrative costs. Your lawyer should discuss whether you will be responsible for these costs.
Contact our office to discuss our contingency fee policy in more detail.
Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Being Blamed for a Bicycle Accident in Columbia?
Yes, you can recover compensation in Columbia if you’re partly at fault for a bicycle accident. Missouri has a pure comparative negligence law, which is the most lenient approach to shared fault.
Under a comparative negligence framework, an injured party can seek compensation from another if they are partly at fault, but their compensation will be reduced proportionately. For example, if you were 25% at fault in the accident, you could recover up to 75% of your damages.
While Missouri’s approach to shared fault is more forgiving than many other states, being blamed for an accident can significantly impact your compensation. Our Columbia bicycle accident lawyers will defend you from undue claims of shared fault and pursue maximum compensation on your behalf.
What Causes Most Bicycle Accidents in Columbia?
Bicycle accidents often occur for the following reasons:
- Aggressive driving
- Driving under the influence
- Poor visibility or cycling at night
- Traffic volume and congestion
- Speeding
- Failure to comply with traffic signals
- Failing to yield
- Road and weather conditions
- “Dooring” accidents, where a driver opens a door, and the cyclist collides with it or is forced to swerve
No matter what the precise cause of your bicycle accident is, if someone else caused the accident by acting negligently, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries.
How Do I Prove Negligence After a Bicycle Accident in Columbia, MO?
To recover compensation for your bicycle accident injuries, you must prove that the at-fault party was negligent. Negligence is a legal term meaning that one failed to act reasonably given the circumstances.
To prove negligence in court, you must prove the following elements:
Duty of Care
A duty of care is a legal obligation to adhere to a certain standard of conduct. In most circumstances, individuals have a duty to act as a reasonably prudent person would in the same situation. Drivers usually owe other drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians a duty to act reasonably.
Breach
You must prove there was a breach of duty by the defendant. In most cases, this requires showing that they acted unreasonably. This element can be quite contentious.
Damages
You must prove you were injured or suffered other harm. Even if a defendant acted unreasonably under the circumstances, they wouldn’t be found negligent if you did not suffer a legally recognized harm.
Causation
Even if a defendant acted unreasonably and you suffered damages, they won’t be liable for your injuries unless they were the actual cause and proximate cause of damages.
Actual cause means the defendant’s actions were a “but for” cause of the accident, and the collision would not have occurred without the defendant’s actions.
Proximate cause is essentially a limit of causation. A defendant will only be found negligent for injuries they could have reasonably foreseen as a result of their actions.
You must establish each of these four elements by a “preponderance of the evidence.”
How Long Do I Have To File a Lawsuit After a Bicycle Accident in Missouri?
In Missouri, you must file your bicycle accident case or other personal injury case within five years of the accident. If your claim is not brought by this deadline, you won’t be able to seek compensation in your case through the court.
While this is one of the longer statutes of limitations in the United States, it’s important to consult a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. Your attorney will ensure that you are taking the appropriate steps to protect your future personal injury claim and will begin collecting vital evidence that may disappear if you wait too long.
In reality, many personal injury claims are settled before a lawsuit is filed. However, you must pursue your claim before the statute of limitations passes.
If the bicycle accident resulted in the death of a loved one, you have three years to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Contact Our Columbia Bicycle Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one were injured in a bicycle accident in Columbia, MO, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Columbia bicycle accident attorneys support you throughout the personal injury claims process and vigorously pursue compensation for you.
Contact our office to schedule a free consultation in your case.
