Motorists, pedestrians, and all other parties on the road are supposed to take particular care when interacting with bicyclists. While bicyclists throughout West Valley City must take steps to protect themselves from harm, all other parties must uphold their duty of care to protect bicyclists from undue accidents.
Unfortunately, there are several parties that don’t take their duty of care seriously when bicyclists are on the road. Should you fall victim to another person’s negligence while you’re riding your bike, you can bring evidence of that negligence to civil court. Our West Valley City bicycle accident lawyers can advocate for your post-accident compensation before a judge.
Pursuing a bicycle accident lawsuit allows you to request the legal right to summon an allegedly-liable party for conversations about compensation. So long as a county clerk approves your request to move a case forward, you can summon the party in question to either settlement negotiations or discovery.
Settlement negotiations allow you to discuss your right to compensation outside of the courtroom. Discovery, comparatively, leads to a traditional trial and allows all parties involved in the case to gather information regarding your position. You can work with an attorney to determine which of these processes – or some combination thereof – suits you best.
That said, the party named in your complaint does have the right to challenge the accusations you’ve leveled against them. The applicable party can do this during both negotiations and a trial. Our bicycle accident attorneys in West Valley City can work with you to counter these challenges and defend your right to financial support for your bicycle accident.
To win compensation after a bicycle accident, you need to file a complaint with your local county clerk. A complaint can also be referred to as a claim. These documents should detail the extent to which your accident injured you, what the value of your losses looks like, and why you believe a particular party may be liable for your condition.
Assigning liability in a bicycle accident case isn’t as simple as placing the blame on the first motorist you saw near the scene of your accident. There are other parties that can be held responsible for bicycle accident losses, including:
When you first go about assigning liability, make sure you have the evidence you need to back your claim. In many cases, it’s in your best interest to have a West Valley City, UT, bicycle accident lawyer assess the scene for signs of negligence before you hold a party responsible for your losses.
The bills you have to contend with after a bicycle accident can be as stress-inducing as the accident itself. Fortunately, when you file a bicycle accident complaint, you can request that the party liable for your losses help you contend with the financial backlash of your accident.
Your requested compensation should subsequently address all those losses. These can include:
Your complaint can also include a request for compensation based on your non-economic losses. These losses, like pain and suffering, do not come with an attached dollar value. Instead, our attorneys at 1Law can apply a multiplier to your case that stands in for your non-economic losses.
Utah puts a limit on the amount of time in which injured parties can take legal action. If you want to pursue a personal injury suit after a bicycle accident, you need to know your case’s statute of limitations. This statute, defined by Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-307, allows you to act within four years of the day your accident occurs.
Compared to many states, this statute of limitations is generous. That said, you still need to make the most of the time given to you. If you’re contending with an injury or don’t know how to approach your legal options, contact a West Valley City, UT, bicycle accident attorney. We can guide you through the process of building your bicycle accident claim while you recover.
You need time to recover from a bicycle accident. While Utah’s statute of limitations on bicycle accident cases is generous, it can still feel difficult to bring together the information you need to establish your claim. Fortunately, our office never makes you do this work alone.
When you contact an experienced attorney, you can trust our team to guide you through the process of gathering evidence to address your case. We can create a story out of the data presented at your scene and subsequently name a party liable for your losses. From there, we can submit your complaint within Utah’s deadline and represent your best interests.
We can stand beside you while pursuing negotiations, a trial, or some combination thereof. It’s our responsibility to ensure that you have every opportunity to make the extent of your losses known to the appropriate parties. You can discuss what you want this representation to look like during an initial case consultation.
Bicyclists are particularly vulnerable to accidents on the road. If you think that a motorist violated their duty of care and injured you in the process, you can take legal action. A bicycle accident lawyer in West Valley City, UT, can walk you through the process of building and enacting a personal injury complaint.
You can connect with the 1Law team to learn more about your post-bicycle accident legal options. We can work with you to calculate, present, and defend your right to compensation for your losses. You can contact us online or over the phone today to get started.