Long Island Bicycle Accident Lawyer

Trusted Bicycle Accident Attorneys Serving Long Island, NY

Bicyclists are injured in accidents with motor vehicles at alarming rates. A recent study showed that bicyclists are at fault less than 10% of the time in car-bicycle accidents. Further, due to the fact that bicyclists have very little protection, the injuries are usually severe. This is why it is important to hire a Long Island Bicycle Accident Lawyer.

The most common losses following a bicycle accident:

Property damage
Lost wages
Medical expenses
Out of pocket expenses
Pain and suffering

When to consult with a Long Island Bicycle Accident Lawyer

If you have suffered injuries in a Long Island bicycle accident it is a good idea to consult with a bicycle accident attorney as soon as possible. Hiring an attorney early on in the process will help protect your legal rights, ensure your medical bills and lost wages are paid and give you an advantage building a strong personal injury case. An early investigation will also help preserve key evidence in your case.

Important deadlines to know for your bicycle accident case:

Medical bills and lost wages are paid through the no-fault insurance carrier of the vehicle you were in an accident with. All no-fault insurance carriers require a no-fault application be filed within thirty days. Failing to do so may result in denial of your no-fault benefits and may make you personally responsible for the bills.

How much is my Long Island bicycle accident case worth?

The value of an injury suffered in a bicycle accident is an accumulation of several different factors. These include any accident related economic expenses such as damage to your car, as well as non-economic losses such as pain and suffering. At Palermo Law, our experience in handling thousands of accident cases allows us to accurately assess the value of your case to determine the fairest settlement or jury award. In cases of long-term injuries, we partner with experts in the fields of medicine and economics to make sure that your compensation is adjusted for future inflation. This allows you the piece of mind knowing that you will be compensated for years to come.

Common Causes of Long Island Bicycle Accidents

Motorists failing to yield the right of way at a traffic control device or stop sign.
Motorists trying to over take the bicyclist.
Motorists opening a door into the path of a bicyclist.
Motorists failing to see the bicyclist on the road.
Five essential tips for bicyclists involved in an accident with a car
Seek medical attention for any injuries, even minor injuries. Often injuries that result from a car accident intensify in the hours and days following an accident. It’s best to be cautious.
Obtain a Police Accident Report. It is always a good idea to call the police to the scene of an accident. However, it is also possible to file a police report following the accident.
Contact the offending car’s automobile insurance carrier to file a no-fault application. Also, contact your automobile insurance carrier to report the accident just in case the other person’s insurance is not valid. All medical bills will be paid by the other vehicle’s no-fault insurance.
Do not give any statements to the other vehicle’s insurance company without first consulting with an attorney.
Contact a personal injury lawyer for a free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bicycle Accidents

What Should I Do After I Was Hit By A Vehicle?

First, assess your injuries. Getting hit by a car is a serious accident, and you should seek medical attention. You might not feel that much pain right away as it is normal for adrenaline to mask the seriousness of your injuries, but in the case of a bicycle accident, it is a good idea to get checked out anyway.

Second, obtain a police accident report. Call the police even if you think you are fine and they will assist you. It is always a good idea to call the police to the scene of the accident. If you are injured, they will help. However, it is also possible to file a police report following the accident.

Third, contact the insurance carrier of the car that hit you to report the accident. Since New York is a no-fault state, regardless of who is at fault, the no-fault insurance of each vehicle involved will pay for their respective medical bills and lost wages. Since you were not driving a vehicle and were riding a bicycle, you would contact the no-fault insurance of the driver who struck you to pay for your bills. Keep in mind that you only have 30 days to complete a no-fault application.

Finally, if your injuries are serious you should call our Long Island bicycle accident law firm right away. This will not only protect your legal rights, it will also make your life easier as we handle all no-fault and property damage issues for you while we fight to get you the most compensation possible this way you can concentrate on your recovery.

How Will I Pay For Medical Treatment?

If you are a bicyclist involved in a motor vehicle accident, your medical bills will be paid for by no-fault insurance. Regardless of who is at fault, it is the no-fault insurance of the vehicle that you were in at the time of the accident that will pay for your medical bills. For a bicyclist, since they were not in a motor vehicle, it is the no-fault insurance of the vehicle that struck you that will pay for your medical bills. In order to have this coverage however, it is imperative that you complete a no-fault application within thirty days of the accident.

No-fault insurance is required to provide a minimum of $50,000 worth of coverage. This can be extended if you choose to purchase a higher no-fault limit. They will pay your medical bills until the coverage is exhausted or you have recovered from your injury. If no-fault is exhausted and you still have medical bills to pay for, then it is your primary health insurance that will pay for the remaining costs. However, not all expenses resulting from your injury will be covered by these insurance providers. These additional expenses would be included in a claim against the responsible party’s liability insurance policy.

What does it cost to hire your Long Island Bicycle Accident Law Firm?

There is no cost to hire our law firm. We work on a contingency basis. That means that if we are not able to win your case there is no charge. If we are successful in winning your case, we earn a fee of 1/3 of the recovery for your bodily injury claim. We never charge additional fees for handling No-Fault and property damage issues. We also will lay out all of the litigation expenses in the case. Our consultations are also free so you are completely able to evaluate your options without taking any financial risks.

How Do I Know if I Should Hire an Attorney for my Bicycle Accident?

Oftentimes, when a serious injury is involved, the compensation from no-fault simply isn’t enough to cover the expenses of the injury. If you have been injured in a bicycle accident, it is always a good idea to at the very least consult with a qualified bicycle accident attorney so you understand what is involved in a bicycle accident claim. Most attorneys offer a free consultation which eliminates any risk in speaking to an attorney.

Our Long Island Bicycle Accident Law Firm has handled victims of pedestrian accidents for over two decades. We are fully familiar with the devastation that a vehicle can cause and serve as aggressive advocates for the seriously injured and will use all of our knowledge and experience fighting for you.

How Much Compensation Am I Entitled To After An Accident?

When you make a claim for injuries resulting from a bicycle accident, the goal is to ultimately claim financial compensation for the losses resulting from the accident. Losses for a bodily injury claim can be broken down into two categories, economic losses and non-economic losses. Adding your economic losses and your non-economic losses will summate the amount of compensation that you are entitled to following an accident.

Economic Losses: Economic losses include medical bills, lost wages and other out of pocket expenses. In most pedestrian cases, your medical bills will be paid for by some form of insurance. However, not all expenses may be covered. Other losses such as co-payments and unreimbursed medical expenses that you incur are reimbursable through your lawsuit. Also, in some cases you may be required to reimburse your healthcare provider for medical expenses that they have incurred if you receive a settlement. In such cases that amount of money will be passed onto the defendant in the case. For example, if you incur $10,000 in medical expenses that have to be reimbursed to your health insurance company, that amount of money would be added to your settlement so that the cost is passed on to the responsible party.

Also, many people have disability policies that pay them a portion of their salary following an injury. In a personal injury lawsuit, you are entitled to receive your total lost wages from the defendant. If your insurer is entitled to reimbursement from your lawsuit then you will receive the total amount of lost wages from the defendant and be required to repay the insurer the portion that they paid to you.

There are often out of pocket expenses associated with an injury such as travel expenses and cost of modifications to your home or vehicle. This is also the responsibility of the at fault party, because these are not things you would need to pay for if you were not injured by the at fault party.

Finally, your economic damages may last into the future and in some cases may be permanent. For example, if you cannot return to work you are entitled to life-long lost wages. In such situations it may be necessary to hire an economist to figure out your future lost wages so that they can be reimbursed in your lawsuit.

Non-economic Losses: Non-economic losses include your pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and other emotional injuries. Unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are more subjective. Therefore, it can often be difficult to put a financial figure on such damages. The way it is usually done is by comparing people that have suffered similar injuries and seeing what juries have awarded them at trial. However, if a settlement cannot be reached then that amount of money is decided by a jury. This can often lead to a wide discrepancy from case to case. Also, like economic losses, non-economic losses can also be permanent. In such cases that will have to be accounted for in the jury’s verdict or in the settlement.

Finally, perhaps the most important factor in determining the amount of money that you are entitled to following an accident is the amount of insurance the responsible party has to satisfy any judgment you obtain. For example, if your total losses equal $1,000,000 but the responsible party is only insured for $25,000, your only way of recovering the difference will be by personally enforcing the judgment you obtain at trial against the responsible party’s assets. In my experience as a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer, most people do not have assets to pay that type of judgment. Therefore, for most accidents your recovery will be limited by the other party’s insurance. However, there are situations where you can make an additional claim against your own insurance carrier if the responsible party is underinsured.

What is a No-Fault Independent Medical Exam (IME)?

If you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident in New York State and are receiving medical treatment, the insurance company of the vehicle that struck you at the time of your accident will be responsible for paying all of your medical bills with respect to the injuries that you suffered in that accident. Further, there are no copayments or referrals needed. You are free to see any doctor that you decide as long as they accept no-fault.

However, if your treatment lasts for a long period of time the insurance carrier has the right to request that you see a doctor to see if the treatment that you are receiving is necessary. This exam is known as an “independent medical exam.” That name is somewhat of a misnomer because while the doctor is not technically an employer of the insurance carrier, he is subcontracted by them to do the exam. What is more, the doctor may do hundreds if not thousands of exams for that carrier over the course of the year. This can lead to a bias on the part of the examining physician because that doctor knows the more patients that they allow to continue treating, the less likely they are to get the exam work from the insurancecarrier.

If you are summoned for a no-fault exam, you do have some rights. First, you are allowed one reschedule. But, if you miss a second appointment, your benefits will be denied. Further, the exam has to be conducted within a reasonable distance to your home. Finally, re-exams cannot be scheduled too closely to the original exam. The carrier must wait a reasonable amount of time before calling you back for a re-exam.

Also, if you are denied medical benefits after an exam, you have several options. First, you can arbitrate the denial of any medical bill with an independent arbitrator. If that arbitrator decides in your favor, the carrier will need to pay the bills.

Second, you can decide not to arbitrate and just switch to using your private health insurance to pay for your bills. This is likely the best option for most people because the arbitration process is long and complicated.

Finally, if you are summoned for an independent medical exam, and are not represented by an attorney, you may want to consider hiring one. An independent medical exam is an indication that payment of your continued medical treatment is going to get complicated and an attorney will be able to guide you in procuring appropriate payment from insurance carriers.

How can I get lost wages if I am in a bicycle accident?

If you are injured in a bicycle accident in New York State, you are eligible to receive lost wage compensation through your no-fault insurance carrier. Every motor vehicle insurance policy issued in New York requires at least $2000 a month of lost wage protection. You are eligible to receive 80% of your total salary, with an up to the two thousand dollar per month limit. If you have purchased additional lost wage coverage, you may be eligible for a higher amount. If you are a high wage earner, this amount will not be sufficient. In those instances, any unreimbursed wages will have to be recovered from the responsible party’s insurance carrier at the end of your case.

In order to receive lost wages from your no-fault carrier, they must receive a completed no-fault application, verification of your employment, and a disability note from a healthcare provider. The no-fault application must be filed within thirty days of the date of the accident or your carrier may deny the claim. Further, the wage verification must be completed by your employer. It should be completed as soon as possible. However there is no specific deadline. Once you start receiving lost wages from your no-fault carrier, you will need to submit updated disability notes from your doctor from time to time. Also, your lost wage benefits may be terminated by your no-fault carrier should you be deemed to be fully recovered during a no-fault IME.

Dealing with no-fault insurance can often be confusing and frustrating. There is so much red tape that it usually requires a professional such as a personal injury law firm to get your full benefits. At Palermo Law, our Long Island Bicycle Accident Law Firm is dedicated to all aspects of your personal injury claim. That means that we not only file a bodily injury claim on your behalf, but we also handle all no-fault paperwork and all property damage claims. It’s our goal to take as much stress off your shoulders allowing you to concentrate on your recovery.

How Long Does a Bicycle Accident Case Take?

It is hard to estimate the length of time any accident case will take. However, it is safe to say that the earliest that a case is likely to settle is after you have made a full recovery or at least until your doctors have determined that you will not make a full recovery and are able to estimate what your disabilities will be moving forward. Our firm is eager to aggressively litigate your claim as fast as possible, while at the same time ensuring you are getting the full compensation you are owed.

What should I bring to our initial consultation?

You are not required to bring anything to your initial consultation. However, if you have certain information with you it will make it easier to fully evaluate your case and discuss it in more detail. The items that might be helpful are the following:

Accident Report
Photos of your injuries
Photos of the scene of the accident
Insurance information
Identification
Witness names and contact information

If you do not have some, or even any of these things, don’t stress. Our Bicycle Accident law firm can gather the information for you. We have a full staff that includes an investigator that can obtain this information at no extra cost.

What Should I Expect Once I Hire Your Law Firm?

The first thing that my law firm will do is complete a full investigation of your bicycle accident which includes gathering all insurance information from the responsible parties, gathering evidence and witness statements, and gathering all medical evidence of your injuries.

After the investigation is complete, we will proceed with initiating a lawsuit against the responsible parties and litigate the case in court by conducting discovery. Once discovery is complete, we will work towards obtaining a trial date. Finally, if the insurance company of the responsible party is unwilling to pay a fair amount of compensation for your injuries, we will try the case and attempt to get a verdict that adequately compensates you for the injuries that you suffered from your bicycle accident. Click here to see our full process.

We have six locations throughout Long Island. Our main office is in Hauppauge. But we also have offices in Huntington, Babylon, Patchogue, Riverhead and Carle Place. We can also arrange in home or hospital appointments if you are unable to make it to one of our locations. We even offer after hours and weekend appointments.

Why Hire Palermo Law?

We always offer a free no-obligation consultation.
We never charge a fee unless we win your case.
We provide personal one-on-one attention to every client.
We handle all no-fault insurance communications and paperwork for you free of charge.
We have over two decades of experience litigating car accident cases on Long Island.
We have obtained numerous million-dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients.

About Our Long Island Law Firm

We are a true Long Island Bicycle Accident law firm. With two decades of experience, Long Island Bicycle Accident Attorney Steven Palermo heads the legal team at Palermo Law. He personally handles each client’s accident case from its inception through conclusion. He has litigated hundreds of accident cases and won several million dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients. He has a passion for helping injured people find justice in their fight against large multi-million-dollar insurance companies that try and minimize his client’s injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries as a result of another persons negligent driving and would like schedule a free case evaluation from an experienced Long Island Bicycle Accident Attorney, call or email us today.

>We can also arrange an in home or hospital consultation with you. Further, we handle all bicycle accident cases on a contingency basis meaning we never charge a fee unless we win your case.

Service We perform

Identifying all potential sources of recovery including no-fault insurance limits and all bodily injury insurance limits.
Complete investigative services including the gathering of all relevant documentation such as accident reports and witness statements, medical records, and reports. We often engage the help of experts in the field of accident reconstruction, medicine, and economics to help support your claim.
We will handle all no-fault insurance communications and paperwork free of charge.
We litigate your case. If your case cannot be settled we will litigate it in court. It is always our goal to obtain fair compensation for our clients without the need for trial. But rest assured, if your case does not settle we will be prepared to take your case to trial.

Trial Ready Strategy

Most personal injury lawsuits are settled out of court at some point before a trial. Many personal injury law firms on Long Island don’t fully prepare their cases for trial when anticipating a settlement. This weakens their position when it comes time to negotiate a settlement. At Palermo Law, we always fully prepare every case as if it is going to trial. This level of preparation gives us the leverage to negotiate the highest possible compensation for our clients and puts us in a strong position should a trial become necessary.

Focused on Helping the Injured

We realize that being really well-versed in any one area of law takes focus. Personal injury law is no exception. That’s why our Long Island personal injury lawyers only handle personal injury cases. Steven Palermo, our managing partner, has been exclusively handling personal injury cases for the last two decades. We handle all types of personal injury cases for the injured, including car accidents, slip and falls, and work-related accidents. We have never represented an insurance company and never will. We do what we do because we love helping people.

Free Consultation

We offer every potential personal injury client a free, no-obligation consultation at any of our five locations throughout Long Island. During the consultation, we will discuss your case in detail and give you our opinion on the chances of success. We will also discuss our potential strategy and our process for handling your case. If after fully discussing your case we feel it is a good fit for our Long Island Personal Injury law firm, we will discuss our fees and give you the option of moving forward with us as your lawyers.

Call A Long Bike Accident Lawyer

We have litigated hundreds of accident cases over the last two decades. As a result, we’ve become very proficient in handling all aspects of accident litigation including no-fault and property damage claims. We know all the ins and outs of Long Island accident claims and will use our experience to make sure you receive full compensation. We handle all Long Island accident cases on a contingency basis. This means we never charge an upfront fee and only get paid if we win your case.