Denver Bicycle Accident Attorneys

Denver Personal Injury Lawyers » Denver Bicycle Accident Attorneys

Why Choose Our Denver Bicycle Accident Attorneys?

At Fuicelli & Lee, our law firm’s motto is, “Experience Matters.” Each of our Denver bicycle accident attorneys has extensive trial and negotiation experience, and we have secured more than $175 million in total compensation for our clients. We practice only personal injury law, so we can provide unmatched representation and increase your chances of getting the most favorable outcomes possible. Other areas we feel set us apart include:

• We believe in making a difference for our clients, and we will stand by your side the entire way through your case.
• We refuse to back down from other parties and will fight hard to recover the maximum amount of compensation you deserve.
• We built our law firm on hard work and honesty, and our lawyers have earned numerous awards and honors for our outstanding professionalism and legal abilities.

Our law firm has gained a reputation for excellence, and our bike accident attorneys genuinely care about your needs and the struggles you are going through because of your unfortunate accident. We are here for you 24/7, and we are prepared to help you obtain full and fair compensation and hold those responsible for your severe injuries accountable. 

Colorado’s Bicycle Laws

Any person riding a bicycle must adhere to Colorado state laws concerning the operation of a bicycle. Under Colorado state law, a bicycle is any vehicle that is propelled by human power applied to the pedals upon which a person may ride. A bicycle either has two tandem wheels or two parallel wheels and one forward wheel that are more than fourteen inches in diameter.

Colorado Statute §42-4-1412 defines bicycle riders’ duties for operating bicycles, electric scooters, and other human-powered vehicles. The law provides a detailed guide for the safe operation of bicycles on roads and highways, including:

• How many riders can be on a bicycle
• How to share the road with other vehicles
• How to pass other motor vehicles on a road
• How to safely make turns.

Nevertheless, bicycle accidents can still occur even when bicyclists follow these guidelines. Often, other motor vehicle drivers can endanger bicyclists when they don’t see them or don’t share the road properly with them. Also, a manufacturer defect or faulty component on your bike can fail and cause you to crash.

How Can I Get Compensation for My Bicycle Accident Injury in Denver?

Colorado law recognizes several legal theories through which you can get compensation for your bicycle accident injuries. These legal theories are product liability, negligence or negligence per se, and vicarious liability.

Product Liability

Product liability allows a person who suffered injuries because of a product defense to recover compensation from the product’s manufacturer, and in some cases, retailers, suppliers, and others responsible for bringing the product to market. You may obtain compensation if any of these factors associated with the product caused your injuries:

• Manufacture defects
• Construction defects
• Design defects
• Faulty assembly
• Improper or defective packaging
• Failure to warn consumers or protect them against any dangerous or hazardous use, misuse, or unintended use of the product
• Failure to provide proper instructions for the use of the product

To make a claim based on product liability, you must prove any of the above-listed factors associated with the product. Proving product liability often requires testimony from an expert who can give necessary evidence as to the product’s defects.

Negligence

Negligence is a common legal theory, and it serves as the backbone for most personal injury claims. The basic elements of a negligence claim are:

• Duty of care: Every person in society has a duty to take reasonable care to avoid causing harm to others. They must avoid actions whose harmful consequences are reasonably foreseeable. All road users owe a duty of care to other road users. Vehicle drivers especially owe a duty of care to pedestrians and bicycle riders.
• Breach of duty: The other party breached the duty of care through their carelessness, recklessness, or other wrongdoing. For instance, vehicle drivers can breach their duty of care by exceeding the speed limit, not adhering to traffic signs and signals, or driving distracted.
• Proximate Causation: The person’s breach of duty of care was the proximate or legal cause of the victim’s injuries.
• Damages: The victim suffered actual injuries and damages as a result.

An injured victim must prove all elements of negligence in order to successfully claim compensation based on negligence.

Another type of negligence claim is based on a theory called negligence per se. To make a claim based on negligence per se, an injured victim does not have to prove the existence of a duty of care and the breach of that duty. The violation of any law enacted to protect a class of persons, including the victim, proves those two elements of negligence. All that the injured victim will have to prove is that the breach was the proximate or legal cause of their injuries.

Vicarious Liability

You may also be able to make a bicycle accident claim based on vicarious liability. Vicarious liability is the legal theory that allows bicycle accident victims to claim compensation from an employer based on their employee’s negligence.

To succeed on a claim based on vicarious liability, you must prove that the person whose actions caused their injury was:

• An employee of the employer they are making a claim against
• The employee was acting within the course and scope of their employment when the accident occurred.

If you’re in a bicycle accident involving a bus company, a taxi company, or other commercial vehicles, you may be able to sustain a claim based on vicarious liability.

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How Much Time Do I Have to Make a Claim?

Depending on the circumstances of your case, a successful claim may require extensive investigation and the input of different experts who will help to prove your claim.

Compensation for Bicycle Accidents

An experienced bicycle accident attorney can only give you an estimated value of your case based on their past experiences. No attorney can guarantee the exact value of compensation you will receive or promise you a large financial recovery. If an attorney does make guarantees and promises about the financial compensation you will receive, they may not be ethical or honest, and you should look for another attorney to handle your personal injury claim.

Every case is different, and several factors will determine the compensation you will receive, including:

• The specific facts of your accident and the severity of your injuries
• The legal theories on which your claim is based
• Any fault that may be apportioned to you for the accident

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case and the severity of your injuries, you may be entitled to compensation for both economic and non-economic losses from your injuries. 

Economic damages refer to the financial losses you incurred, and they are typically easy to quantify using evidence such as invoices and bills. Your economic losses could come from a physical injury sustained in the accident, or property damage caused by the accident. You could receive compensation:

• Medical bills
• Lost income
• Future medical expenses
• Bicycle repairs or replacement

You may also receive non-economic damages to cover your non-monetary losses, which must be given monetary value to make a claim. Examples of non-economic losses include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional pain
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disfigurement

In some cases, you may also receive punitive damages if the other party’s egregious negligence or wanton disregard for your safety caused you to suffer severe injuries.

Steps You Can Take to Secure Compensation After a Bike Crash

To recover compensation following a bicycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you need to take the following steps:

1. Seek medical treatment. You should seek medical attention at the scene of the bike accident or immediately afterward at an emergency care facility. Even if a bicycle accident injury does not seem severe, you need a complete medical evaluation as soon as possible. Some injuries may not show signs or symptoms until hours or even days after the accident occurs. By then, it may be too late to reverse the damage. Additionally, insurance carriers will closely scrutinize how quickly victims seek medical care. Any delay could result in the insurance company denying your claim.
2. Gather evidence. If you are able, you should collect evidence at the Denver bicycle accident scene. You can use a cell phone or another type of recording device. It is crucial to get as many photographs or video surveillance as possible. However, you should not gather evidence if you sustained injuries, and you may need to rely on someone else at the scene who can help gather this type of evidence.
3. Reach out to an attorney. It is crucial to speak to a skilled bicycle accident lawyer in Denver as soon as possible after the incident occurs. A lawyer can get involved and continue gathering evidence as they work to prove liability. Additionally, a bicycle accident attorney will handle all communication with the at-fault party and their insurance company so that you can focus on recovering.
4. Keep all documentation. Your attorney will collect various types of documentation that come in after the incident occurs, but you should maintain copies as well. This includes medical records, medical bills, property damage estimates, insurance carrier notifications, letters from the other party, and more. Additionally, you should also keep any proof of lost wages that occur as a result of the bicycle accident.
5. Continue medical treatment. Finally, it is not uncommon for individuals to stop their approved treatment plan when they begin to feel better. However, it is important to follow your doctor’s orders. This means continuing treatment until the doctor says that it is okay to stop. If you stop your medical treatment too soon, the insurance company can use that as a reason to delay or deny your claim.

Contact Our Denver Bicycle Accident Lawyers

Denver Bicycle Accident Lawyer, Keith Fuicelli

When bicycle accidents occur, they aren’t something to take lightly. The attorneys at Fuicelli & Lee are fully prepared to do all we can to help you recover the compensation you need to cover all your expenses and losses after an at-fault party caused you or a loved one serious injury in a Denver bike accident.

Fuicelli & Lee, PC – Denver Office

1731 Gilpin Street
Denver, CO 80218
P: (303) 444-4444