Ylla | Gosney represents bicycle accident victims in Choctaw. With many miles of bike trails, lanes, and paths in Ouachita National Forest, Choctaw features some of the most exciting biking experiences for kids, beginners, and advanced bike riders.
Unfortunately, this outdoor activity comes with risk of injury, especially when others are careless around cyclists. Many Choctaw residents are involved in bicycle accidents every year, often leaving them with life-altering injuries and endless medical bills.
At Ylla | Gosney, our team of Bicycle Accident Attorneys have the legal resources to build a strong case on your behalf, and ensure you receive maximum compensation for all the damage done to your life after a bicycle accident injury. Don’t wait until it’s too late to take legal action. Contact us today for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation and protect your right to compensation.
Do I Need a Lawyer for a Bicycle Accident?
If you’ve only suffered minor scrapes and bruises from your bicycle accident, then you most likely will not need a lawyer. However, bicycle accidents don’t usually result in minor injuries.
Bicycle accident victims typically need extensive medical treatment, lose the ability to work, and suffer long-term health complications as a result of a serious accident. Despite these facts, insurance companies will still attempt to reduce or deny compensation owed to injured bicycle accident victims. Fortunately, a lawyer can protect you from being taken advantage of and protect your rights.
At Ylla Gosney, we stand up for cyclists’ rights in Choctaw. Our Bicycle Accident Attorneys are skilled at managing insurance companies, protecting victims from liability, and ensuring they are fully compensated for the following damages:
- Special Damages: medical bills, ongoing treatment, costs that accumulate when you’re unable to work, like rent or mortgage payments
- General Damages: these are non-economic hardships like pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, mental trauma
- Wrongful Death Damages: these damages may be sought by a spouse or close relative for funeral arrangements, burial expenses, and medical treatment before a loved one’s death
- Punitive Damages: these damages are rare, but if the driver engaged in reckless driving with the intention of hurting you, then you could sue for punitive damages
Ylla | Gosney Legal Services for Choctaw Bicycle Injury Victims
Bicycle injuries can happen anywhere. They can happen while you’re riding on the sidewalk, crossing the street, or riding one of many outdoor Choctaw bike trails. And in a single second, an injury caused by another’s careless actions can alter the course of your life, subjecting you to extensive medical treatment, loss of income, or even permanent disability. These are costly life changes that most people are not prepared to face alone.
That’s why, at Ylla | Gosney, we offer the following services for bicycle injury victims in Choctaw, Oklahoma, to protect their physical and financial futures after suffering an injury:
- Investigate and determine wrongdoing or recklessness: personal injury accidents are complicated due to the number of victims and liable parties that may be involved. Typically, there will be several people to get statements from, and some parties may only be discussing their involvement through their attorneys. Ylla Gosney can help manage this quickly and efficiently.
- Collect and preserve key evidence: Street cameras, dash cams, security footage, ring cameras, and witness statements are all key points of evidence for your case. Our team of personal injury attorneys will take the proper legal steps to obtain crucial information and strengthen your personal injury case.
- Communicate with insurance companies and other attorneys: It is recommended to have an attorney speak to the insurance adjusters on your behalf. Oftentimes, insurance companies will attempt to trick you into taking part of the blame or get you to say something that hurts your claim. Our attorneys can protect you from liability and ensure your right to fair compensation.
- Prove liability: With several parties potentially being involved in a personal injury accident, any number of them could have caused or contributed to the incident. This makes determining and proving liability challenging. The attorneys at Ylla Gosney will assign a team of investigators and accident reconstruction specialists to determine the cause of your injuries, identify all liable parties, and hold those responsible for compensating you for your damages.
Statute of Limitations for Filing a Bicycle Accident Claim in Choctaw
According to Oklahoma Statute 12-95, injured victims have two years from the date of injury. This law allows injured bicycle accident victims two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit to recover compensation for their injuries. However, there are exceptions to the two-year limitations. For example, if you suffered a head injury, but did not experience any health issues until years later, then your two-year period would begin from the day you found out about your health complications.
Statute of Limitations for Bicycle Accidents Involving Children in Choctaw
According to Oklahoma Statute 12-98, children have two years from the day they turn 18 years old to file a personal injury claim. So, if a child is injured in a bicycle accident in Choctaw, Oklahoma, when they’re 13 years old, they have until they turn 20 to file their own personal injury claim. If the parents want to file the claim on behalf of their child, then they have two years from the day the accident occurred to file a personal injury claim.
Oklahoma Bicycle Safety Code
Many bicyclists in Choctaw ride their bike for fun, good exercise, or to get from place to place. However, sharing the road with motorists can increase the risk of injury for bicyclists. According to Brookhaven National Laboratory for Safety and Health Services, about 800 people lose their lives in fatal bicycle accidents every year, with one-fourth of those victims being children between the ages of 5 and 14.
The state of Oklahoma has designed specific rules to keep bicyclists safe, as well as to make motorists aware of bicyclists’ rights to the road:
- Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all the rights and shall be subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by the laws of this State and the traffic provisions of this Code applicable to the driver of a vehicle.
- Cyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic.
- Cyclists must ride as close to the right-hand side of the roadway as is safely possible. An exception is when using a road designated and marked as a bicycle route, where cyclists can use the entire right-most lane.
- Cyclists can pass other cyclists and vehicles traveling in the same direction when safe to do so.
- Cyclists can’t ride on sidewalks within business districts.
How to Strengthen Your Bicycle Accident Claim
If you suffer a bicycle accident injury, seek medical attention immediately. Nothing is more important than your health. After you get medical care, it is recommended to:
- Report the injury to Choctaw Police: failing to report an accident can be detrimental to your claim. A police report should be filed, even if you believe you’re fine after the accident. A report will not only place liability on the responsible party, but it will serve as evidence if you decide to take legal action.
- Take your own photos of the scene and get witness statements. Photos, videos, and witness statements can help you establish a strong case so that your compensation cannot be denied by the insurance company. Irefutable evidence works in your favor in case someone changes their story or the insurance company tries to claim you were at fault.
- Follow up on your injuries with a doctor. Any injuries you’ve sustained from your accident will become a part of your case, and you will need a doctor to corroborate your injuries.
- Contact Ylla and Gosney, Attorneys at Law to protect your rights to compensation. Most accident victims find themselves overwhelmed by the incident and fail to realize the enormous impact a serious injury can have on their lives. Our experienced attorneys can help you understand your options and get you the compensation you need to make a full recovery.
Contact Ylla Gosney, Attorneys at Law
If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident in Choctaw due to a careless driver or hazardous condition, the Bicycle Accident Attorneys at Ylla and Gosney can help. On the road, cyclists are offered practically no protection from serious hazards, making them far more likely to be seriously injured in an accident, or in worst cases, killed. That’s why having the legal guidance of one of our Bicycle Accident Attorneys on your side is vital to your physical and financial recovery after being injured in an untimely accident.
Our firm will aggressively pursue liable parties to recover the maximum amount of damages you’re owed, as well as connect you to immediate medical resources. Don’t wait until it’s too late to take legal action. Contact Ylla and Gosney today to begin your free initial consultation and get the expert legal help you need.