Your whole life you’ve been prepared for things like car accidents. If you drive well, take precautions, and be smart, you can easily avoid any unfortunate incidents on the road. The same is true for a pedestrian. As a kid, you were always taught to look both ways, use crosswalk buttons, and all that good stuff, but most people forget how much care they need to put in while cycling.
Riding a bike isn’t hard, neither is being safe on a bike, but what is hard is to stop motorists from driving dangerously and putting you in harm. You can’t stop everyone from being neglectful about their driving habits with regards to others on the road, or the bike path in this case, but what you can do is be prepared in the unfortunate event of an accident. Here is what to do if you end up injured after a bike accident.
Call for Help
First and foremost, you want to call for help ASAP. Even if you’ve only sustained a few nicks or scratches, the first responders can come and evaluate any unseen injuries like a concussion, as well as tape off the scene to make it safe for everyone involved. YOu’ll need to stay there for a bit answering questions and exchanging details so you should have the trained professionals on the scene fast to make sure everything is under control.
Evaluate Any Damage or Injuries
Next, and as an additional part of the first point, you want to evaluate your condition, and possibly the motorist/other cyclists/pedestrian. Check for any apparent injuries like broken bones, deep cuts or gashes, and bleeding. You want to keep a lookout for sprains, which you’ll feel more than see, and check your emotional status. Even if you don’t get injured, you could go into shock because of the suddenness and scare of being hit, which is jarring to anyone. Make sure you are okay first and that you aren’t in any more harm post-accident.
Contact a Lawyer
You should also keep in mind that this is likely going to become a legal and insurance issue because of the nature of the event. This means you’ll want some legal representation, and fast. If you look at this website, you can see how you can quickly call an injury lawyer that will represent you in your case. The best-case scenario is getting a lawyer that specializes in bicycle accidents because they’ve seen quite a few of these incidents, which gives them preferential experience. In any case, you should get a lawyer to protect yourself following the accident so you aren’t incriminating yourself or doing anything against your best interest.
Take Photos and Evidence of You and Your Bike
If you’re in good enough condition that you won’t require serious or immediate medical attention, then you should find the time to take photos of the accident. Any kind of debris from your bike or the car, any strewn belongings, and blood or scrapes that you may have incurred, and any photographic evidence of the crime scene will help first responders, like the police, along with your lawyer and the insurance companies involved. Write down whatever seems relevant to the incident to make sure that you can corroborate your claims of what happened if you were the victim.
Exchange Relevant Information with Any Involved Parties
Just like a car accident, you also need to make sure that you get the right contact information from the other parties involved. You’ll swap contact info like phone numbers, email, etc. along with insurance details and the like. This is necessary for making a claim and will come in handy for your lawyer.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Lastly, you will need to contact your insurance company as well. This will be necessary to make a claim, but they will also likely send a claims adjustor to investigate the incident and determine if you are making a rightful claim and to corroborate all the info you’ve been provided and provided to your legal representation and the police. It’s a good idea to contact them as soon as possible.
Knowing what to do following an accident is as important as knowing how to prevent an accident in the first place. You can’t control the environment around you and make sure people don’t put you in harm’s way, but if you ever are involved in an accident on your bike, at least now you’ll have a better understanding of the process to follow.
