In El Dorado, many people decide to ride their bikes as a means of transportation around the city, and others ride their bicycles for exercising and sight-seeing. No matter your reasoning for riding a bike in Arkansas and around El Dorado, you likely expect to stay safe as you cycle from point A to point B. However, no matter how careful you are, sometimes drivers don’t want to share the road or aren’t paying attention to bicyclists.
When a driver is negligent and collides into you, causing you injuries and other damages, you could use the help of an El Dorado, AR bicycle accident lawyer from McMath Woods P.A. We’re here to ensure that the responsible party is held accountable for their actions and that your rights are protected. We’ll also fight to get you the compensation that you deserve for the damages you incurred.
Bike Laws in Arkansas
Before mounting your bicycle to ride around El Dorado, you should know the bicycle laws in place for Arkansas so you know you’re biking as safely as possible. They’re also helpful to know so you can recognize when a motorist isn’t following the rules that they have to abide by to keep bicyclists safe as well.
When you’ve been in a bicycle accident caused by a motorist, the first thing your lawyer will do is look into the situation to see if all parties involved were following the rules of the road pertaining to bicyclists. When one of these laws is broken, it could lead to your bicycle accident lawyer proving that the other party who broke the law is at fault for what happened.
According to Arkansas Code, here are the bike laws that bicyclists and motorists must follow:
- Bicyclists must ride on the right side of the road and cannot ride on the sidewalk.
- Bicyclists must follow all traffic signals and signs.
- Bicyclists must yield to traffic when they’re on larger roads.
- When changing lanes, bicyclists must yield to other drivers.
- Bicyclists are expected to use hand signals unless they need both of their hands on the handlebars.
- At night, bicycles must have a white headlight and red taillight. The red taillight can be replaced with a red reflector.
- Bicycle helmets are not required for adults or children.
- Motorists must maintain a safe distance when overtaking a cyclist.
- Motorists cannot open their car door when a bicyclist is approaching.
There are many other violations that motorists can get for breaking the law while driving near bicyclists, but the two listed are the most applicable to cyclists specifically. If the driver of a motor vehicle breaks the rules of the road and strikes you when you are following all of the bicycle safety laws, then you could take legal action against them.
One of our El Dorado, AR bicycle accident lawyers is here to help you get compensation for the injuries and other damages that you’ve suffered at the hands of a negligent driver. You shouldn’t have to pay for the bills that they’ve caused you. We will fight to prove they were at fault so that you can recover financially from their wrongdoing.
Injuries Suffered by Bicyclists in Collisions
Whether you were driven off the side of the road by a motorist, struck by a door opening as you were approaching, or hit and thrown from your bicycle as you were riding alongside the right shoulder, you likely suffered serious injuries from being hit. You could incur even more harm if you were thrown from your bike and hit or skid along the ground.
As a cyclist, you are more vulnerable on your bike because you don’t have metal shielding you from the outside world. That’s why your injuries can be so deadly when you’re involved in an accident with a larger, heavier vehicle. The force that they have when they strike you can also be a major cause of serious damages.
Here are some of the most common injuries that are seen after a bicycle accident:
- Cuts and bruises
- Soft tissue injuries
- Fractures
- Internal organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Burns
- Road rash
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
Some of these injuries can have life-long effects for the victim of the collision. When damages like this cause a person to need medical care for the rest of their lives, or if they are unable to return to work indefinitely, this can put their financial situation at stake. With piling bills and no way to pay for them, they might not know what to do next.
That’s where an El Dorado, AR bicycle accident lawyer comes in to help. We understand that your main focus right now is recovering from your physical and emotional injuries from the accident. However, you also need to think about finances, which is why we will handle the legal proceedings to get you the compensation you deserve.
We Support Injured Bicyclists of El Dorado
When you’ve been injured in a bike wreck in El Dorado, you might be dealing with the medical bills, repair costs, lost wages, and many other bills that come with trying to heal from such a serious collision. Not only are you trying to heal, but you also might be wondering where the money will come from to pay for all of these new, piling bills on top of everyday costs of living.
If the crash wasn’t your fault, then you shouldn’t have to worry about paying for the damages caused by it. At McMath Woods P.A., our El Dorado bicycle accident attorneys are here to help you recover the damages that you deserve from the party responsible for your collision. We’ll investigate what happened, prove negligence, and calculate full and fair compensation so that you can get what you’re owed and not settle for less than you deserve.
Reach out to us today so we can get started on your claim.
