How Costly Are Bicycle Wrecks?
You might not think paying for a bicycle wreck is an inexpensive transaction. It’s true that the cost to repair the bike itself is fairly cheap. However, the truly expensive part of a bicycle wreck is not the hardware or the parts—it’s covering the personal injury that often occur. While cars can get into fender benders with each other and everyone can walk away unscathed, the simple mistake of a car running into a bicycle from behind can quickly take a person to the ground, causing a fatal or near fatal head injury.
Statistics on Bicycle Accidents to Consider
Many of the biggest cities in the United States have been consistently reporting bicycle collisions resulting in death or serious injury. According to 2010 statistics from Cycling Accidents, 17,000 cyclists are killed or injured in road accidents every year. While less than 200 are killed and less than 3,000 are in critical condition, the 14,414 other incidents are still alarming—considering how “safe” riding a bike may seem. Of course, it’s important to realize that all of these figures come to us from reported bicycle injury data. Quite frankly, it’s likely that there are many more incidents that are never reported to police. In addition, these figures do not take into account off-road injuries, and there are believed to be as many as THREE TIMES AS MANY incidents in this vein. Another sad fact to consider: one fifth of all injured cyclists are children, particularly the age group of 10-15, when children are old enough to not be supervised, but too young to understand how to drive with a defensive strategy.
Costly Crashes
What these statistics don’t tell you is how much the crashes cost. Unfortunately, when a bicyclist is involved in a crash, he or she is usually very seriously hurt. Bumps and bruises from a collision with a car are common but rarely the only injury. Common bicycle injuries include broken arms, broken legs, fractured spine, paralysis, brain injuries, even death. These types of serious injuries mean thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars in medical bills. Often they result in a lifetime of suffering because of one bad decision by a driver. Costly indeed.
Get Protected Today
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a bicycle crash, you need protection. Serious injuries require a serious lawyer who can fight for your rights and protect you from the insurance company and their team. At Dixon Law Office, we have been representing bicycle accident injury victims and their families for decades. We have made insurance companies pay for the harm they have caused, millions of dollars in some cases. Don’t try to fight this battle alone. Call 888-354-9880 right now or click here. An attorney is waiting for your call!
