Manson Personal Injury Attorneys

Whether you were riding a bicycle when a car turned right into your path, are dealing with an insurance adjuster who seems friendly but is not on your side, or are wondering how an attorney actually increases the value of your claim, personal injury cases near Manson come with real complexity. The Manson personal injury attorneys at Walker, Billingsley & Bair want local residents to understand all three.

Proving Liability for a Car in a Right Turn Bicycle Accident

When a car turning right strikes a bicyclist, it is often referred to as a right hook accident. This commonly happens when a cyclist is riding on the right shoulder of the road or in the bike lane alongside a car. In these types of accidents, it is usually the driver's fault, but to prove they were liable for your injuries, you must present proper evidence of their negligence.

How Right Turn Bicycle Accidents Occur

The most common ways right turn bicycle accidents occur include when a bicyclist and a car approach an intersection and the car turns right, with the driver often failing to see the bicyclist until it is too late. Another common scenario is when a bicyclist goes to overtake a slower moving car and passes on the right, unintentionally putting himself in harm's way when the car turns right. A third common scenario happens when a bike and a car are waiting at a light, and when the signal allows traffic to move, the car turns right, cutting off or hitting the cyclist.

Liability for a Right Turn Bicycle Accident

To prove that the driver was primarily at fault for causing the right turn accident and not the cyclist, several types of evidence will be necessary. A police report will detail the accident scene and the events as described by the responding officer, including notes of any citations issued to the driver or the cyclist. Eyewitness accounts are perhaps the best type of evidence, since they can reveal what the bike and the car were doing prior to the collision.

A driver can be proven negligent and thus liable if he or she was speeding, failed to use a turn signal, or abruptly changed lanes. Likewise, if witnesses say the bicyclist was swerving between lanes, riding too close to vehicles, or ignoring a traffic control device, those negligent behaviors may be used as a defense by the driver. You may also want to see if anyone caught video or pictures of the accident scene near Manson, since many intersections have traffic cameras that could have captured the incident, and some nearby businesses could have surveillance cameras that caught the crash.

Why the Insurance Company Is Not Always on Your Side

Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, and they would rather collect premiums than pay claims. The insurance adjuster may be nice to you, but remember that the adjuster is not on your side, is under no obligation to help you, and is not even required under the law to tell you the truth. If you are dealing with an insurance adjuster directly instead of hiring an attorney, there are several things you should consider.

Recorded Statements and Prior Claims

You are generally not required to provide a recorded statement to the other party's insurance company. If they insist on taking a statement, you may want to agree to provide one but ask that it not be recorded. If you end up making a claim against your own insurance company, such as when the other driver does not have enough insurance, your own policy may require you to give a recorded statement, which carries the same weight as a deposition given under oath. Insurance companies also have access to databases containing claims history from across the country, so do not try to hide prior accidents or injuries, since being untruthful about prior claims raises a red flag that may hurt your case later.

Be Matter of Fact and Know Your Deadlines

Insurance adjusters handle hundreds of files every year and generally do not want to hear opinions or unrelated details about your life, and volunteering extra information can hurt your case. It is also a bad idea to get angry with an adjuster, since getting upset or making threats signals that you are easy to provoke, which can hurt you later in front of a judge or jury. You should also know how long you have to bring a claim, since under Iowa law it is generally two years from the date of injury, though there are exceptions.

Be Careful When Attempting to Settle on Your Own

If you are attempting to settle a case on your own, understand that you are likely giving up all rights to future compensation and medical care in exchange for a sum of money today. Make sure you understand all the terms, including who will pay your medical bills and how any subrogation, or reimbursement owed to your health insurer, will be handled.

How an Attorney Strengthens Your Case Value

When you have been injured near Manson, the insurance company's first offer rarely reflects the true value of your claim. Without proper legal representation, you could be leaving thousands of dollars on the table.

Getting the True Value of Your Claim

An Iowa personal injury attorney increases case value through several strategic actions, such as obtaining doctors' reports and medical opinions when necessary to prove causation between your injuries and the accident, and securing expert opinions on the cost of future medical care, since insurance adjusters often focus only on current medical bills and ignore the long-term financial impact of your injuries. Years of experience with similar Iowa injury cases allow an attorney to get a realistic sense of your case's worth once all the facts and medical opinions have been gathered, and to reject a lowball settlement that fails to account for all your losses.

Investigation and Avoiding Costly Mistakes

An attorney conducts a thorough investigation, gathering documentary evidence such as police accident reports, medical records, and bills, and hiring investigators when necessary to interview or locate witnesses and collect other evidence, such as photographs of the vehicle, bicycle, and accident scene. Your attorney also manages subrogation claims and reviews the validity of any liens asserted against your case. Perhaps most importantly, an attorney helps you avoid common mistakes that could cost you thousands of dollars, such as giving recorded statements to insurance adjusters, accepting quick settlement offers before understanding the full extent of your injuries, or missing important filing deadlines.