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Milwaukee, WI Bicycle Accident Attorney

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT), on average, more than 1,087 bicyclists are involved in crashes annually. Out of those crashes, about nine people are killed and 1,036 are injured. Most, if not all, of those crashes could have been prevented had the proper precautions been taken. Most bicycle accidents are caused by negligent motor vehicle drivers.

If you have suffered an injury from a bicycle crash involving a motor vehicle accident, contact our Milwaukee bike accident attorneys at Cannon & Dunphy S.C. for a free consultation. Our bicycle accident lawyers will help you receive the compensation you are entitled to, and guide you through the legal process, from start to end.

Cannon & Dunphy Advocates for Injured Bicyclists in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Bicycle Accident Laws

In Wisconsin, bicycles are considered vehicles, and they are required to obey all rules of the road like other vehicles. Bicyclists must stop at stop signs and red lights, ride with (not against) traffic, and they must signal when turning. Automobiles are required to treat bicycles as other vehicles on the road. They are not permitted to pass bicycles when it is unsafe to do so, and they must yield to bicyclists’ right of way.

Bicyclists can ride defensively and watch for potential motorist errors, but they can only control the way that they ride. It is impossible for cyclists to anticipate and prevent every accident. Even if a bicyclist is partially at fault for an accident, he or she is not necessarily barred from seeking compensation under Wisconsin’s comparative fault laws.

Comparative Negligence & Milwaukee Bicycle Accidents

If you made a mistake while biking and violated a traffic law, you should not assume that you do not have a claim for your injuries and damages. You are permitted to pursue a personal injury claim in Wisconsin so long as you were not more than 50 percent at fault for the accident. If your case does not settle before trial, fault will be allocated to each party at trial, and your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.

Bicycle accidents frequently involve children on bicycles. Comparative negligence laws apply in children’s bicycle accident cases as well. When drivers are not paying close attention to their surroundings, they often fail to see small children on bicycles. Drivers have a duty to avoid accidents when possible. Suppose a child fails to notice a driver backing out of a driveway or a child overshoots a stop sign resulting in an accident. In that case, you may still be able to recover compensation from the driver if your child was less than 51 percent at fault for the accident.

Common Causes of Bicycle Accidents 

One of the most common causes of bicycle accidents is driver inattention, also known as distracted driving. When a driver is focused on anything but driving, that is distracted driving, and it can be deadly. Cell phone use, texting, and changing music are examples of common driver distractions that can lead to bicycle accidents.

Other regular causes of bicycle accidents include intoxicated driving, ignoring stop signs and traffic signals, and passing too closely. Accidents sometimes occur when drivers fail to see bicycles, often when backing up, failing to check blind spots before lane changes, and driving over the speed limit.

Bicycle Accident Injuries

legs of man in bike shorts riding bicycle

 

What Compensation is Available After a Bicycle Accident?

Working with a Wisconsin bicycle accident lawyer after your bicycle crash, you may be entitled to compensation for accident-related expenses like:

Wrongful Death Claims

When bicycle accidents are fatal, family members may have a wrongful death claim for compensation against the driver who caused the accident. Financial recovery for surviving family members may include loss of the decedent’s financial support, loss of society and companionship, and loss of the value of the decedent’s household services.

A survival action is another legal cause of action that arises out of a wrongful death event. Survival actions are brought by the personal representative to compensate the estate for the decedent’s losses.

Compensation under a survival action might be available if the decedent lived long enough after the accident to incur losses. The decedent’s recoverable losses may include pain and suffering, medical bills, lost income, and loss of earning capacity.

How Can a Wisconsin Bicycle Accident Lawyer Help?

contact our Milwaukee bicycle accident lawyers today

Call Our Milwaukee Bicycle Accident Lawyers Today

Fill out a free case evaluation form to find out if you could be entitled to financial compensation.

Cannon & Dunphy S.C. is the premier plaintiff’s injury and wrongful death law firm in the state of Wisconsin. We have won more $10 million and more verdicts and settlements than any other firm in the state. We’ve also been rated among the “Best Lawyers” and “Best Law Firms” in America by U.S. News.

The Milwaukee personal injury attorneys that comprise our firm come from a longstanding legacy of legal giants. In fact, our firm has a 100-year family history of lawyers. Trial law is our legacy, and we take it seriously. If you were injured in this type of accident, you can be confident entrusting your case to our firm.

Injured in a bicycle accident? Call our firm at (262) 782-2700 today!

 

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