Car-Pedestrian & Bicycle Accidents

Have You Been Injured Due to Negligence in a Dallas Bicycle Accident or a Pedestrian Accident in Texas?

Suffering an injury while riding a bike or while crossing the street can result in immense physical pain, emotional trauma, and costly medical expenses.

Since such accidents often occur between a car and a bicyclist or a pedestrian, the lack of comparative safety features often results in severe injury, or even death, to the cyclist or walker. Fatal accidents on Katy Trail in Dallas and other highly-trafficked biking and pedestrian trails in the Metroplex area are cause for concern. Injured pedestrians or hurt bicyclists may have legal recourse to recoup their incurred financial losses as a result of a bicycle wreck or pedestrian accident through a personal injury lawsuit. Additionally, family members of those killed in pedestrian collisions or bicycle accidents may seek compensation for their loss through a wrongful death lawsuit. In addition to the compensation that can be awarded as a result of a successful civil suit, a plaintiff in such cases will also be working toward holding the negligent parties accountable for their behavior so that future injurious or fatal accidents do not have to adversely affect another person or family. With two decades of practice in personal injury cases and wrongful death cases in the DFW area, Dallas bicycle accident attorney Michael Grossman can help you through this time to seek compensation and justice against a liable party.

Who’s At Fault?

The first issue that must be properly assessed in any personal injury or wrongful death case is liability, or who was responsible for the accident causing injury or death. Contrary to popular belief, bicyclists do not have the right-of-way on a Texas roadway by default. Texas law in regards to right-of-way can often be complex and highly contextualized, and an experienced defense attorney will attempt to utilize these laws to their client’s benefit. With our past experience, we can help litigate such cases based on the facts of the case and the rules of the law, working against a defense lawyer’s arguments by providing relevant evidence obtained through a thorough investigation.

How Many Liable Parties Are There?

Furthermore, due to the many ways in which pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents can happen in Texas, there may be multiple defendants who may bear portions of liability for the accident. For example, drunk driving accidents that kill pedestrians may have the driver as a defendant, as well as a negligent alcohol-serving establishment if the driver had been served past intoxication at that bar or restaurant before the drunk driving pedestrian accident occurred. As another example, an 18-wheeler that strikes a bicyclist would likely include the driver as a defendant, in addition to the driver’s employer. In such instances, enlisting the help of an experienced and well-rounded Dallas personal injury attorney can assist in bringing all liable parties to justice. Fort Worth personal injury lawyer Michael Grossman has two decades of experience in drunk driving cases in Texas, 18-wheeler accidents in DFW, as well as wrongful death and personal injury law in Texas.

Seeking Legal Action Through a Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you’ve been injured in a bike wreck or have suffered an injury due to a pedestrian accident, you have likely suffered some type of financial loss. The goal of a Dallas personal injury lawsuit is so that an injured victim can seek compensation from a liable party or parties for their incurred financial losses, also known as damages. In such instances, the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff, which means that the plaintiff must pursue legal action in order to compel a defendant to award them compensation, and then must be able to prove that the defendant’s negligence caused or contributed to their injury, thus causing an economic loss. Such damages can include medical bills, lost wages due to time of from work, pain and suffering, and other types of financial losses incurred as a result of a bicycle injury.

Furthermore, three aspects must exist in order for an injured pedestrian or bicyclist to bring a legitimate personal injury lawsuit against a negligent party: liability, damages, and solvency. Liability refers to the negligent actions of the party or parties responsible for causing or contributing to the accident. Liability is assessed when a defendant has violated a legal duty against the plaintiff. Such a legal duty must be proven to have existed between the two parties, and it must be shown how that legal duty was violated by the defendant, resulting in the plaintiff’s injury. Damages refers to the financial losses incurred as a result of an injury, i.e. medical bills, property damage costs, lost wages, etc. Solvency refers to the financial means of the defendant. If a defendant is insolvent, then they will not have the financial means to provide compensation to an injured plaintiff. However, some defense attorneys will attempt to claim that their clients are insolvent so that a personal injury lawsuit will not be pursued. When Grossman Law Offices is hired to investigate a Dallas bicycle accident or a Fort Worth pedestrian accident, we make sure to perform a financial check on any defendant in order to assess their solvency. Without liability, damages, and solvency, a personal injury lawsuit cannot proceed.

Seeking Legal Action Through a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

While there are some similarities to personal injury claims, there are specific differences in terms of the damages that can be sought through a wrongful death claim. Since the victim cannot seek damages for their own injury, Texas wrongful death law allows a family member to essentially stand in place of their lost loved one in order to seek survival damages. These types of damages can be sought by a spouse, child, parent, or sibling, in that order. Survival damages can include medical bills incurred by the decedent prior to death, lost wages of the decedent, lost earning potential, the decedent’s pain and suffering, or their emotional trauma. Some of these damages are calculated as if the victim had survived the fatal bicycle accident or fatal pedestrian accident in Dallas. Wrongful death damages can also be sought by the family members who have lost a loved one due to a fatal DFW bicycle wreck. These types of damages refer to the financial losses incurred by the family members (as opposed to the decedent) as a result of their personal loss. These damages can include compensation for pain and suffering, funeral expenses, medical bills, and loss of financial support.

Calculating such damages requires a certain amount of experience since many of these types of financial losses can often be quite subjective. With 20 years of experience in wrongful death cases in Dallas and throughout Texas, pedestrian accident attorney Michael Grossman knows how to correctly calculate wrongful death damages so that a bereaved family can stand to be properly compensated.

Do I Need the Help of a Dallas Accident Attorney?

As damages are often quite high in pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents, the attorneys and insurance adjusters sent to work the claims or cases started by such an accident are often well-trained. They will often work toward helping their client become exonerated from blame for an accident. For instance, insurance adjusters will employ certain tactics to cast as much blame as possible onto any other possible liable entities at the accident site. If fault for a bike accident or a pedestrian accident in Fort Worth can be shown to have been caused by the victim’s actions, then the insurance company could stand to save a sizable sum. With two decades of experience in dealing with these types of insurance adjusters, we’re accustomed to their tactics. When hired, we become the entity that deals with such an insurer on your behalf, meaning that they won’t be allowed to take advantage of you in any way.

Additionally, defense attorneys hired to protect an insurance company’s assets or a liable party’s assets will often be well-trained to defend their client’s interests, especially if it could result in a sizable payday for themselves. Our goal is to seek compensation on your behalf because we understand that such compensation can help you in the recovery process. Furthermore, proper compensation is often necessary in the event of a fatal pedestrian accident that claims the life of a primary wage-earner for a family.

If you’ve been injured in a bicycle accident or have lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, you may be able to seek compensation for your injury or loss through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. However, seeking legal action without the help of an experienced Dallas personal injury attorney can often lead to a frustrating process resulting in little to no compensation. Grossman Law Offices offers a free legal consultation at 1-855-326-0000 (toll-free) where you can receive answers to your questions and learn about your possible legal options in order to pursue compensation for a bicycle wreck or a pedestrian accident in Dallas.