If you get injured in a bike share accident, you should promptly get medical attention and give a statement to the police if you are able but contact a bicycle accident lawyer before communicating with insurance companies or the bike share company.
Bike share services are an economical and convenient way to ride bikes for fun or exercise, but whether the bike you are riding belongs to you or to a bike share company, bicycles leave you vulnerable to serious injuries if you get into a collision with a car. Even if the car was not traveling very fast, and even if you were wearing a helmet, a car-on-bike collision could still leave you with medical bills that exceed the amount covered by the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. The good news is that, with enough patience and strategic decisions, you can get the various insurance companies to cover your accident-related losses; you probably will not need to pay all your medical bills out of pocket, nor will you have to sue the driver, who probably cannot afford your medical bills, anyway. The bad news is that doing this requires thorough knowledge of laws relating to negligence and insurance. Therefore, you should let a bicycle accident lawyer speak to the insurance companies on your behalf; these include liability insurance, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and personal injury protection. Contact a Ponca City bicycle accident lawyer if you have been injured in a collision when riding a bicycle you rented from a bike share company.
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SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY TODAYBeware of Arbitration Clauses
In most bicycle accidents, the fault belongs mostly to the driver whose car collided with the bike and to a lesser extent to the bicyclist who could have avoided the crash by using greater caution. Bicycle accidents are usually not the bike rider’s fault, so it does not matter if the bike belongs to you or to a bike share company. The only time a bike share company’s negligence contributes to a bicycle accident is if there was something wrong with the bike before the rider rented it, and the bike share company either failed to notice the problem or intentionally avoided notifying the rider of it. Many bike share rental agreements include arbitration clauses, stating that you must resolve disputes with the company about defective and dangerous bikes through arbitration instead of lawsuits. It is difficult for the customer to win in arbitration, so you need a bike accident lawyer.
Do You Really Waive Your Right to Sue a Bike Share Company by Signing a Rental Contract?
Many bike share rental agreements include clauses where, by renting the bike, you promise not to sue if the bike share company’s negligence leaves you with injuries or financial losses. Personal injury lawyers know that this is wishful thinking, and you cannot just wish away legal responsibilities by writing them into a contract. These provisions are often unenforceable, but you need a lawyer to help you persuade the court of that.
Contact BDIW Law About Bike Share Accidents
A bike accident lawyer can help you deal with insurance companies or the bike share company after an accident. Contact BDIW Law in Tulsa, Oklahoma or call (918) 728-6500.
