How to Deal with Insurance Companies After a Bicycle Accident

After a bicycle accident, the insurance companies of any parties responsible for the incident could cover your losses. How you deal with these companies may determine the compensation you receive for your medical bills, bike repair costs, and other economic and non-economic damages.

Below are tips to help you deal with insurance companies after a bike accident and boost your chances of getting fair compensation for your losses from the incident.

Take Care of Yourself

Go to a doctor, even if you’re unsure about whether you were injured in your cycling accident. Your doctor can perform an evaluation, and if you’re hurt, treat your injuries. Tell your doctor that you were injured in a bike accident, and they can include this information in your medical records.

Keep your damaged bike, helmet, and other evidence from your bike accident. Along with this, if anyone saw the incident, reach out to them, since they could provide witness statements describing what they saw that may have led to the incident.

Report your accident to the police. Afterward, the police can put together a report that details your accident. This report could serve as evidence in your case against any parties responsible for your accident.

Build Your Collection of Evidence

Gather medical records, witness statements, accident scene photos, and other evidence to support your insurance claim.

In some instances, you may be able to obtain traffic camera footage of your bike accident, which can be used as evidence. To retrieve this footage, you may have to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the government agency that operates the camera.

Alternatively, if a business has a surveillance camera that may have captured your accident, you may send a preservation letter to ask that the company keep this video footage intact for your claim.

Don’t Talk to Insurance Companies

If an insurance company contacts you, you may not want to say anything. Because if you talk about your bike accident, what you say to an insurance company could be used against you and hurt your chances of receiving compensation for your losses from the incident.

Have a personal injury lawyer with relevant bike accident case experience communicate with insurance companies on your behalf. For example, a Springfield bicycle accident lawyer can discuss your case with insurers for you. They may negotiate an insurance settlement. If a settlement offer is made, you can review it with your attorney before you decide on it.

Be Prepared for Claim Delays or a Denial

Try to remain calm if you file a bike accident insurance claim that’s ultimately delayed or denied. Insurance companies may allocate time and resources to find ways to contest your claim or offer less than what you feel is reasonable. But remember, if your claim is unsuccessful, you maintain the right to sue anyone at fault for your cycling accident for compensatory damages.

If you want to file a bicycle accident lawsuit, it helps to have a personal injury attorney with a track record of success in cases similar to yours on your side. Your lawyer can explain what a lawsuit entails and, if warranted, file one for you in alignment with Illinois law.

Per 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS)/13-202, the statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits is two years. Based on this, you may have up to two years from the date of your cycling accident to sue any liable parties for damages.