Auto Accidents and the Law

With so many serious bicycle accidents right here in Boulder, Colorado it is always a good idea to review the basic safety rules. The following has been republished from the City of Boulder website.

Safety Tips For Bicycles and Road Rules

Put a lid on it
Always wear a helmet. Bicycle helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent. Three out of four bicycling deaths are caused by head injury.

Lighten up and dress appropriately
And we don’t mean stick to this season’s hot colors. Wear light colored clothes/reflective wear at night. A headlight mounted to your handlebars and a rear reflector are required.

Check out cars
And not just for attractive drivers! Make eye contact with drivers. Assume they don’t see you. Try to keep a car door width away from parked cars when riding on the street.

Falling is not fun
Be aware of changing road conditions. Make turns and stops gradually on loose or slippery surfaces, or when riding in the rain. Slow down on unfamiliar streets. Be cautious when riding at sunrise or sunset. Watch your balance when riding in a crosswind and be sure to cross railroad tracks perpendicularly to prevent catching a wheel and falling.

“On your left”
Be courteous. Slower moving traffic should stay to the right on streets or paths. Give an audible signal when you pass a pedestrian or someone traveling more slowly than you are and maintain a safe passing distance.

Leave room for right-turning vehicles when stopped at a red light. Look behind you to see if a driver is signaling and move your bike to the left if necessary.

Turn it green
Bicycles can be detected by traffic signals. Stop with your wheels on the center line of the double loop or on the white lines of the bicycle marking in the appropriate lane, and the signal should detect you.

This ain’t the Tour de France
The speed limit on multi-use paths in the City of Boulder is 15 mph unless posted otherwise, which means that there is a reason to take it a little slower.

Road Rules

NEW Bicycle Safety Act

This law went into effect on August 5, 2009. It is geared to improve road safety for both bicyclists and motorists.

Here’s what this new law will mean to you while biking or driving.

3 Feet: Enjoy a little breathing room 
Bicyclists get at least 3 feet of space when vehicles pass. To help give you 3 feet, motorists can cross a center line when clear to pass you safely.

Riding with friends
Two bicyclists may ride side-by-side when clear but please move to single-file to allow other vehicles to pass.

Be safe, be seen
Ride as far right as is safe. But that doesn’t mean you have to ride in the gutter – riding in the right half of the lane often is the safest and most visible spot.

Go with the flow
Your choice – bicyclists can ride to the far right or far left on a one-way street. Remember, still no riding upstream – ride in the same direction as traffic.

Keep traffic moving
Enjoy more freedom to safely pass a bicyclist by crossing the center line only when safe to do so. If not clear, simply ease up and wait for the next safe opportunity. By keeping three feet passing distance, you create a safer environment on the road.

Bicyclists easier to see
One of the challenges drivers face is not seeing a bicyclist on the road or seeing them at the last second without time to react. The new law allows bicyclists to ride where motorists are already looking so that you may adjust sooner and more safely.

Road is open for the public
Yes, bicycles are legal on public roads. Please treat everyone on the road with respect. It is illegal to swerve at, buzz, or throw things at bicyclists.

Pass other cars when safe
Before passing another car, first check that there are no bicyclists in the oncoming lane. This keeps you and the driver you are passing safe.

This information has been republished by Mann & Maximon Attorneys at Law. Stuart Mann and Josh Maximon are winning Bicycle Accident Lawyers. They practice Bicycle Accident Law in Boulder and serving Broomfield, Denver, Englewood and all of Colorado.

Author: John Peterson -

An individual involved in an auto accident and who experiences injury as a result can easily claim compensation for those injuries assuming that they were not at fault with regard to the accident. In those conditions, the sufferer can be permitted to claim settlement for virtually any damage to her / his car.

The compensation that can be claimed does depend to a large level around the actual injuries experienced nevertheless there are a few general principles that apply to almost all cases.

Any sufferer can easily claim for virtually any injuries that are caused by the car accident. Including any kind of professional medical and specialist costs which occur along with treatment costs. In the event the injury is severe enough to cause time off work, the victim may also claim for present and future income, although this of course depends on the degree of the injuries suffered and the timeframe they’re away from work.

In most instances the amount of compensation likely to be received depends on the steps undertaken in the first minutes and hours following the incident as well as in the days following it.

Motor vehicle collisions

Though car safety is improving all the time, automobile accidents remain probably the most frequent reason for people suffering personal injury. Around 70% of most injury claims are due to road accidents.

A large number of collisions take place as a result of negligence on the part of one of the drivers. They might have been on his or her mobile phone, traveling too fast, not been at a acceptable distance at the rear of the driver in front or just a general insufficient care taken while in control of a vehicle. When the other driver is at fault for the accident, and, ideally, they are covered by insurance, it is going to boost your probability of receiving compensation sooner rather than later.

There are various aspects which occasionally help to create a road traffic accident or can determine the degree of seriousness. Often a collision comes about through poor driving on the part of at least one of the motorists involved even though other elements for example poor state of roads, potholes etc as well as other factors such as poor visibility may play a part, if driver fault is a problem in any way, then an injured party are able to make a claim for personal injuries as well as other losses suffered as a result.

Forms of injury

These can fluctuate widely from very minor whiplash-type injuries which may only just be noticeable along with other soft tissue injuries to extremely serious head traumas and spinal traumas. Whiplash by itself can be very minor or more severe depending on the sort of impact as well as the location of the head at the moment.

The most frequent symptom of whiplash can be described as a painful sensation in the neck, though this may pass on down the arm and may even involve prickling and numbness. It is perhaps more common as a phrase these days because of the compulsory use of seatbelts since they are effective at protecting against serious injury though they certainly place more strain on the neck during the moment of impact.

Steps to take

Attempt to take down the other car’s make, model and registration number. Problems may appear if the other driver provides a fake address or other inaccurate details, so if possible our advice is to write down as many details of the other vehicle as you can. Problems associated with a different kind occur when the other driver isn’t covered by insurance.

If you are unlucky enough to be in an automobile accident with an uninsured motorist, it doesn’t immediately mean that you will end up being out of pocket, however the process is far from straightforward and it is quite complicated. The Motor Insurers Bureau was set up to be able to compensate drivers involved in incidents with uninsured drivers however it inevitably creates a extended and complicated procedure and also the innocent driver has to make a formal complaint to the police.

Also, at the particular scene, as well as writing down the model, make and registration number of the other vehicle in the accident. Try and be sure you have various other details such as for the other motorist, the names and addresses of any witnesses to the incident, in addition to info on the accident too. Thus details necessary are where the accident took place, what time of day it was, the condition of the road at the time etc. Also, if at all possible take any photographs, with a camera or even a mobile phone, in order to accurately demonstrate the accident scene.

In the event the car is in need of repair, contact your insurance provider who’ll inform you of a garage to get in contact with concerning the vehicle repairs. You will need to pay out the excess though when there is no dispute concerning the other driver being the cause of the incident, then your insurance company will compensate the excess. In the event the accident is your fault then it will unavoidably have an effect on your monthly premiums, your excess and your no-claims bonus.

Damages

Damages or injuries that can be anticipated to be obtained due to any sort of accident can be divided into two separate categories; general and special damages.

Special damages are those which can be easily kept a record of, they’re easily quantifiable. Loss of income fall into this group since the exact amount that a person obtains as a wage every month is well recorded. This group additionally covers such items as taxi cab costs back and forth from hospital, any special care that has needed to be paid for whilst recuperating at home and any clothing that have been ruined from the accident. For unique damages you should try to keep track of expenditures paid for which can be blamed on the accident and receipts need to be kept so that once the times comes, the unique damages may be calculated accurately.

Common damages are more difficult to quantify because these can not be precisely calculated. They have to be assessed and depend in certain parts on how the person rejuvinates from their injuries. An evaluation has to be made on such issues because the pain and suffering that have been experienced along with others for example loss of income, and the effects that the injury has had about the victim’s general way of life. To evaluate general damages the courts think it is necessary to look at previous cases to try to get some guidance in regards to what figure to award.

The Judicial Studies Board, which advises most judges throughout England and Wales issues rules for the assessment of general damages in car accident compensation.

Additionally, in those cases where there is a genuine risk with the victim developing a severe disease or that their condition will significantly deteriorate in the future due to the injuries sustained in the accident then the court provides solutions aside from the usual one-off payment. It can now look once again on the question of damages on 2 instances though this is a rarity and only applies in limited cases. Courts also now have a choice to award regular payments, though this is only likely to be a possibility in larger cases and particularly when the injured person is a minor. They are authorized in such instances as they possibly can provide a particular degree of earnings for the rest of the injured person’s life.

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This article has been republished by Mann & Maximon Attorneys at Law experts in Auto Accident Law and Litigation.  Stuart Mann and Josh Maximon practice in Boulder, CO and serve the Entire State of Colorado including Boulder, Broomfield, Denver and the Front Range.

When Should You Hire An Auto Accident Attorney?

Author: Kathleen Chester

Being involved in an accident is a stressful situation. Emotional and mental injuries take time to heal and last months after the accident. What you can avoid immediately is financial stress related to the accident. It basically refers to the losses incurred during the crash. Damages to the vehicles and to the passengers are sometime irreparable or require a lot of money to reinstate. In such situations the victims should take the help of an auto accident attorney.

Hiring a lawyer has loads of benefits. While on one hand s/he will negotiate for the compensation amount you deserve, on the other, s/he will fight for your cause and bring you justice. However, all these tasks are not easy as they seem. Do not try to handle vehicle accident cases yourself; you will only end up complicating the matter further. Instead, it will be wiser to contact an auto accident attorney as soon as such an unfortunate incident occurs.

It is advised that you should let an auto accident attorney handle all the aspects of the crash right from the beginning. This will help them to assess the importance of the case in a better way. They will also be able to correctly gauge the extent of the damages caused. Moreover, car accident cases are complicated. There are various critical clauses of the Law related to such cases, which you are unaware of. Handling vehicle crash cases yourself might therefore lower your chances of winning or getting a feasible compensation.

There are loads of tasks that you need to do before taking the case to the court of law. From gathering important documents from the police and the doctors to identifying and interviewing the eye-witnesses – all tasks are tedious and critical. Only an experienced attorney is well-trained to make proper preparations for winning the case in your favor. Moreover, reputed lawyers have the experience of dealing with insurance companies and opposite parties. They will be able to negotiate well with them.

There is another situation that calls for the immediate attention of an auto accident attorney – when both the drivers are responsible for the collision. In such a situation only an experienced auto accident attorney will be able to access the percentage of negligence on the part of each of the driver. Accordingly the compensation money will also be decided.

So, you can see that different situations might occur during a case of vehicle accident which should only be handled by an experienced auto accident attorney.

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Have you met a serious auto accident and received severe injuries due to the negligence of other person, you can put your claim for compensation for your injuries with the help of an auto accident attorney. Similarly, if you have caused a car injury to someone, you can protect yourself by hiring the services of experienced car accident attorneys. Often people do not consider hiring the services of an accident lawyer, even if they meet a serious car accident. This is because they get confused about the happenings or do have enough awareness about their rights to compensation or they think themselves guilty of causing a serious injury to someone. However, let me tell you this is not the case as you can have things in your favor whatever be the conditions if you approach a good auto accident attorney. This article is trying to answer your query “Do I Need an Attorney for my Auto Accident?”

After a serious car accident, you may be in shock about the damage caused to the people involved in the accident or to the car or you may be worried about your loved ones in the car. The only things you might not be thinking about after that wreck is approaching an accident lawyer. However, car accident attorneys can help you get the maximum claim for your car injuries. When serious injuries are involved, contacting an auto accident attorney is must to get the automobile accident settlement that you deserve. You must understand that the job of any insurance company investigator and adjuster is to try to minimize the insurance company’s exposure and hence the compensation paid for your injuries. This is why you must contact car accident attorneys before you sign any paper for insurance company. These attorneys know well what to do in favor of their clients and help them obtain maximum compensation.

Having a lawyer on your side will send the signals to other party that you better understand your rights and can demand for more and they will agree to have a better settlement with you to get themselves free out of the mess they have caused.

Are you feeling harassed by Insurance Company?

If you feel that insurance company is not behaving right with you, you should definitely contact an accident lawyer.  It they are rushing you to sign papers or they are not answering your phone calls in satisfactory manner, your lawyer can help you obtain your claim. He will put your needs on priority and meet insurance company to represent your case in the best possible manner.

You have caused a car accident…

If you have caused a car accident injury, you can contact car accident attorneys in your area to help you and protect you from all kinds of accident cases.  In that case, a lawyer can help you know your rights. Most accidental cases are connected with personal injury cases also.

You can contact an accident lawyer not only for car accident injuries but also for premises liability, insurance claims and other cases. Before you hire them, you can discuss your case and have free consultation.

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This article has been republished by Mann & Maximon Attorneys at law – Leading Auto Accident Attorneys, Car Accident Lawyers, and Personal Injury Attorneys.

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When you are involved in an auto accident with multiple cars, the process works a little bit differently than if it is just you and another driver. For one thing, the crash may cause more serious injuries, especially if trucks, buses or other large vehicles are involved. You need an attorney to help you through the process of a multiple vehicle accident, because only a car accident attorney will have the knowledge and experience to reconstruct the accident, question witnesses properly and determine who was at fault for the collision.

Generally, a multi-car collision starts with just one or two cars. These cars crash which causes other cars that are behind them to crash. On high speed interstates this is somewhat common, as drivers don’t have time to stop. An attorney can figure out, with accident reconstruction, which vehicle or vehicles initially caused the crash and which vehicles collided through no fault of their own simply because they weren’t able to stop in time. A personal injury attorney can help prove that you had no choice but to run into other cars.

If there are several cars that collided as a result of a crash between two cars, or because of a crash of one vehicle by itself, there may be several plaintiffs in your case. The plaintiffs are the parties bringing the lawsuit to court with your attorney- for instance, you and any other drivers who were not at fault in the accident. Any settlement that is offered by the insurance companies or by the other parties that you are suing may have to be shared among multiple people. This may be an even split, or it may vary depending upon damage inflicted and medical care needed. Talk to your attorney for details.

The party that caused the crash will be the defendant. There may only be one person that caused a crash. For instance, driver A cuts off driver B, and causes a collision. In this case, driver A might be the only defendant and driver B will potentially be one of the parties receiving a settlement or awarded money by the jury. There may be two people who were equally at fault causing the accident. For instance, driver A cuts off driver B, but driver B retaliates and rams the back of driver A’s car. Ask your personal injury litigation attorney how this might work in your case.

An attorney is vital in the case of multiple vehicle crashes and you’ll want an attorney that is skilled and experienced specifically with car accident law. This is why Ledger & Associates is such a great choice. Attorney Emery Ledger has over ten years of experience dealing with that very aspect of the law and having someone on your side, that knows the law and knows from real experience how to litigate such a case is vital.

Karen Thompson has an outstanding 10 year service as a state lawyer in California.She helps a lot of people who needs legal assistance particularly those who can’t afford to hire an attorney. She finds her happiness helping others and in sharing to people what she knows through writing articles.

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