I’m lucky enough to live in a place where I can bike pretty much everywhere I need to go. This saves me all kinds of money, from the cost of owning a car to buying fuel. It’s eco-friendly, and it’s also waistline-friendly, since it’s one of the main ways I get exercise. My bike is my travel buddy, and until last year, I had owned the same one that I’d ridden all around my college campus starting from my freshman year.
Over the years, I’ve become pretty experienced at navigating the exciting world of bicycling commuting. You never know when you’ll go whizzing along and run into a minefield of potholes, unexpected gravel, or broken glass. Dogs and cats sometimes dart out in front of me. Weather poses its own set of problems, from sudden downpours to freezing temperatures.
The biggest risks I run into during my daily comings and goings are from other humans, however. Most automobile drivers simply don’t know how to operate in a safe manner around bikes. They regularly park their cars in bike lanes. They fling open their doors without checking to make sure a bike isn’t coming past. They veer over in front of me unexpectedly to turn or find a parking space.
A Cyclist’s Worst Nightmare
That’s exactly what happened to me as I was on my way to work about a year ago. It was hot out, traffic was at a standstill, and everyone was impatient and cranky. Cyclists have it a bit easier when traffic gets this way, as we can zip past the stopped cars as we travel in the bike lane.
Unfortunately, an irate driver decided they had simply had enough waiting at one intersection when the traffic was unable to move through it even after the light turned green. As I slowly pedaled past, the woman jerked her wheel to the right and gunned the engine to move around the car in front of her and turn right. I happened to be passing beside her in the bike lane as she made this maneuver, and she struck my bike, mangling it and sending me flying. Fade to black.
Laid Back Doesn’t Work
I tend to be a pretty forgiving person, so even after I woke up in the hospital, hiring a lawyer wasn’t the first thing on my mind. It was clear that I’d be out of work for a few weeks, as my back had sustained some nasty injuries that would make sitting impossible. I was sad when my wife informed me that my trusty bike was no more.
When my dad arrived and mentioned hiring an Idaho personal injury lawyer, I was incredibly hesitant, thinking that I’d simply work through things with the driver who hit me. He insisted that it was the safest and most responsible thing to do, so we called up the Hansen Injury law firm.
Boy, was I glad I listened to my dad and didn’t let the laid back part of my personality override handling things through the proper channels. The lady at fault feigned total innocence in court. She insisted that I had somehow put on a burst of speed to cut her off after she signaled that she was turning right. My Idaho personal injury lawyer was able to use details about the scene of the accident to prove that based on the direction that my bike and body flew, she actually approached from the side and behind me.
Thanks to the excellent legal help from our Idaho personal injury lawyer, my wife and I were able to pay off my medical bills and didn’t suffer from my time away from work. And last but not least, I got enough money to replace my beautiful bike, which may be gone but will never be forgotten.
