When Bikes and Cars Collide: Protecting Your Rights

Biking is a healthy, inexpensive way to get where you need to go, get exercise, and even save money. Riding a bike isn’t restricted to kids and teens who don’t drive anymore. While they do still make up the majority of riders, Bicyclinginfo.org shows an increase in the numbers of riders over the age of 16. With approximately 57 million people sharing the roads with other vehicles, it is no surprise that at times, they can collide.

Biker riders are required to follow the laws of the road, just as drivers are expected to. When bike accidents occur with cars it must be determined who was negligent, or who was responsible for the accident. A recent accident the San Francisco between a cyclist and a garbage truck resulted in the death of a cyclist, as reported in the San Francisco Injury Attorney Blog. The resulting case will be held to determine negligence, and if any compensation is due to the cyclist’s mother. She will have to prove that the driver was negligent and that her son was not at fault.

If you are involved in a bike accident with a car, there are very important steps you must take in order to protect your rights, and to determine who was negligent in the accident. NOLO outlines these steps as the following:

• Always wait for the police to arrive – it is important, even if you think you were not injured to wait for the police arrive to file a report.
• Make sure your version of events are recorded in the accident report – the police don’t always take a statement from the cyclist, make sure that your side of the accident is recorded in the report.
• Obtain driver and witness information to contact them – get all information that you can from the driver, such as drivers license, address, and phone number. Also get contact information from any witnesses to the accident.
• Document exactly what happened – write down your own version of what happened, including time, place, weather, and any contributing factors you can remember.
• Document any injuries you have, even small ones – often times injuries may seem minor at the time, but can develop into major problems later. Keep a journal if problems occur, tracking your symptoms, treatments, and any cost or loss of wages due to the injuries.
• Preserve any evidence, such as bike, helmet, clothing – do not attempt to fix or repair any damages that occurred due to the accident. Don’t wash the clothes or throw them away. Take pictures of the bike, helmet, or any other equipment. Do not release any evidence to anyone other than your attorney.
• Seek legal advice from a personal injury lawyer – the legal issues involved in accidents can be very complex. Contacting a personal injury lawyer can help you through the process.

By following those steps if you are in a bike accident, you can be more certain of protecting your rights in a court of law. These steps will help you prove that you were not negligent in your actions while riding your bike. While the safety of riding a bike increases, with bike lanes, awareness of drivers, and better equipment, it is still possible that accidents may occur. Ensuring your rights in bike accidents can protect you from being legally hurt too.

What to do When Your Attorney Fails You

Imagine calling your lawyer to find out the status of your legal case only to find out the court dismissed your case without a hearing. You ask more questions and discover that your attorney failed to file your claim within the time required by law. The first question that comes to your mind is, “Can I sue my lawyer?” The answer is “Yes.” 

You can sue your lawyer for legal malpractice, but there are some big hurdles to get over in order for your lawsuit to be successful. There are four elements you must prove in order to prevail. 

Elements of a legal malpractice case.

1) You must prove you actually had an attorney/client relationship. If you only spoke to a lawyer informally at a party and got vague legal advice, that will not count. You must have evidence that you secured the services of the attorney to work on your behalf and obtained legal advice you relied on. 

2) The next step is to prove that your lawyer was negligent, or that he or she acted below the standard of care practiced by other lawyers in your community. Examples of negligence are: 

• Failure to file a complaint within the statute of limitations – or before the legally established time has run out. This presumes you consulted the attorney prior to the running of the statute, but he or she failed to file within the deadline. 

• Missing other court deadlines, resulting in the dismissal of your case. 

• Abandoning you by failing to return your phone calls or answer your letters.

• Failing to comply with court orders. 

• Commingling the attorney’s personal funds with the trust account that contained the money you paid your attorney to work on your case. 

• Settling your case without telling you and keeping the money. 

3) Even if you prove you had an attorney/client relationship, and your lawyer was negligent, you still have to prove that the negligence act was the proximate cause of your injury. This means that the outcome would have been different if the attorney had not been negligent. This is the hardest part. It is often referred to as presenting “a case within a case” since, in order to win your legal malpractice case, you have to prove you would have won the underlying case if the attorney had not been negligent. 

4) Finally, you must prove the amount of money you lost due to the attorney’s negligence. 

Important considerations before pursuing a legal malpractice claim. 

• If you sue your attorney for legal malpractice, you will give up the attorney/client privilege with that attorney. Anything and everything you ever told that lawyer in confidence can now be revealed in court. 

• Just because you lost your case does not mean your attorney was negligent. Even if another attorney would have done better does not mean your attorney was negligent. 

• Errors in judgment do not amount to malpractice. For example, your lawyer may have had a very good reason not to call a certain witness at trial. After the trial is over, hindsight may make it clear that was a poor decision and the witness should have been called to testify. That type of honest belief that the decision was correct at the time does not open the door for a legal malpractice action. 

• If you decide to sue your lawyer, you must do so within the statute of limitations established by the California Code of Civil Procedure. There are some complex aspects to the statute. Consult an experienced legal malpractice attorney for more information.