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Being the victim of a car or truck accident is terrible and can lead to a serious injury, but if you’re bicyclist or a pedestrian and a car hits you, the chances of suffering a major, life-threatening injury increase exponentially. Unlike car accidents, vulnerability of bicyclists and pedestrians is significantly higher because the frame of a car does not protect them.

A 2010 report of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that 51,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic in 2009 (52,000 in 2008 and 43,000 in 2007) and 630 bicyclists died on US roads in 2009 (718 in 2008, 1,003 in 1975). NHTSA also reports that a pedestrian is injured in an accident every 8 minutes in the United States, and that there is a pedestrian fatality every 113 minutes.

The responsibility of all these accidents is shared between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians not following the rules. Over half of the car-bike collisions involve the cyclist unexpectedly getting in front of a car by doing something that doesn’t fit the traffic pattern: a dart-out, a swerve, riding in the wrong place, riding without a headlamp at night, etc. Running stoplights and stop signs or riding under the influence of alcohol will also increase the probability of accidents.

Pedestrians who fail to adopt a personal safe behavior may be held responsible of the car-pedestrian or bike-pedestrian accidents. When you do not cross at a marked crosswalk or near street corner, you give up many of the legal protections you have. The most frequent type of bike-pedestrian collision is caused by a walker swerving sideways as the cyclist overtook him.

The victim or victims of individuals whose carelessness caused accidents may sue them for financial damages. Victims may be able to secure compensation for the expensive medical bills through a personal injury lawsuit.

As with all injury cases, it is especially crucial to seek out professional legal advice in traumatic brain injury cases and we have the experienced injury attorneys to evaluate your claim. Our firm is ready to assist you in reviewing your specific situation to see if your claim meets our criteria. In every state there are laws that on how long you have to file a suit also. Don’t hesitate, call our toll free number and get confidential legal advice.

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