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If you or a loved one have been injured in an e-bicycle accident, a skilled Seattle e-bicycle accident attorney can help.
The summer months mean that more people are out and about enjoying the weather on their bikes. Electric bicycle use is on the rise and more and more people are discovering how easy it is to tackle Seattle’s hilly landscape with an e-bicycle. When inexperienced e-cyclists are out, accidents happen! People who ride e-bikes tend to underestimate how dangerous they are. Just look at Simon Cowel – the former American Idol judge broke his back riding an e-bicycle in his driveway.
If you or a close family member suffered serious injury or a fatality in an e-bicycle accident, the experienced attorneys at Fang Law Firm are ready to protect your rights. Call Fang Law Firm today for a free case consultation so we can begin an individualized strategy to recover your losses.
Fang Law Firm is skilled in electric bicycle accident litigation. We offer our clients significant advantages in injury cases, including the following:
We offer free confidential consultations and with our contingency-based payments, you pay nothing until we recover compensation for your damages, like medical expenses and lost wages.
An electric bicycle—or e-bike—resembles a standard bicycle, not a motorcycle or scooter. It has pedals, handlebars, and other bicycle components, but an electric motor augments the pedal power when the cyclist engages the motor. Riders may use the motor to climb hills, increase speed, or ride further without getting tired. E-bike motors range in power from 200W to 700W—the legal limit in the U.S. Despite the limit many dealers sell e-bikes with 1,000W or more of power because different states impose various limits. Most e-bicycles can travel from 20 to 28 miles per hour.
An e-bicycle travels significantly faster than typical bikes, exposing riders to more serious risks in a collision or other accident. Drivers commonly misjudge a cyclist’s speed when the rider is using an e-bike with the motor engaged. Some drivers fail to yield the right of way, believing they have time to cross in front of the cyclist.
As e-bicycles increase in popularity, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notes a significant rise in accidents and injuries from micromobility devices like scooters and e-bikes. Between 2021 and 2022, accidents increased by 21%. Between 2017 and 2022, there were 53 deaths from e-bicycle accidents and hundreds of reported injuries. About 46% of e-bike deaths recorded between 2017 and 2022 occurred in 2022, indicating a serious rise in fatalities. Despite being only 18% of the population, children under the age of 14 make up a disproportionate number of e-bike injuries at 36%.
There are two ways you can be injured while on an e-bike. One is in an accident with a driver and another is due to a malfunction of the e-bike.
A Seattle e-bicycle accident attorney can help you recover from an at-fault driver by filing a claim through the at-faults insurance. An insurance company is going to do everything they can to convince you to take a settlement for less than you deserve. A bicycle accident attorney in Seattle can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and make sure they don’t try any underhanded tactics.
If you were injured due to a malfunctioning e-bike, a product liability attorney can assist you in filing a product liability lawsuit against the e-bike manufacturer.
Regardless of how you were injured on your e-bike, you shouldn’t be stuck with costly medical and rehabilitation bills. An e-bicycle accident lawyer can maximize your settlement by:
If a close family member suffered fatal injuries in an e-bike accident in Seattle or the surrounding area in King County, a Seattle wrongful death lawyer from Fang Law Firm can help your family recover your financial losses and a sense of justice and closure in a wrongful death claim.
Most e-bike riders use helmets and carefully follow traffic laws, but the exposed design of a bicycle leaves them vulnerable to injuries when drivers fail to take reasonable measures to prevent causing harm or if they make serious errors or behave recklessly behind the wheel. Most e-bike accidents occur due to driver fault rather than a cyclist’s error. Common causes of e-bike accidents include the following:
Cyclists on e-bikes must carefully adhere to traffic laws, wear bright, reflective clothing, and take all actions to avoid injuries, but when a driver’s carelessness causes harm, they have a right to seek full compensation for their economic and non-economic damages. Compensation in e-bike accident claims in Washington typically comes from an at-fault driver’s car insurance or an e-bike manufacturer’s liability insurance.
E-bicycle injuries can be catastrophic. The most common e-bicycle accident injuries we see are:
If you are riding an e-bicycle in Seattle, it is imperative to follow Seattle’s e-bike laws. The e-bike laws include:
Serious accidents are painful and traumatic, especially for an e-bike rider who is unprotected by an enclosed vehicle and vulnerable to serious injuries. An injury victim may be too seriously hurt or unconscious after the crash, in which case they can do little other than wait in place for help to arrive. As an accident victim, it’s critical to prioritize safety after an accident, but taking a few purposeful steps at the accident scene helps safeguard physical and financial health.
After an e-bike accident, your cell phone becomes a helpful tool. If you’re too injured to use it yourself, hand it to an uninjured companion or bystander and ask them to do the following:
Eyewitnesses are particularly important when e-bike accidents occur in a location without traffic cameras.
Always go straight to a hospital after the accident, preferably in the ambulance. If you feel your injuries are minor, you should still arrange transportation to a hospital directly from the accident scene. Ask for a thorough medical evaluation in addition to treatment for any obvious injuries. Some injuries have delayed symptom onset and it’s important to have treatment as soon as possible. Ask for a detailed medical report listing your injuries, recommendations for treatment, and the prognosis for your recovery.
In the weeks following the accident, consult with a Seattle e-bicycle attorney at Fang Law Firm and direct all communication with the at-fault party’s insurance company to your lawyer. Carefully follow your doctor’s instructions and save copies of your medical bills, receipts from related out-of-pocket expenses, and a log of your lost income.
An exposed cyclist makes direct contact with the road, nearby obstacles, or another vehicle in an accident, leaving them vulnerable to serious or catastrophic injuries, sometimes with life-altering consequences like a long road to rehabilitation or permanent disability. Even less serious injuries can cause significant financial hardship with one or two missed paychecks and a large bill for medical treatment. These consequences of accidents are the victim’s “damages” in a personal injury case like an e-bicycle claim. Common damages in e-bike claims include the following:
Damages in e-bike accidents are both tangible economic damages and intangible non-economic damages. Non-economic damages like pain and suffering or emotional trauma may be more difficult to assign a monetary amount for compensation but they are usually the most damaging consequences of an accident. The courts offer monetary compensation for non-economic damages to compensate the injured victim and allow them a sense of justice and closure.
About 95% of accident claims are settled outside of court without requiring a lawsuit. An experienced attorney gathers clear and concise evidence of liability and presents it to the insurance company of the at-fault driver, manufacturer of a defective part, or negligent road maintenance agency and then negotiates the largest possible settlement. Only in less common cases does the insurance adjuster dispute the claim, significantly undervalue the settlement offer, or delay action indefinitely. In these cases, the case may proceed to a lawsuit in court as long as the petition is filed within the state’s statute of limitations. Lawsuits take longer to resolve but they typically result in a larger amount of compensation awarded by sympathetic juries. If your case goes to trial, your lawyer from Fang Law Firm will ensure that you are well-prepared for the process. We navigate every claim as though preparing for court to give our negotiations a stronger voice and to provide a well-constructed case should we require court litigation.
Most attorneys assist injury victims with the claim process as soon as the full scope of their damages becomes clear and they compile enough evidence to send a demand package to an attorney and negotiate a settlement. However, if the insurance company uses bad faith practices and the case goes to court, your attorney must file the lawsuit petition within the state’s statute of limitations. Washington allows up to three years from the accident claim to file a lawsuit against the defendant in the accident case.
The Seattle e-bike accident lawyers at Fang Law Firm have a decade of experience in litigation and settlement negotiations with insurers. We will work hard to maximize your settlement award and we won’t stop fighting until you receive a settlement award you’re satisfied with. Call us today at (206) 489-5140 for a free case consultation. Our Seattle car accident attorneys will help you chart a path to financial recovery.