March 17, 2022 

Have you been injured in a bike accident? Was your bike hit by a car or truck when the driver just didn't see you? Are your injuries severe and likely to require care and treatment over a long period of time?  Did you in any way contribute to the accident?  When did your accident occur? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions and your accident was within the last two years, we can help.  Here's what happened to our client Richard on a busy Philadelphia street.  We have changed his name for privacy purposes.

Richard, a 36-year-old bike messenger, was used to weaving in and out of downtown traffic delivering documents to various businesses during the workday.  In his seven years with the messenger service, he had never had a serious accident.  His company required all bike messengers to wear helmets while on duty, but the day of the accident Richard had left his behind because of a heat wave blanketing the city.  Since Pennsylvania does not require adults to wear a helmet, Richard was not in violation of the law.

Lunch hour traffic jammed the streets when Richard set out to make a time sensitive delivery.  To avoid a crush of cars, Richard pulled out to pass a car on its left when suddenly the driver of the car turned left, hitting Richard's bike, and throwing him into the air and onto the pavement.

Richard was rushed to the hospital, where he spent the next month and a half trying to get his injuries under control.  Due to spinal cord injuries sustained in the accident, Richard lost the use of his hands, legs, and feet.  After an additional month-long stay in a rehab facility, Richard returned home for further in-home rehabilitation.  He still had not regained the use of his hands and legs.  In addition, he developed a severe bed sore.  He had to be re-hospitalized, and he required surgery to try to resolve the bed sore.

Personal injury cases in Pennsylvania run the gamut from slip and fall cases, bicycle, motorcycle, or car accidents, dog attacks, and other types of mishaps.  If you have been injured at work like Richard, you would have two claims:  a worker's compensation claim AND a personal injury claim against the driver who ran into you. You must also file a personal injury claim in court within two years of the accident's date to meet Pennsylvania's statute of limitations. 

A separate set of laws apply to the worker's compensation issues, complicating this kind of case.  A non-lawyer should never try to handle his own case -- there are so many intricacies in the law, most lay-people will make mistakes that can destroy their case. 

At Worthington Law Group, we have handled scores of these types of bike accident cases, and we can help you recover the money due you in this type of claim.  As noted in our blog post last summer,

Damages vary from claim to claim. “For instance, damages can include some or many of the following:

• Physical injury to your body;
• Damage to your vehicle or other property;
• Medical expenses;
• Costs associated with having to live with a disability;
• Amounts to compensate you for the emotional trauma caused by the claim;
• Loss of a loved one;
• Loss of income you have sustained due to the accident or during a protracted recovery;
• Lifelong losses such as not being able to do the same or similar work due to permanent injuries”

If you have had serious injuries caused by a vehicle accident, a workplace injury, or a slip and fall, call us today:  215-576-5150 .  We can help you recover the money due you.  We will leave no stone unturned to make you whole again financially and restore your life to the way it used to be.