Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents Involving Motor Vehicles: Navigating Unique Legal Challenges
Assessing Claims and Coverage, Managing Complex Evidentiary Issues, Overcoming Affirmative Defenses, Negotiating With Insurers
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Personal Injury and Med Mal
- event Date
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE course will examine the unique legal and practical challenges personal injury counsel face when representing bicyclists (including ebike riders) and pedestrians injured in accidents involving motor vehicles. The panel will discuss effective strategies for identifying all potential claims and sources of recovery, confronting evidentiary issues such as preserving traditional and social media evidence and using experts, overcoming affirmative defenses such as contributory negligence or safety law violations, and negotiating with insurance companies.
Mr. Thomas concentrates his legal practice on advocating for those who have sustained personal injuries during bicycle crashes or motor vehicle crashes. He is an accomplished litigator who also helps with matters involving first-party property claims, business torts, as well as class action and multi-district litigation cases. Mr. Thomas is also the Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi delegate for Bike Law, which is a national group dedicated to advocating for the rights of cyclists.
Mr. Weiss is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Colorado. He has worked for insurance companies and their interests, at which time he became knowledgeable about various insurance companies’ policies and tricks. Mr. Weiss focuses on all aspects of his client’s situation including whether adequate medical evaluation and care has been provided to his clients, and tried to make sure that occurs.
Bike crashes are on the rise. Pedestrian fatalities have been going up for almost a decade. Personal injury attorneys representing victims in these cases face an uphill battle in obtaining recovery for their clients due to the perception held by many, including insurance companies, that bicyclists and pedestrians often ignore safety laws, such as failing to use turn signals or entering intersections before the traffic light turns green.
Personal injury counsel must identify all potential claims and sources of recovery, from the automobile driver who crashed into the bicyclist or pedestrian to the governmental entity responsible for maintaining traffic signals or painting street lines. Counsel in bike crash cases must also become familiar with the dynamics of bicycling, including what is reasonable with regard to speed and hazard perception.
Other unique challenges counsel face include collecting and preserving evidence, including social media evidence, using experts, and overcoming affirmative defenses. Further, because children are frequently victims of bicycle accidents, counsel must ensure the proper ethical treatment of young clients. Practitioners must also understand effective approaches to negotiating with insurance companies in these cases.
Listen as our panel of experienced personal injury attorneys examines the special legal and practical challenges involved with representing bicyclists and pedestrians who suffered injury in an accident involving motor vehicles. While state laws can vary, the panel will identify common strategies for effectively assessing cases, identifying sources of recovery, working with young clients, navigating evidentiary challenges, negotiating with insurance companies, and evaluating settlement offers.
- Assessing cases
- Interviewing clients
- Identifying potential defendants
- Reviewing insurance coverage
- Proving liability
- Theories of liability
- Establishing causation
- Working with experts
- Evidentiary challenges
- Overcoming affirmative defenses
- Negotiating with insurance companies
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What factors should personal injury attorneys consider when assessing a claim involving injuries to a pedestrian or bicyclist and potential sources of recovery?
- What evidentiary challenges do attorneys face in proving their case--and how can they best overcome them?
- What experts are needed? Desirable?
- What affirmative defenses do defendants often raise in these cases--and how can personal injury attorneys defeat them?
