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After a driver strikes you while cycling in Mountain Home, the actions you take in the following hours and days determine whether you can recover full compensation or lose your claim entirely.
At Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, our personal injury lawyers in Mountain Home understand that injured cyclists sometimes make critical mistakes that insurance companies exploit to deny claims or minimize settlements. We guide clients away from common errors that destroy otherwise valid bicycle accident claims.
Our Mountain Home bicycle accident lawyers protect your claim from the moment you contact us until you receive full compensation. Contact Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, today for a free consultation.
Mistake One: Leaving the Accident Scene Before Documenting Evidence
Many cyclists make the critical error of leaving accident scenes before gathering essential evidence, especially when adrenaline masks injury severity or drivers pressure them to avoid police involvement. Without proper documentation, insurance companies later claim the accident never happened or wasn’t serious enough to cause your injuries.
Stay at the scene and call 911 even if you feel relatively uninjured. Police reports establish an official record of the collision that insurance companies cannot dispute. Take photos of vehicle damage, road conditions, traffic signs, and your bicycle before anything moves.
If you must leave for emergency medical treatment, return to photograph the scene as soon as possible or have someone do it for you. Our attorneys can help reconstruct accident details from whatever evidence you preserved, but contemporary documentation from the scene provides the strongest foundation for your claim.
Critical Evidence to Document at the Accident Scene
When documenting the scene, make sure to capture:
- Photos of vehicle damage showing the point of impact
- Images of your bicycle damage and position after the collision
- Road conditions, including potholes, debris, or visibility obstructions
- Traffic control devices like stop signs or signals
- Skid marks or debris patterns showing vehicle trajectory
- Your visible injuries and damaged clothing or gear
Mistake Two: Giving Recorded Statements to Insurance Companies
Insurance adjusters call within hours of bicycle accidents, requesting recorded statements about how the collision occurred. Cyclists who provide these statements without attorney representation often say things that destroy their claims through innocent mistakes or misstatements about accident details.
Adjusters ask leading questions designed to elicit responses they can use against you. They inquire about your speed, position on the road, and whether you checked for traffic before entering intersections. They record every hesitation, contradiction, or uncertainty to argue you’re fabricating or exaggerating your claim.
Our Mountain Home bicycle accident lawyers can handle all communications with insurance companies after you hire us. We provide only the information legally required and refuse demands for recorded statements that serve no purpose except helping insurers deny your claim.
Mistake Three: Minimizing Injuries or Delaying Medical Treatment
Cyclists often downplay their injuries after accidents due to adrenaline, shock, or reluctance to accept that they’ve been seriously hurt. They refuse ambulance transport, skip emergency room visits, or wait days before seeking medical evaluation. Insurance companies seize on these delays to argue your injuries weren’t caused by the accident.
Seek immediate medical evaluation even if you feel relatively okay after the collision. Many serious injuries, including concussions, internal bleeding, and spinal damage, don’t produce symptoms immediately. Emergency room visits create medical records linking your injuries directly to the accident before insurance companies can argue alternative causes.
Follow all treatment recommendations from your doctors, including physical therapy, specialist appointments, and diagnostic testing. Gaps in medical care give adjusters ammunition to claim you’ve recovered or your injuries aren’t serious enough to warrant compensation.
Warning Signs of Serious Injuries
Look out for these indications that you may need immediate medical attention:
- Headaches, dizziness, or confusion
- Neck or back pain
- Abdominal pain or tenderness
- Numbness or tingling in extremities
- Difficulty breathing or chest pain
- Any loss of consciousness, even briefly
Mistake Four: Accepting Quick Settlement Offers
Insurance companies contact injured cyclists within days of accidents, offering quick settlements that sound substantial until you realize they barely cover immediate medical bills and provide nothing for future treatment, lost wages, or pain and suffering. Accepting a settlement permanently waives your right to additional compensation.
Accepting settlement offers before completing medical treatment means gambling that you won’t need additional care, surgeries, or ongoing therapy. Insurance companies know most cyclists will require more treatment than initial evaluations suggest.
We calculate comprehensive damages that account for future needs rather than accepting inadequate offers based solely on bills received so far. We’ll evaluate all settlement offers and give our advice on whether it’s worth taking or not.
Mistake Five: Posting About Your Accident on Social Media
People often post about accidents on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms to update friends and family about their condition. Insurance companies monitor these accounts searching for posts they can twist to deny claims, including photos showing you smiling or participating in activities they claim prove you’re not seriously injured.
Even innocent posts create problems. A photo of you standing at a family gathering becomes evidence that you can work full-time. A comment about feeling better today contradicts your claim of chronic pain. A check-in at a restaurant suggests you’re exaggerating mobility limitations.
Our Mountain Home bicycle accident lawyers advise clients to avoid making any social media posts about their accident, injuries, medical treatment, or daily activities until cases settle. We also recommend enabling privacy settings that prevent insurance investigators from accessing your accounts.
About Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, has recovered over $100 million for injury and disability clients throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. Our six attorneys guide cyclists away from common mistakes that jeopardize valid claims and fight to maximize compensation despite errors that occurred before clients hired us.
Contact us today for a free consultation with a Mountain Home bicycle accident lawyer. We’re available 24/7 to discuss mistakes you may have already made and how we can protect your claim going forward, or to guide you through the proper steps immediately after your accident to preserve your right to full compensation.
