Each of the attorneys at McNamara, Goldsmith & Macdonald, P.C. has more than twenty years of experience handling personal injury litigation. As experienced trial lawyers we have expertise with bicycle accidents, defective road design cases, and product liability issues involving bicycle components. We have handled cases involving injuries ranging from soft tissue injuries which have resolved to cases involving the most catastrophic of injuries including paralysis, brain injury, and fatalities. Litigation of bicycling accidents requires expertise in numerous fields of law including:
- bicycle traffic law,
- insurance coverage law
- federal safety requirements and industry standards for bicycle products
- recreational land use immunity law
- premises liability law governing the safety of roads, cycling paths, private property and parks
- law peculiar to railroad crossings and traffic control devices
- law controlling the maintenance and design of streets, highways, sidewalks and paths
- law controlling conflicts between cyclists and dogs or other animals
- complex law involving medical liens applicable to cycling accidents including liens from Medicare, ACCHS, private insurers, and balance billing from hospitals
- law with respect to the duty to wear a cycling helmet.
Our law firm is experienced in handling the bicycling actions not only from a purely legal point of view, but also in terms of developing the facts of a case through medical experts and forensic engineering. We have worked with the best forensic engineers in Arizona, as well as with national experts who are authoritative on such issues as:
- the role of component failure in bicycle accidents due to design or manufacturing defects
- the relationship between cycling helmets, traumatic brain injury and death as established though biomechanical engineering and forensic neurology and pathology
- roadway and cycle path design accidents
- peculiar reconstruction issues with regard to cyclist to cyclist, and cycle to pedestrian collision
- improper design and maintenance of railroad crossings
- accident reconstruction issues peculiar to:
- the speed of a cyclist on inclines and declines;
- speed reconstruction premised upon sheer and blunt forces involving steel, aluminum and carbon fiber
- determining braking distance peculiar to cyclists in emergency situations which requires accounting for the cycling equipment, such as particular frame, wheel and brake pad components
- reconstructing speed, change in delta force, and severity of impact in accidents involving a variety of cyclists accident scenarios such as in sudden stop cases or multiple impact cases based upon evaluating damage to the bicycle, and the bicycle helmet.
- evaluating and determining throw distance following cycling accidents.
- issues involving the release of cycling shoes from clipless pedals
- issues involving the special dangers inherent in the use of carbon fiber cycling wheels and synthetic brake materials
Winning the best result in bicycle accident cases requires more than an understanding of the law, and more than experience working with forensic experts who can explain what happened, and whether the standard of care was violated. It helps that we understand the sport. Cycling is an inherently dangerous activity. However, cyclists should not be put at greater risk by negligent or even intentionally hostile motorists, or put at greater risk due to defective roadways, railroad crossings or unreasonably dangerous cycling product components. We have the experience to cope with the problem of making sure the prejudice cyclists unfortunately frequently experienced on the road does not carry over into the courtroom. We are knowledgeable about the issues of jury selection with regard to anticycling bias, and the need to sensitize the jury to the issues of cycling safety, and cyclists' legal rights during the trial.
Not all law firms are competent to handle complex bicycle accident litigation. We would be pleased to discuss our experience and the peculiar issues which may be presented by your case during a free consultation.
