bike accident attorney Boston

Published on: January 5, 2018

Boston Bike Crashes Often Lead to Serious Injury

Cars are designed to protect the occupants from serious or fatal injuries. This does not mean that there are not Boston car accidents involving serious or deadly injuries, but many car accidents do not result in significant injuries to the occupants. A bicycle on the other hand has no real protection from the impact in the event of the crash. Bike riders should wear helmets, even though adults are not legally required to do so in Massachusetts. But even with a helmet, there is still a real chance of the rider suffering severe personal injury in the event of a bike crash. This lack of protection should not be held against the rider in the event of crash that his not the rider’s fault. The law thus offers no such protection to defendants in a Boston bike crash lawsuit.

Boston bike attorney According to a recent news article from the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, a 10-year-old boy from New England, who is a world-renowned golf prodigy, was seriously injured in what initially appeared to be a minor bike crash. The boy was riding his bike when appeared to simply fall off. When he fell, he landed on the handlebars with his stomach. Despite hitting the handle bars, it appeared that this was not a serious accident and would only result in a bruise. Continue reading

Published on: November 27, 2017

Boston Bike Accidents Frequently Occur During Right Turns

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There are many ways a Boston bike crash involving a car can occur. One of the more common ways involves cyclists in the extreme right lane, alongside a line of cars, with a car making a right turn. The problem is, many motorists don’t look for or see the cyclist and the result is a collision.

The National Law Review recently published an article about right turn bicycle accident lawsuits (we prefer to the term “crash,” though we know many people still commonly call them “accidents”).

Bike Commuting is Increasing

bicycle accident lawyer This type of bike crash is getting more common in Boston and cities across the nation as more and more people are using bikes as a primary mode of transportation including traveling to and from work. According to the League of American Bicyclists, there is no question that biking as a means of commuting is getting more popular as time goes by. This organization compiles various study results and keeps detailed statistics of how many people use bike riding as a primary means of commuting. One way to measure the data is in terms of how many bicycles trips (not recreational use) are taken each year. In 2001, there were 1.7 billion trips and by 2009, there were 4 billion trips. This number is only continuing to increase as more time passes. Continue reading

Published on: September 18, 2017

Boston Bike Crash Victims May Have to Overcome Assertions of Comparative Negligence

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Comparative negligence in bicycle accidents involves a rider who is partially to blame for the cause of a collision. In Massachusetts, comparative negligence is not necessarily a bar to recovery, but it may limit the amount of damages one can collect. So even if you are cited in a bike crash that resulted in serious injury, do not assume you don’t have a case until you speak with an injury attorney.

According to a recent news article from the Newburyport Daily News, a man from Chelsea was airlifted to the hospital following a serious bicycle crash involving a car. Authorities have said the 41-year-old bike rider was riding along with a woman at around 10 p.m.

bike crashes Boston The couple was riding their bicycles when the bike crash victim collided with a motor vehicle that was traveling in the same direction. The driver of the vehicle immediately came to a complete stop and waited for first responders to arrive. Continue reading

Published on: July 8, 2017

Damages in Boston Bike Crash Lawsuits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston and the surrounding areas are becoming more and more bike friendly each year. Not only are more people riding bikes, but the local governments including the cities of Boston and Cambridge are doing what they can to make things safer and more enjoyable for bike riders and for the rest of the community.

Boston Bike Crash lawyer There are a lot of reasons that cities like Boston are interested in making things better for bike riders. One of the reasons is that young professionals who they are trying to get to move back to urban areas are one of the main groups of people who ride bikes. This brings us to another reason why bike riding is good for the community. It is good for the environment as it reduces one’s carbon footprint and also reduces the amount of noise and congestion on the roads. Continue reading

Published on: June 15, 2017

Using “Dutch Reach” to Prevent Bicycle “Dooring” Accidents in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Anyone who has ridden a bicycle down a street on Boston close to a line of parked cars knows how important it is to be on the lookout for a suddenly opened car door. As you are riding down the street, a car door can open at any time (with no warning) causing the bike rider to crash into that door. This can result in serious personal injury or even death.

Boston Bike Crash lawyer There are many cases where the driver crashes into the door and is serious injured. We also have cases where bike rider decides to quickly swerve to avoid being crashing into the car door, but this causes them to be thrown into traffic where they are serious injured or killed. When you get hit by a car while on a bicycle, you have virtually no protection. Continue reading

Published on: April 10, 2016

Distracted Biking Laws Target The Wrong Traffic

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Late last year, Massachusetts state Rep., Steven Howitt (R-Seekonk), introduced a bill that would ban bicyclists in the Commonwealth from wearing headphones while they ride. bike

He reasoned that, “If they want to share the road, they have to share the responsibility as well.”

Certainly, there is a case to be made that bicyclists need to be alert at all times when navigating through traffic. It’s really more for their own protection than anything else. But are efforts to crack down on distracted cycling really going to slash the number of bicycle accidents in Boston and elsewhere?

A recent analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts suggests probably not. That’s because the real problem isn’t biking while distracted. It’s driving while distracted. Continue reading