• Offices Serving:
  • Bensalem
  • Newtown
  • Doylestown
  • Bristol
  • Quakertown
  • Bethlehem
Free Consultation | CALL OR TEXT: 215-642-2335
  • Home
  • Practice Areas
    • Car Accidents
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Truck Accidents
    • Motorcycle Accidents
    • Slip And Fall Accidents
    • Nursing Home Neglect
    • Defective Medical Devices
    • Defective Drugs
    • Pedestrian Accidents
    • Bicycle Accidents
    • AFFF Firefighting Foam
    • Zantac
    • 3M Military Earplugs
    • Injury Law in Bucks County
    • Others
  • About Us
    • Areas We Serve
  • Client Testimonials
  • Our Results
  • Resources
    • FAQs
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Free Offers
    • Blog Archive
    • FAQs Archive
  • Union Relationships
    • FOP Lodge 5
    • Sheet Metal Local 19
    • PSEA Mideastern
    • Roofers Local 30
    • Laborers’ 57
  • Contact Us
  • Show Search

Bicycle Accident Insurance Options

· Apr 30, 2015 ·

Tweet
Share

Insurance coverage options for bicycle accidentsMany people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania ride their bicycles back and forth to work, for recreation, and to save money on the rising costs of gasoline. While cycling is a fun and healthy activity, it can lead to serious or fatal injuries. If you or a loved one sustained serious or fatal injuries in a Pennsylvania or New Jersey bicycle accident, you may have bicycle accident insurance options available to pay for your medical bills.

For help filing a claim or lawsuit, call the bicycle accident attorneys at Cordisco & Saile LLC today: 215-642-2335.

What insurance might I be able to use in a Pennsylvania bike accident?

If you carry car insurance, you will be eligible to receive first party benefits, known as personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, to cover your medical expenses from your bicycle accident injuries.

You may also be eligible to file a lawsuit if you can prove that the driver was at-fault for your injuries.

How do PIP benefits work?

Pennsylvania is a choice no-fault state, which means drivers must first turn to their own PIP coverage to pay their medical faults. Fortunately, Pennsylvania’s no-fault laws do not apply to bicycle accidents. If you can prove that the other driver was at fault for your injuries, you may be eligible to sue him for compensation for your injuries.

However, if you were at fault for the accident, you can use your PIP benefits to pay your medical bills and lost wages. Under Pennsylvania law, all drivers must have a minimum of $5,000 in PIP coverage.

Family Member’s Benefits

If you do not have car insurance, but reside with a relative that does, you can use your family member’s PIP benefits to pay for your medical expenses.

For example, if you live with your mom, and she has $6,500 in PIP coverage, her coverage will pay $6,500 towards your medical bills.   

Do I have options if I have exhausted my PIP benefits?

Things get a little more complicated when you sustain an injury in a bicycle accident and your medical bills exceed the PIP coverage amount. If you have health insurance, you can look to your health insurance to pay the difference in medical expenses after you have exhausted your PIP benefits.

What if the driver was at fault? Can I sue him for damages?

As stated above, yes, you are able to sue the at fault driver for damages. In addition, under Pennsylvania law, you will be able to sue for both economic and noneconomic damages.

Many Pennsylvanians are unaware that the insurance they carry (i.e., limited tort or full tort) does not extend to bicycle accidents. For example, if you sustained injuries in a car accident and had limited tort insurance, you would only be able to recover compensation for medical bills and lost wages unless you could prove you sustained a serious injury.

Up until 2004, this was true for bicyclists as well; however, lawmakers decided that both pedestrians and cyclists who sustain injury in an accident retain the right to full tort coverage.

With full tort coverage, you are able to sue for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering, in addition to medical bills and lost wages.

Note: You are only eligible to sue if you can prove that you were less than 51 percent at fault for your injuries. If you are 52 percent at fault, you are ineligible to sue for compensation.

What are my options after a New Jersey bike accident?

New Jersey follows a choice no-fault system in which drivers must choose between a standard or basic policy. If you choose the basic policy, you must prove that your injuries are “serious” to sue for pain and suffering. If you choose a standard policy, you have the option to purchase unlimited or limited right to sue.

PIP Benefits

In New Jersey, even if the driver who hit you was at fault for the accident, you still must turn to your own PIP benefits to pay for your injuries and lost wages. Like Pennsylvania, if you do not have car insurance, you can use a family member’s insurance to pay your medical bills, up to his coverage limit.

Other Options

If you do not have car insurance, you can use your health insurance to pay your medical bills, but that is not your only option. If you are uninsured or the other driver fled the scene, you may be able to file a claim with the New Jersey Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund. You must be sure to give notice within 180 days or you will not be eligible to receive any compensation.

The Other Driver

You may be eligible to sue the other driver if you can prove that you suffered serious injuries and that the other driver was at least 51 percent at fault for your injuries.

Under New Jersey law, serious injuries include:

  • Permanent injury to a body part of body function
  • Loss of a fetus
  • Dismemberment
  • “Significant disfigurement or scarring”
  • Broken bones
  • Death

Can I receive help with my insurance claim?

If you are thinking that this all sounds pretty complicated, you are right. Run your case by a bicycle accident attorney that practices in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey to ensure that you understand your rights and that you are doing everything you can to preserve your right to the money you need and deserve.

At Cordisco & Saile LLC, we represent the victims (and family members) of Pennsylvania and New Jersey bicycle accidents. We can help you navigate the insurance process and can stand up for your rights when you or a loved one sustains serious injury through another person’s negligence.

You do not have to go through this alone; we want to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Contact us today for an initial consultation to discuss your situation and your options: 215-642-2335. The consultation is free and we do not receive any payment unless we win your case for you.

Contact us for your FREE case evaluation!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Looking for something?

View All Blog View All FAQs
Accessory Coverage for Motorcycle
Motorcycle Accidents,
Accessory Coverage for Motorcycle Continue Reading »
Are YOU fully Covered?
General,
Are YOU fully Covered? Continue Reading »
Brain Damage Claim & Brain Injury Compensation Claims in Southampton
Personal Injury,
Brain Damage Claim & Brain Injury Compensation Claims in Southampton Continue Reading »
Bus Driver at Fault
Bus Accidents,
Bus Driver at Fault Continue Reading »

Find a Reliable
Lawyer Now!

  • Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Newtown Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Trevose Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Middletown Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Bucks County Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Levittown Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Eddington Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Yardley Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Quakertown Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Bensalem Lawyer
  • Philadelphia Lawyer

Contact Us Now!

Please fill out the quick contact form below for a fast and free case consultation. We will contact you within 24 hours!

    • What can we help you with*?
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

The nationally recognized and award-winning team of attorneys at Cordisco & Saile, LLC protect residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have been injured in an accident from the tricks and tactics of the insurance companies. Call us today to learn more about your legal rights, and see what we can do to get your life back to the way it was.

Quick Links

  • Practice Areas
  • Blog
  • FAQs
  • Testimonials
  • Results
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • Disclaimer

Office Locations

  • Bensalem
  • Newtown-Langhorne
  • Doylestown
  • Bristol
  • Quakertown
  • Bethlehem
  • Phone: 215-642-2335
  • Email: info@cordiscosaile.com
© 2019 Cordisco & Saile LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Tweet
Share

Copyright © 2021 · Monochrome Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Bensalem
  • Newtown-Langhorne
  • Doylestown
  • Bristol
  • Quakertown
  • Bethlehem
  • Phone: 215-642-2335
  • Email: info@cordiscosaile.com