How My Bike Accident Changed Our Firm

I lay there on the side of the road somewhere in Mulholland Canyon just breathing. I couldn’t tell how badly injured I was but I could feel the blood saturating my road cycling kit. I knew I shouldn’t, but I turned my head to see the motorcycle rider who hit me.

How long would it take for emergency personnel to arrive?

I kept breathing — prana yama deep yoga breathing — thankful that I was able to breathe.

That could have been so much worse.

The ambulance arrived and medics strapped me to a cervical backboard and airlifted me to the UCLA trauma center. Now fully aware what had happened to me, I began documenting my experience taking pictures of my injuries, the helicopter (my first and hopefully last helicopter ride), and even forcing a smile and snapping a selfie. I wondered about all the other riders who sat where I did now.

Did they know what to do? What was my underinsured motorist coverage again? I am sure it is adequate… I do this for a living — it better be. How badly hurt am I?

The kid who was riding the motorcycle was on the helicopter with me. He had been recklessly speeding, without a license and without insurance. I could tell he was pretty badly hurt.

Once in the trauma center, the physicians got to me quickly. They cut off my designer road cycling kit (which was painful in and of itself) and began attending to my lacerations. Thankfully, aside from an enormous hematoma, road rash, multiple severe scratches (with nasty scars to show for them) and a variety of orthopedic injuries from hips to shoulders I was going to be OK. No head trauma (thanks to the helmet) and no spinal trauma (thanks to 30+ years of daily yoga – in my opinion).

My family arrived shortly thereafter and brought with them moral support, a change of clothes and a deli sandwich. I might have been in my own bed that night, but this near death experience had a long-lasting, profound effect on me. It caused me physical scarring, some emotional scarring (PTSD), and kept me off my bike and out of work for a significant period of time.

Throughout those months that followed, I did a lot of thinking (and “thank Godding”), and I came to some conclusions that would have a direct impact on the type of lawyer I am, my law practice and what I want to do with myself from here on out.

The main conclusion I came to was that I want to help cyclists. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about others like me — the weekend warriors, the bicycle commuters, the bike errand runners — who found themselves in the unlucky situation of getting into an accident and needing to deal with the tragic aftermath. I thought about the ones that are lucky enough to survive, and the ones that don’t. For so many reasons I was grateful when it came to the outcome of my accident, but specifically because I had been prepared to handle it, and because I knew exactly what to do if something like this ever happened.

I had a sizable Uninsured Motorist policy, which meant I could receive compensation for damages received from negligent drivers who were uninsured, and I knew to document my experience and my injuries and how to handle my claim. I knew what to do before AND after my accident so that I was able to collect the maximum amount of money available under my insurance policy to compensate me for my injuries.

I decided that I want to do this for other cyclists. I want to help the community. I want to be a resource for cyclists, a place to call so that they can plan for and be ready after the horrendous experience of an accident. No lawyer is better suited than I to evaluate the facts of a cycling accident. Nobody understands better than I how to interpret those medical documents, and doctor’s reports. Nobody empathizes like I do about how it feels, emotionally and physically, to be hit by a moving vehicle and nobody would have a vested interest such as I do in helping cyclist get as much compensation as possible for their injuries and losses.

My firm is a catastrophic injury law firm. We specialize in accidents and all varieties of personal injuries, including medical malpractice, but we now have firm focus — driven by what I feel deeply is a moral responsibility — to help the cycling community.

I do not know if I will ever ride the same way I once did again. I miss the social aspect of it. I miss the guys. I miss the team, the prep, the maps, the planning and yes, the spandex, but this is a way for me to fill that void.

We have already had great success in taking cycling cases over from other attorneys. We have gotten large six figure results.

I want to be the multi-use pocket tool for the community, to help from A-Z, to advise and help protect, to help collect and help repair.

If you are injured in a cycling related case, no matter how severe it is, call me, David Drexler, the Bicycle Attorney at the DREXLER LAW FIRM. We will ride with you.

-David Drexler

Disclaimers:

The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction.  This blog is not intended to, and does not, create an attorney client relationship, an offer of employment or a guarantee of success for clients of The Drexler Law firm.  No information or representation contained in this post should be construed as an offer of employment, guarantee of success or the creation of an attorney client relationship with The Drexler Law firm, nor as legal advice from The Drexler Law Firm or the individual author.  No reader of this post should act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer in the corresponding jurisdiction.

There are time deadlines during which a case must be brought, according to your jurisdiction or state, and failing to abide by the jurisdictional statute of limitation rules can result in your case being time-barred.

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