In this informative episode, host John Maher is joined by legal experts Rob Mazow and Kevin McCullough from the Law Office of Mazow McCullough as they explore the critical steps cyclists should take immediately after an accident. They discuss the importance of gathering evidence at the scene—such as photos, videos, and witness information—and emphasize why seeking prompt medical care is crucial, even for seemingly minor injuries. With clear, practical advice on navigating the adversarial nature of post-accident interactions with insurance companies and ensuring your rights are protected, this episode is a must-listen for cyclists and anyone interested in understanding the legal and medical implications following a bicycle accident.
John Maher: Hi. I am John Maher, and I’m here today with Rob Mazow and Kevin McCullough of the Law Office of Mazow McCullough. Today we’re talking about common bicycle accident injuries and what to do at the scene. Welcome, Rob and Kevin.
Robert Mazow: Thanks, John.
Kevin McCullough: Thank you, John.
What Immediate Steps Should A Cyclist Take After An Accident?
Maher: Sure. What are some of the immediate steps that a cyclist should take after being involved in a bike accident?
Mazow: Well, John, importantly, I’m going to assume in this answer that the bicyclist is capable of gathering information at the scene. We’ll talk about in a moment what happens if the bicyclist is seriously, seriously injured, that they can’t do anything on their own at the scene. I’m talking about the bicyclist who can still stand, speak, communicate after being in a crash.
When a person has been hit on a bicycle by a car, it’s very, very, very important first and foremost to make sure that you’re okay, and if you need medical assistance to have somebody call 911, or you call 911, to make sure that there is police and an ambulance there to take care of you. You want to make sure that the vehicle that was involved in the accident is identified. Hopefully they’ve remained at the scene. Hopefully they’re there to provide information.
If they’re not there or they somehow take off, if you’re able to get your phone and snap a picture of the car, that’s going to be very important. Because this injured bicyclist, if they’re going to have medical bills, if they’re going to have lost wages, if they’re going to have pain and suffering, if they’re going to have future problems or scarring or some sort of disability, the primary resource for that is going to be the insurance company of the car that was involved in the crash.
Gathering information is absolutely priority number one. If there are witnesses at the scene, getting their names. Taking video of the accident scene. If there’s damage to the bicycle, if there’s damage to the car, if there’s damage to anything else that might’ve been involved in the crash, taking pictures of that. Gathering information as best as possible. If you cannot do that, you want to call perhaps a friend or relative to get down to the scene. Clearly, if you’re going to be able to get the police to come, they’re going to be able to hopefully get information.
If it’s a very serious situation. I’m talking about where somebody is injured terribly or worse, then we’re going to have to get involved in having the police. Obviously they’re going to be at the scene. They’re going to be gathering information. If it’s a death case, the state police will come down and they will do an accident reconstruction. They will take measurements, they will take skid marks, they will gather witness information.
We’re seeing a lot these days, over the last several years, of cameras like doorbell cameras, Ring cameras, things like that. We’ll send an investigator down, because many times there’s a dispute as to who was at fault for the accident. The motor vehicle operator is going to say, “Perhaps I didn’t see the bicyclist, or it’s the bicyclist’s fault.”
The bicyclist may not remember what happened or might say that the motor vehicle driver’s at fault. Video will answer those questions, nine out of ten times, so if we can get a video from a home security camera, a doorbell, or even one of the traffic cameras there at some of the major intersections, information gathering is critical.
Getting Medical Attention After A Cycling Accident
Maher: Let’s talk about a few of those things that you just mentioned, Rob. Let’s talk about getting medical attention. How important do you feel like it is to make sure that you’re seeking medical attention, even if maybe you have what you might think are somewhat minor injuries?
McCullough: John, if you are a bicyclist injured as a result of a collision or an incident with a motor vehicle, it is the utmost importance to get medical treatment. People suffer injuries in a number of different ways, and when you’re injured, you go to the hospital. You seek medical consultation. If you’ve been involved in an incident and you feel like you might be injured, you’re just not sure, you should still get medical treatment.
What is oftentimes overlooked in the context of a bicyclist-versus-motor-vehicle incident is it’s immediately an adversarial relationship, whether you like it or not. Whether you want it to be or not, whether the motor vehicle operator is apologizing profusely, it’s an adversarial relationship, because at some point after that incident, the insurance company, speaking for and on behalf of the motor vehicle operator who was apologizing at the scene, is going to take a different position, and they will fight and dispute injuries.
Oftentimes, it’s the extent of an injury, the severity of an injury, whether or not an injury is due to that particular event or that collision. If you are a bicyclist involved in a collision or incident with a motor vehicle and you are even thinking about you are having some pain, you have some cuts, you are maybe under the influence of the event with adrenaline and that wears off , if you’re thinking about this at all, you absolutely should go to the hospital to get checked out, and there’s two things that can happen.
You’re either going to find out or document those injuries immediately, or you’re going to get diagnostic testing done or an evaluation to determine that you were not injured.
That is also a good thing, because when you’re moving on from something like that, and over the next few days and the next few weeks after an event like that, things can change depending upon someone’s age or any pre-existing medical conditions. We do see frequently people involved in an event like this where there’s the adrenaline flowing.
There might be a little bit embarrassment from something happening and they just want to say, “I’m okay,” and leave the scene, but that’s not what should happen here. It is appreciating that it is absolutely an adversarial relationship. I need to protect myself. I need to gather information, and I need to get checked out by a doctor.
Again, whether or not there’s future medical treatment or it’s one visit to the hospital, you feel better about what happened and what you did and you know that there’s closure to that event, or I need some medical treatment, and it’s been evaluated immediately and it’s documented.
Mazow: I think the adrenaline flowing is an important point to remember there too, which is that you might not even know immediately that you have been injured or the severity of your injuries. I know that just this winter, a month or so ago, I slipped on the ice just at my own home and fell flat on my back and landed with my arms out.
I picked myself up and it seemed like I was mostly fine. I knew I hadn’t hit my head, but it wasn’t until a half an hour or an hour later that I realized that I had really severely sprained both of my wrists in the fall, hitting the ground, and I could barely move my wrists, but I wouldn’t have known that in the first five minutes after the accident. That adrenaline rush can really cover up a lot of pain that you might end up feeling later, possibly after you’ve left the accident scene already.
Maher: Right, yeah.
McCullough: It’s self-preservation, John, and its human nature that when an event like that happens where it could be as severe as someone’s life flashing before their eyes, and there’s an incident and then they’re perfectly fine, but your body will do certain things. Your blood will be flowing, your heart will be racing.
There’s an excitedness to it that you experience personally, that you may not be thinking straight if you’re not in your own driveway, if you’re on the side of the road or on the side of the highway. Absolutely take steps of what’s needed to gather the information, and get the medical treatment that you need as soon as possible.
Taking Photos Of The Accident Scene
Maher: Talk a little bit more about taking photos and videos at the scene and documenting the accident scene. How important is that in terms of the later aspect of this case, if it comes to that, or documenting it for the insurance companies?
Mazow: Yeah, like I said, it could be game-changing. It can be the difference between having a successful resolution, and what I mean by that is making sure all of your medical bills, your lost wages, are paid for, and there’s something there for pain and suffering. When there’s a dispute, it’s two people’s words and they might honestly believe what they’re saying. I mean, two people can be involved with the same incident and say, “It wasn’t my fault, it was their fault,” and each one of them saying the same thing. With video, it really answers those questions.
The other thing is that if these cases go to jury or they go to arbitration, or if we have to establish fault or the extent of damages, juries, they want to see. They really do want to see video, because they’re so used to it on TV and the movies. They would much rather see the video which tells the story objectively, without bias, and be able to determine what happened. In our business, it can be absolute game-changer.
Also, having somebody describe what an impact feels like is very limited. I mean, it’s very subjective. It’s very limiting. It’s only what their memory is, and their memory might be faulty. The accident might’ve happened several years ago, and they just don’t remember all the horror of it. If you see a video of a terrible situation, sometimes it tells the story in a much better and stronger way. It’s really critical.
McCullough: Yeah. The importance of taking photographs at the scene or videos at the scene could not be any more important, John. As I mentioned, it’s an adversarial relationship. You may be in a situation where you’re unable to call 911 or the police for various reasons, or there are no witnesses. If you have a cell phone or the ability to take pictures, simply taking a picture of the vehicle.
If your bicycle struck the vehicle, documenting that damage to that vehicle could be critical later on in proving that you were not at fault, it was the driver of the car. What I mean by that is the point of impact on the vehicle. If there’s damage to the car, that’s evidence, and that’s evidence that if you leave the scene without it, you’re going to wish that you took that photograph if you had the ability to.
It’s important at the scene to document the evidence with the vehicles involved, not only for purposes of gathering that information and who that person is and how to track them down later, but also what the evidence is concerning the collision. As I mentioned, maybe the point of impact on the vehicle. If there are skid marks on the roadway, that could be helpful. A picture of the scene at that particular time.
Sometimes, whether or not someone’s at fault can really rise or fall on what the scene looked like at the time of the collision. Was it daylight? Was it dark out? Were there shrubs or bushes blocking the vision of the driver of the car? Did that impact something that they should have done, pulling out slowly or not pulling out at all?
Maybe the person who owns that property where the trees or the shrubs are, the day after a collision happens, says, “Oh, I want to help my neighborhood and my community,” and they take down or they cut down those bushes or shrubs. You go back to the scene two weeks later with an investigator or an attorney, and it’s a completely different scene.
There are so many reasons why it is important and sometimes critical to take pictures, to take video if at all possible, so be mindful of that if you’re involved in an incident. It can feel awkward if you’re there and you’re doing it, but do it, because you may regret it later if you don’t take advantage of gathering that information that could only help you down the road.
Witness Statements After A Cycling Accident
Maher: Yeah. Speaking of feeling awkward about it, what about getting witness statements? It might be a little bit awkward to maybe approach somebody who’s walking on the sidewalk near where the accident happened or something like that and say, “Hey, did you see that accident? Can I get your name and your phone number in case I need to contact you?” What are the methods that you would recommend for somebody who’s involved in a bicycle accident to collect witness information? Should they have the person give a statement on a video on their phone right there at the accident scene, or just get their name and their phone number?
Mazow: Yeah. There’s obviously several different ways that this can be done. The first is that if the police are there and if there’s a witness there, you can point to the police officer, “Would you mind getting this person’s name and their statement,” and allow the police officers to do it. In our experience, we do see that most people are good samaritans. People are willing to help, willing to provide their opinion as to what happens. If I was to give advice, I would say get the person’s name and phone number, have an attorney, if they get involved, hire a private investigator. They’ll get an independent, unbiased statement from this person.
Certainly there is no harm to saying, “Do you mind if I record you, and tell me what happened?” You want to let the person know you’re recording, of course. We do find more often than not, witnesses, independent witnesses, are willing to stick around, are willing to provide their name and their assistance. It’s very helpful, because when you have an independent third party, people are more willing to believe their story than the two people who are involved in the crash themselves.
McCullough: To Rob’s point, we do see, and it is human nature, that we want to help each other. If we see an incident and someone’s injured, we want to help out in some way. There’s obviously no concern with who’s at fault or what caused it. These people pull over to try to help, assist, if someone’s injured. That’s a good thing that that happens.
There is a balance when you’re at the scene, to your point of do you take a video statement of a witness. I think that certainly getting someone’s name and contact number, and if addressed, possibly, that is a great step. Taking a video statement of a witness at the scene is unusual. If it can be done, I think that that’s great, but we don’t want to be in a position where we try to inform people what to do and how to do it and overwhelm them either.
It’s definitely taking a moment at the scene, gathering the evidence and information that you can, taking names and phone numbers, and that will give the lawyers, people like us, the ability a day or two or a week later, with that information, to go do the statement, to obtain the statement to find out what happened.
Definitely be mindful of that balance of making sure you’re okay, making sure you get information of who’s there and who’s involved and what they may have seen or didn’t see, and then getting the medical treatment when you leave the scene and sharing that with your attorney.
Common Mistakes Cyclists Make After An Accident
Maher: Then finally, do you feel like there’s one or two common mistakes that cyclists often make at the accident scene that might negatively affect their legal claim?
Mazow: Well, mistakes is an interesting one. I mean, you want to be very careful with what you say. Again, people’s first reaction. Let’s say the bicyclist’s first reaction might be, “My gosh, I’m sorry, this was my fault.” They may feel that way, but the facts may not support that. They should be very careful, obviously, with things like that, making admissions to what they say. Obviously in the state, it would be not getting the other party’s information.
Once that vehicle, once that motor vehicle leaves and you don’t have the person’s name, you don’t have their car, you don’t even have their license plate, there are possible ways that you could still get reimbursed for your damages, for your wages and your medical bills and pain and suffering, but you would have to have your own vehicle at home. You have to have insurance or a household member who has insurance. I would say that those two would be mistakes that should be avoided.
McCullough: John, I think what we see of the mistakes that are made are people involved in these types of situations who don’t do what we’ve been talking about and what we recommend, and they don’t appreciate the importance of all of those different things. Because when there is an incident and it’s a bicyclist in a motor vehicle, and there’s some interaction after the fact, there may be an injury on some level of severity, when the driver of that car leaves that scene, whatever they thought or felt at the scene is absolutely going to change on some level. I’m not saying that they’re going to make up a story. It’s just going to be the chance to reflect on what happened, to think about what happened, and to try to distance themselves from responsibility.
Oftentimes what we see is we’ll meet with a client who suffers a severe injury, and they say, “At the scene, the driver of the car was apologetic. They admitted it was their fault. They were sorry. They willingly gave me their insurance information.” That turns into the driver going home, talking to a spouse or a loved one or a friend or a family member, who then directs them to the insurance agent or their insurance company and they give statements.
By the time all of that happens, and we’re involved as the attorneys for the injured party and we start communicating with the insurance company, what the insurance representatives tell us from the driver of the motor vehicle’s point of view is absolutely different from what our client told us that the driver of the motor vehicle said to them at the scene. The mistakes that are made are everything that we’re talking about and trying to avoid, and what ultimately the end result could be or lead to if those mistakes are made. Like we said, gather that information, document it, and share it with your attorney.
Maher: All right, that’s great information. Rob and Kevin, thanks again for speaking with me today.
Mazow: Thanks, John.
McCullough: Thank you, John.
Maher: For more information, you can visit the website at Mazow McCullough at helpinginjured.com, or call (978) 744-8000.
