I was injured due to a bicycle accident

This is Thomas Berrett from Hal Waldman and Associates and today the we’re going to be talking about bicycle accidents and how your medical bills are paid if you are in a bicycle accident. One of the things that many clients don’t understand when they call us is where their medical bills are going to be paid from. And if you’re hit by a car or truck or motorcycle in Pennsylvania, it’s really pretty simple.

The first place that you are going to look forward to get your medical bills paid is to any automobile policy under which you are a named insured. So even if you’re on a bicycle, or a skateboard, or really any other kind of conveyance. If you’re hit by a motor vehicle, your own automobile policy is going to pay for your bills.

Many people don’t understand that in too many people, it doesn’t make sense, because they think I wasn’t in my car. Why should my car pay? Or if the accident wasn’t my fault? Why should my insurance be responsible for paying for my bills. The reason for that is that in Pennsylvania, your medical bills are paid on a no fault basis. So again, it doesn’t matter if you were at fault or who was at fault. If you’re covered under an automobile policy, and you are a named insured, you will be entitled to medical benefits from that policy.

If you’re on a bicycle, and you have a car and you’re the policy holder, you will be covered. If you don’t have your own policy, but you live with a relative that has a policy, then your bills will be paid for by that relatives policy. And finally, if you don’t have a policy where you are the named insured, and you don’t live with a relative that has a policy. Then your bills will be paid for by the vehicle that struck you. But that’s not a function of who’s at fault.

That’s just the priority of insurance coverage that sets forth in the law. So if you or a family member have been involved in a bicycle accident, and you need some guidance on how to submit a claim to get your medical bills paid, you can always call and talk to me at 412-338-1000.