Bicycle Recall
Bicycle riding is a fun, healthy, environmentally friendly mode of transport. While riding your bike from point A to B is better for your and the planet’s health, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. While Bicycles are responsible for transporting people for 1% of all trips in the US, cyclists account for 2% of the people who die in crashes on the road.
What is a Bicycle Recall?
In a world where pedestrians and cyclists are reclaiming the streets, people in cars aren’t watching out for them. Most bicycle accidents happen because of crashes with cars. However, sometimes the bicycle may have a fatal design flaw that could lead to a catastrophic crash.
In this case, the particular model, or all models with the faulty design feature, get recalled. That means the company asks owners to return the bikes to be fixed and returned at the company’s expense.
Usually, an owner notification letter is issued to inform owners of the issue and urge them to bring their bikes in for repair. However, unfortunately, this happens after some people may have already lost their lives, livelihood, or mental peace to this design flaw.
You see, bicycle recalls happen once a problem slipped through the company’s quality assurance and safety testing departments. Owners must have faced the dangerous consequences of these avoidable flaws firsthand and reported serious crashes.
You can get justice if you or your loved one has suffered a crash due to a flaw in a recalled bike in Providence, Boston, Fall River, Hartford, or New Haven.
Call Rob Levine and Associates for a free consultation. There are no fees until you win.
What Can Go Wrong in a Recall?
You’d think that bicycle companies recall their faulty models. It is always an embarrassing situation. However, just because they recalled the bicycles doesn’t mean they’ve cleared themselves of guilt.
The faulty feature in the bike could have been avoided entirely had they been more thorough. While everyone makes mistakes, they all also must face the consequences. Even then, after putting the lives of their loyal customers at risk, here are a few things companies can do that makes recalls even worse.
Delay Notifying the Owners
A company may know that its product has questionable performance or have been notified of several crashes but choose not to do anything about it. While the safety of their customers is important, they may choose not to jeopardize a product launch or critical strategic business move with a recall.
If recalling a product would hurt their sales too badly, they may wait until they reach a more stable position. During that time, bicycle owners remain vulnerable to terrible accidents. That is unacceptable. If you have a bicycle accident due to this issue, you must sue them for personal damages. Call Bob Levine and get a personal injury lawyer to fight for you in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Their attorneys have 20 years of experience with bicycle-related cases. They can help you from suing the bicycle company for damages to claiming insurance on your bicycle.
Not Reimbursing Owners
The company funds the recall process. However, it’s possible that multiple owners may have realized there was a problem and had repairs on their own prior to being notified by the company.
The faulty part may have impaired other parts and caused the need for additional repairs. All these repairs, paid for by the owner, are due on the bicycle companies. You should be able to file a claim with them and get reimbursed.
Some companies may make policies designed to wiggle out of paying these owners what they are due. In that case, you can sue them for the repairs you had to get and the mental stress of being denied a fair reimbursement.
Band-Aid Solutions
Despite being in the already embarrassing situation of having to recall their bikes, companies might have only found band-aid solutions for the problems in their bikes. For example, let’s say a company designed a new type of front disk break. It can accidentally go off in the middle of a ride, causing the rider to hurtle forward because of their momentum.
In this case, the entire breaks need to be changed out in the recall. Let’s say the company only changes a part of the breaks instead of the breaks entirely, and they are still faulty.
This is an example of a company poorly handling a bicycle recall. If you suffered unpredictable bicycle behavior after your model had been recalled, please contact a personal injury lawyer like Bob Levine. They have over 20 years of experience with bicycle issues.
Bicycle Injury Claim
While bicycles look innocent enough, the rider doesn’t have the same safety mechanisms in place as a car when they malfunction. No airbags cushion their falls or seatbelts to ensure they don’t fall far.
That said, bicycle injuries are often terribly tragic, leaving riders possibly paraplegic or dead. 74% bike accidents involve a head injury. A company responsible for building bikes has a huge responsibility on its shoulders. If they let a bike get released without completely testing it for all possible safety issues, they are risking the lives of all their customers.
However, if you call Bob Levine and Associates to get justice for your personal injury, you’re taking zero risks. You do not have to pay any fees until you win. We have expert lawyers who will ensure you get adequately compensated and secure their fees in the amount you win from the company. Bicycle accidents mean lost wages, medical bills, bicycle repairs, emotional distress, and a loyal customer’s broken heart. Call Bob Levine to get the compensation you deserve.
Conclusion
A bicycle recall is the most embarrassing situation for a bicycle company. It also means that several riders have suffered terrible consequences of avoidable accidents riding faulty bikes. If you have suffered harm due to a bike that got recalled in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and beyond, please consider getting a personal injury lawyer like Rob Levine and Associates. They will ensure you get compensation and help you with insurance
