What Happens If You Can’t Work After a Bicycle Accident in Ocean City, NJ?
Key Takeaways
- If a driver hits you while you’re cycling in Ocean City or a nearby shore town, get medical attention immediately, even if you feel okay.
- The injury itself is often not the biggest financial problem. Lost income while you can’t work is usually bigger.
- Depending on your situation, you may have options including a personal injury claim against the driver, short term or long term disability benefits, FMLA job protection, or in severe cases, Social Security Disability benefits.
- These issues overlap. The DISINJURY™ approach looks at all of them together so a decision in one area doesn’t damage your rights in another.
- In New Jersey, personal injury claims generally have a 2-year statute of limitations (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2), though exceptions and shorter notice deadlines can apply, especially against public entities.
If you were hit by a car while riding a bike in Ocean City, Margate, Ventnor, Longport, or one of the other neighboring shore towns, get medical attention first. Then start thinking about something many people overlook: how the injury could affect your ability to work in the days, weeks, and months ahead. I’m Eric Shore, founder of The Law Offices of Eric A. Shore, and after more than 30 years helping injured and disabled people, I’ve learned that the bicycle accident itself is often only the beginning of the problem.
Most people assume the biggest financial loss is the bicycle, the medical bills, or the damage to the vehicle. In reality, the biggest loss is often the paycheck that stops coming when an injured cyclist can’t return to work. That’s where many bicycle accident cases become much more complicated than people expect.
What Should You Do Right Away After Being Hit by a Car on a Bike?
- Get medical attention right away, even if you think you’re okay. Some serious injuries don’t show symptoms immediately.
- Follow your doctor’s recommendations exactly, including any work restrictions.
- Keep records of your treatment, missed work, and out-of-pocket expenses.
- Be cautious about speaking with insurance companies before you understand the full extent of your injuries.
- Don’t assume that because you survived the crash, the hard part is over. For many injured cyclists, the financial and medical consequences unfold over the following weeks and months.
Call 1-800-CANT-WORK if you’d like to talk through your situation. There’s no charge for the conversation, and getting answers early can help you avoid mistakes that become difficult to fix later.
Why Are Bicycle Accidents in Ocean City and the Surrounding Shore Towns So Common?
I love Ocean City. On Saturday mornings, you’ll often find me walking around town with my dogs, grabbing breakfast, getting coffee, checking out the Farmers Market, and wandering up and down Asbury Avenue. You’ll see families heading to the beach, kids riding bikes, and people carrying chairs, fishing poles, and bags of fresh produce.
A friend of mine used to ride his bike from Margate to meet me in Ocean City. He was later seriously injured in a bicycle accident. Another friend lost someone in a fatal bicycle crash. Ever since then, it’s hard not to think about those experiences when I see cyclists heading through town on a summer morning.
Ocean City and the surrounding shore communities are built for walking and biking. That’s part of their charm. But it also means drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, delivery vehicles, and summer visitors are constantly sharing the same narrow streets and intersections. Most people who get hit while riding a bike aren’t doing anything reckless. They’re doing exactly what people do at the shore every day, and then a driver looks away for a moment, fails to see a cyclist, or makes a turn without enough room.
What If My Doctor Says I Can’t Work After a Bike Accident?
This is where many people start feeling overwhelmed, and it’s also where the real financial exposure usually shows up.
If your injuries prevent you from working, several options may apply depending on your situation:
- Short term disability benefits
- Long term disability benefits
- FMLA job protection
- Social Security Disability benefits
- A personal injury claim against the at-fault driver
These options often overlap, and decisions in one area can directly affect the others.
What Is the DISINJURY™ Problem in a Bicycle Accident Case?
Most law firms look at a bicycle accident and see a single personal injury case. I usually see something more complicated.
A serious bicycle accident can create several legal and financial issues at the same time. There may be an injury claim against the driver, a private disability claim through an employer or insurer, an SSDI or SSI claim if the injury is severe and long-lasting, an FMLA issue, and sometimes other employment-related concerns. That overlap is the idea behind DISINJURY™. When an injury affects your ability to work, the legal and financial consequences usually extend well beyond the crash itself.
Why Are Bicycle Accident Injuries Often More Serious Than They First Appear?
A bicycle rider has no airbag, no seatbelt, and no metal frame providing protection. As a result, even a relatively low-speed collision can cause serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, fractures, shoulder injuries, and knee injuries.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is people assuming they’re fine because the emergency room didn’t find anything catastrophic. Some of the most significant injuries reveal themselves over the following days and weeks. That’s why follow-up care and proper medical evaluation matter so much, particularly if you’re not yet sure whether you’ll be able to return to work.
What If the Accident Was Partly My Fault?
New Jersey follows a comparative negligence rule. That means you may still be able to recover damages even if you were partly responsible for the crash, as long as you were not more than 50% at fault.
This is one reason it makes sense to understand your rights before giving detailed statements to insurance companies or assuming you know how fault will be assigned.
What Should You Do Right Now?
In New Jersey, personal injury claims are generally subject to a 2-year statute of limitations (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2), although exceptions can apply and claims involving public entities often have much shorter notice requirements.
The more immediate concern, however, is protecting your health, documenting your injuries, and understanding how the accident may affect your ability to work.
If you’ve been hit by a car while riding a bike in Ocean City or a neighboring shore town, don’t focus only on the crash. Focus on what comes next. For many injured cyclists, that’s where the most important decisions are made.
Call 1-800-CANT-WORK if you’d like to talk through your options.
Eric A. Shore is a personal injury and disability lawyer and founder of The Law Offices of Eric A. Shore. Since 1994, he has helped tens of thousands of injured and disabled people whose injuries, illnesses, and disabilities affected their ability to work. Through the firm’s DISINJURY™ approach, he helps clients address the overlapping injury, disability, employment, and wage-loss issues that often follow a serious accident. Learn more at 1800CANTWORK.com.
