California Bicycle Accident Lawyers for Northern and Southern California - Bicycle Injury Attorneys for Those Seriously Injured in Southern California in San Diego to Riverside San Bernardino Orange County Los Angeles Ventura and Santa Barbara and Northern California Bicycle Attorneys in San Francisco the Bay Area Berkeley Oakland Santa Clara County San Jose from Fresno to Sacramento.

We are your bicycle accident lawyers of choice for all of California. This page will describe our qualifications and extraordinary accomplishments as California trial lawyers, the acclaim attorney Henke has received from his trial lawyer peers, as well as his qualifications as a "bike rider" himself, knowledgeable about "single track riding physics" from the seat up. Decisions with regard to the choice of bicycle accident attorney to represent you should not be based on the "stickiness" of lawyer advertisements; rather the decision should be made based upon a comparison of lawyer qualifications. You may quickly review Mr. Henke's trial lawyer qualifications in the right column of this page. Below, this California bicycle accident lawyer will provide you the trial lawyer qualification questions you should want to ask any "California bicycle injury lawyer" who you would consider to represent you. Below Henke will also answer the same qualification questions - without your first having to ask. Please read on below to learn about Mr. Henke's qualifications as a trial lawyer and California bicycle accident lawyer, and then we invite you to Call Toll Free, or click here to submit the e-mail California Bicycle Accident Attorney Contact Form for a Free Consultation personally from California bicycle injury lawyer, Ray Henke. The bicycle attorney toll free number is Mr. Henke's direct line, and it will be Mr. Henke who will contact you personally if you submit the California Bicycle Accident Attorney Questionnaire. You may call or e-mail our California Bicycle Injury Attorneys from anywhere in the state. The Henke Law Group will consider representing bicycle riders seriously injured in any county in the State of California. In Southern California we are your San Diego bicycle accident lawyers in Orange County and Los Angeles Riverside San Bernardino Ventura and Santa Barbara. In Northern California we are your San Francisco bicycle accident lawyers for the Bay Area Berkeley and Oakland as well as San Jose Davis and Sacramento. We are your Central California bicycle lawyers in Fresno and the Inland Empire. Regardless where you were injured in the state, we are your attorneys of choice for serious injury bicycle accidents.

We are aggressive lawyers who fight for our clients rights, and when we say we are "aggressive" that is not just idle spin. We can also be creative in often surmounting litigation obstacles which might seem at first insurmountable. One common difficulty faced by lawyers in serious injury bicycle accident cases is that the measure of damages sustained by the bicyclist may far exceed the auto driver's woefully inadequate auto liability insurance coverage and assets. California bicycle accident attorney, Henke, was the first California lawyer to thoroughly research and then publish a scientific review article discussing the epidemiology and controlled experimental literature demonstrating that motorists who drive under the influence of cell conversation, whether by handheld or hands-free device, are DUI level impaired and 4 times more likely to cause an accident. California bicycle accident lawyer, Ray Henke, was also the first to urge that in every serious injury bicycle and motorcycle accident case the lawyers should subpoena the motorist's cell phone records, in part to aid in demonstrating the negligence of the motorist, but often most importantly, to identify additional sources of insurance which may be made available to fully compensate for the rider's injuries and compensatory damages. In many bicycle accident cases the bicyclist will be seriously and often catastrophically injured, and indeed, all to often the auto driver will be woefully underinsured to compensate for the bicyclist's injuries and damages. However, currently one out of every 10 auto drivers on our American streets and highways at any given moment in time is actively involved in cell conversation. Many of these drivers are engaged in business related calls. By obtaining the cell phone records, the appropriately qualified California bicycle accident lawyer can often demonstrate that the motorist was "in the course and scope of his employment" at the time of the accident, and we can therefore also name the employer in the lawsuit on the common theory of vicarious liability referred to as respondeat superior. Once having done that, the employer's insurance policy and assets will then be available to more adequately compensate the seriously injured bicyclist for his injuries and damages. If you would like to read more about this subject matter, please consider our "Cell phone accident lawyer" page.

California Bicycle Accident Lawyer, Henke's Trial Lawyer Qualifications, and his California and National Recognition as a Superior Trial Attorney.

The California bicycle accident lawyer who you chose for your case should be the lawyer with the highest trial attorney qualifications and track record in serious injury litigation. For any serious injury bicycle accident case arising in any county in the state, California bicycle accident attorney Henke has the highest trial lawyer and bicycle accident lawyer credentials. California bicycle accident lawyer, Ray Henke and his firm are "AV" rated by Martindale & Hubbell, the highest lawyer and law firm rankings awarded by the most highly respected lawyer and law firm rating directory in the United States. "A" is defined as "very high to preeminent" in "legal ability"; "V" is defined as "very high" "general ethical standards." According to Martindale & Hubbell: "AV Peer Review Rating: shows that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity." California bicycle accident attorney, Mr. Henke, is listed as one of the "Top Lawyers in America," and is a member of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum" commonly described as: "the most selective and prestigious group of trial lawyers in the United States." California bicycle accident lawyer, Henke, is a former Governor of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, subsequently renamed Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, CAALA, the second largest trial lawyer association in the State of California, and fifth largest trial lawyer association in the United States. He was also nominated by the Board of CAALA for the most highly coveted "Trial Lawyer of the Year Award," and received the Association's President's Award. California bicycle injury attorney, Henke, has represent many seriously injured clients, achieving many multimillion dollar settlements and jury verdicts described on other pages of this web site, including his most recent, a 2.5 Million dollar settlement in a motorcycle accident case. Serious injury "single track vehicle" accident litigation is a particular interest of Mr. Henke, in part because he has been a motorcyclist since age 11, and he understands well the physics of "two wheel riding" from the seat up. Scroll down and California bicycle injury attorney, Henke, will provide you the questions you should ask any "California bicycle accident lawyer" whom you would consider to represent you. He will also provide his answers to the same questions, setting forth his additional California trial attorney and bicycle accident lawyer qualifications, without your first having to ask. You are invited to call attorney Henke toll free, or submit the e-mail "California Bicycle Injury Lawyers Contact Form" if you have been injured in a bicycle accident anywhere in the state of California. Attorney Henke and is law offices are your California bicycle injury lawyers of choice, serving all of Northern, Central and Southern California - The Henke Law Office will consider serving those seriously injured in a bicycle accidents in any county in the state of California. We are your Los Angeles bicycle accident lawyers serving San Diego, Orange County up to Ventura, Santa Barbara and Fresno. And in Northern California we are your San Francisco bicycle accident lawyers of choice serving the Bay Area in Berkeley and Oakland, also in Santa Clara County, San Jose, and Palo Alto up to Davis and Sacramento. If you were involved in a California bicycle accident, Call toll free, from anywhere in California, and speak personally to Attorney Henke, or submit the e-mail "California Bicycle Accident Lawyers Contact Questionnaire" and Mr. Henke will respond within 24 hours.

What Should The Seriously Injured California Bicycle Accident Victim Look for In a California Bicycle Injury Lawyer?

You Have the Right to Ask Any California Bicycle Accident Lawyer About his Qualifications. And You Should Do So.

Every good lawyer, and that includes every good "California bicycle accident lawyer," should see the logic of your wanting to assure that you will be properly represented in your bicycle injury case, and the lawyer should be willing and happy to answer any questions you have about his trial lawyer qualifications and serious injury litigation experience.

Below are provided a number of questions are that you should consider asking to determine which "California bicycle accident lawyer" is best for you.

As a California bicycle accident lawyer who you may wish to consider for your serious injury case, Mr. Henke will also provide straightforward answers to each of the qualification questions without your first having to ask him. He describes his superior qualifications as a trial lawyer, his enviable standing in the trial lawyer community, some of his accomplishments as a trial lawyer, his California and national recognition as a superior trial lawyer, and his track record in complex serious injury litigation.

You should consider the California bicycle accident attorneys' trial lawyer qualifications to be the first of your considerations in selecting the best attorney for your case. Before Henke turns to his trial lawyer qualifications and track record, there is one other important qualification that you should also consider insisting upon, and that is that your California bicycle accident lawyer be knowledgeable about the peculiar injury vulnerabilities and the "physics" involved in riding single track vehicles such as bicycles and motorcycles.

Henke doesn't just call himself a "bicycle accident lawyer." Yeah, he is a "bike rider" too, in some very important ways just like you. He has been riding motorcycles since he was 11 years old, and he continues to ride today. It might be possible for a lawyer to learn "single track vehicle physics" from books and from a study of single vehicle physics and the relevant statistics, if he is conscientious about learning single track vehicle dynamics in the abstract. But it is one thing to know it in the abstract and another to understand it "from the seat up." Indeed, some of the conclusions drawn from single track accident statistics about the causes of bicycle and motorcycle accidents is unfortunately false, and can sidetrack single track vehicle litigation. For example, the conclusion is often made that the incidence of motorcycle and bicycle accidents can be explained as the supposedly "unavoidable" result of the bike's "lack of conspicuity." Henke says "No, bicycles and motorcycles are legal means of transportation on our streets, requiring auto drivers to "expect" them and "attend" to them when they appear in their visual field. There is an entire body of science, described as "inattentional blindness" which effectively rebuts the "lack of conspicuity" excuse for failing to "see" a bicyclist or motorcyclists. Furthermore, because bikes don't have the mass of metal, interior padding, seat belts and air bags that cars do to insulate the rider from injury in an accident, Henke takes the position that auto drivers have an enhanced responsibility to LOOK carefully for bicyclists and motorcyclists, particularly when they enter intersections from side streets, turn left in front of us at intersections, open their doors into us, change lanes, move to turn right at intersections or into driveways or parking spaces, pull out of parking spaces, etc. Yes, Henke considers himself a "two wheeler," just like you. You may ask: "Why should that matter as one of the criteria you consider in your selection of the California bicycle accident lawyer for your case?" Well, let him ask you: "Do you feel a special loyalty for your two wheeled brethren?" Well that loyalty is how Henke defines being a "biker." We face many of the same dangers, whether the two wheels you ride on also have motors attacked to them or not. And it carries over into Henke's commitment as a California bicycle accident lawyer, and to his representation of all his bicycle accident clients.

Because Henke is a two wheeler, he also understands single track vehicle physics "from the seat up." Consider whether you really want to deal with a auto driving personal injury attorney who scratches his head and asks, "Well, why didn't you just turn your bicycle's handle bars more to the left if you needed to tighten your left turn?" Think about it. Or "Why didn't you just slam on your brakes while you were in mid-turn when the car pulled out in front of you?"

Do you really want to look into the blank eyes of an auto driving personal injury lawyer as you explain to him how your two wheeled single track bike turns as a function of its lean and counter-steering? Do you think you should have to explain to your attorney that if your bike didn't go down it would straighten up and run off the side of the road or into another more serious hazard if you "slammed on your brakes" in mid-turn? Indeed, do you want to face the prospect that these matters of single track vehicle physics would be explained to your auto driving personal injury lawyer by the other party's accident reconstruction expert at trial?

"It's all about understanding." And that's what a bike riding lawyer like Henke can do for you that an auto driving personal injury lawyer can't.

Now, as important as it is that your California bicycle accident attorney truly understands single track vehicle physics, in selecting a lawyer for your case, you should insist on determining your California bicycle injury lawyer's legal qualifications. In assessing the credentials of the California bicycle lawyers whom you would consider to represent you, the Henke Law Office recommends that you ask the following trial lawyer qualification questions.

Mr. Henke also provides his straightforward and accurate answers to the same questions without waiting for you to ask.

The Trial Lawyer Qualification Questions You Should Ask Any California Bicycle Accident Attorney Who You Would Consider To Represent You.

Inquire: Is the California bicycle accident lawyer rated by Martindale and Hubble? And if so, what is the attorney's "Legal Ability" rating and "General Ethical Standards" rating?

Answer: California bicycle accident lawyer, Ray Henke, has the very highest Martindale & Hubbell rating, "AV." The "A" rating means "very high to preeminent" in "legal ability"; and the "V" means Very High" in general ethical standards. These are the very highest ratings awarded by this most recognized and uniformly most highly respected lawyer rating directory in the United States. The ratings are based upon interviews with judges and other highly respected lawyers in the community in which the attorney practices. Only 1 percent of lawyers receive the "AV" rating. It is a rating that Henke has received consistently now for the past two decades of his legal career. In the words of Martindale Hubbell: "AV Peer Review Rating shows that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity."

Inquire: Have the California bicycle accident attorneys served as prosecuting counsel in litigation involving substantial injuries, and then obtained substantial settlements and jury verdicts?

Answer: California bicycle accident attorney, Ray Henke, has served as sole or lead counsel in many serious injury cases over the course of his career and has obtained numerous substantial settlements and jury verdicts, including many multimillion dollar settlements and multimillion dollar jury verdicts.

Most Recent Settlement or Verdict: 2.5 Million dollar settlement in a California motorcycle accident case. This was a contested liability intersection accident in which the motorcyclist had pulled out into an intersection from between two left turn lanes. The motorcyclist suffered a below knee injury and amputation, broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

California State Bar Required Disclaimer. The results obtained in those cases were dependent upon the facts of the cases, and the results will differ in other cases based on different facts.

Inquire: Is the California bicycle injury lawyer a member of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum"?

Answer: California bicycle injury lawyer, Ray Henke, is a member of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum," an exclusive trial lawyer organization numbering only 3000 lawyers nationwide, described as: "the most selective and prestigious group of trial lawyers in the United States." Membership is limited, inter alia, to trial lawyers who have obtained million and multimillion dollar settlements and jury verdicts. Henke has obtained many multimillion dollar jury verdicts and settlements for his clients, many in the most complex litigation.

Inquire: Have the California bicycle accident lawyers been recognized by their peers as an established, superior trial lawyers?

Answer: California bicycle accident lawyer, Mr. Henke, was elected Governor of the CAALA, the second largest trial lawyer association in California, and the fifth largest trial lawyers association in the United States. He was elected to the prestigious position by the thousands of trial lawyer members of the association.

Mr. Henke was also nominated by the CAALA Board for the most highly coveted "Trial Lawyer of the Year" Award.

Mr. Henke also served for years in the prestigious position of the Editor-in-Chief of CAALAs legal journal, "THE ADVOCATE."

Inquire: Have the California bicycle injury lawyers obtained widespread positive recognition in and outside the legal profession?

Answer: California bicycle injury lawyer, Ray Henke, has a national reputation as a determined, effective and successful trial attorney, as reflected in scores of legal journal articles and legitimate lay newspaper articles about Mr. Henke and his trial work. These were newspaper articles in national newspapers from the front page of the New York Times to the front page of the Los Angeles Times, from the Washington Post to the San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner. Henke's legal work and his cases have also been chronicled in feature articles in national and California legal journals and magazines from the National Law Journal to the California Lawyer. His cases and legal work have also been the subject of legitimate national and international television news coverage, from Tom Brokaw's NBC Nightly News to CNN. Henke has testified before Congress at the invitation of the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives specifically with regard to his legal work in several important product injury cases, and his use of claims for punitive damages to set examples of defendants who consciously disregard the safety of others. The Congressional testimony did not involve California bicycle accident cases. However, the issue of punitive damages can arise in a bicycle accident case where an auto driver intentionally hits a motorcyclist, or if the auto driver operates his vehicle in a manner that amounts to malicious and conscious disregard for the lives of others and as the result causes injury to a bicycle rider.

Inquire: Can the California bicycle accident attorneys verify that they are effective legal advocates, by citation to important verifiable appellate victories which have been published?

The success of a California bicycle accident attorney is in large measure a function of the attorney's vitally important general ability to argue and persuade on legal issues. One verifiable measure of the attorney's superior advocacy is whether he has achieved important published appellate victories which have changed the law. But this type of superior legal advocacy is an ability that is not just essential on appeals. It is an ability essential to the California bicycle accident attorney's effectiveness in meeting all the big and small challenges presented at every stage of California bicycle accident litigation, for example, in pretrial motions, which can seriously affect settlement posture of a bicycle accident case as well as the parties' important advantages or disadvantages at the trial of the bicycle accident case. Your California bicycle accident attorneys willingness to ask the appellate court to immediately intervene and reverse a bad pretrial decision that guts the bicycle accident case may also be important to achieve the best result. Superior legal advocacy is a talent also essential during a California bicycle accident trial, as the trial lawyer must be able to argue legal issues effectively, e.g., the admissibility of the defendant's admission of fault, or the inadmissibility of prejudicial medical or character evidence, or the permissibility or impermissibility of police or expert bicycle accident reconstruction opinion testimony, etc. Then, if you obtain a substantial verdict at trial, the defendant will often appeal, and then you may require superior legal advocacy to hold on to your verdict.

Answer: California bicycle accident attorney, Ray Henke, has obtained extraordinary published and verifiable appellate victories. For example, on behalf of a single aggrieved client Mr. Henke obtained the reversal of a a $120,000,000.00 Ohio Federal District Court approved settlement which purported to bind 1000 product liability claimants who were joined in the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and all others injured by the product nationwide. (This was not a bicycle product liability case, but the same principles would apply generally to mandatory class action across the spectrum of product liability litigation.) On Henke's petition for writ of mandamus to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Henke also obtained the reversal of the Federal District Court's certification of the national mandatory product liability class action. Henke's argument, accepted by the Court of Appeals as requiring both decisions, was that Henke's client was denied his right to the attorney of his choice and his and his chosen attorney's control over his individual litigation. The appellate decision achieved an important change in the law severely restricting the availability of mandatory, as opposed to voluntary, class actions.

As another example of this California bicycle lawyer's appellate success, when a California trial judge applied newly enacted tort reform legislation to deprive Henke's 5 clients (who were consolidated for trial in the same action) of their punitive damage claims, Henke obtained a "stay" of the trial from the California Superior Court Judge and filed in the California Court of Appeals a request for "extraordinary writ" seeking the immediate reversal of the California trial court's order. The California Court of Appeal granted the writ of mandamus and ordered the California Superior Court Judge to reverse its order and permit Henke's 5 clients to pursue their punitive damage claim at their consolidated trial. The California Court of Appeals also rendered an important published appellate opinion in which it reinterpreted the repressive California tort reform legislation to deprive it of most of its negative substantive force and effect. This California Court of Appeals opinion also has been cited in numerous subsequent appellate decisions, including, to Henke's delight, for the proposition that "legislation must be interpreted to avoid absurd results." Again, this was not a bicycle accident case, however, in was a personal injury case, and again the issue of punitive damages may arise in bicycle accident cases, for example, where the auto driver demonstrated by his actions a malicious and conscious disregard for life.

Mr. Henke has also obtained extraordinary unpublished appellate victories, including the reversal of a judge's "summary judgment" denying a paraplegic accident victim his day in court. The young, teenage plaintiff, had been riding home from school in the back of his friend's pick up truck. The lawsuit was originally brought by a very highly respected New Jersey attorney (appearing pro hac vice in California) on the theories of negligent and strict product liability "failure to warn." The foreign truck manufacturer argued and the trial court judge agreed that the dangers of riding in the back of a pick up truck are "open and obvious" as a matter of law, which rendered the New Jersey lawyer's "failure to warn" theory untenable. On that basis the California trial court "threw the case out of court." The New Jersey attorney then contacted Henke for help in overturning the trial judge's ruling. Henke prosecuted the appeal, in which Henke cited not only to the evidence of the dangers, but to the legislative history surrounding the California legislature's subsequent statutory law forbidding riding in the back of a truck. Henke pointed out that in the year prior to the accident, then Governor Wilson had vetoed the legislation which would have made it illegal to ride in the back of pick up trucks. Henke quoted the Governor's remarks explaining his veto. And Henke argued, inter alia, ff the dangers of riding in the back of a pick up truck were not "open and obvious" to Governor Wilson, then the trial court was out of line in ruling that the dangers were "open and obvious" as a matter of law. The Court of Appeals overturned the trial court's summary judgment and ordered that the young paraplegic plaintiff be allowed his day in court.

The California bicycle accident lawyer's recognition by Martindale Hubble, his recognition by his peers, his local and national reputation, his trial successes and his appellate successes are all matters which you should want to inquire about in selecting the right California bicycle accident attorney for your serious injury case.

Additional of Mr. Henke's credentials are set forth on the separate page "Henke, the Trial Lawyer" page.

You may inquire further as to Mr. Henke's credentials and obtain a free consultation with regard to your California bicycle accident case by submitting the e-mail "California Bicycle Accident Lawyer Contact Form".

Bicycle Accident Lawyers for Southern Central & Northern California. The Henke Law Office are your Southern California Bicycle Injury Lawyers in Los Angeles San Diego Orange County Riverside San Bernardino Ventura Santa Barbara and Fresno bicycle Accident Attorneys. Northern California bicycle Accident Lawyers San Francisco Bay Area Berkeley Oakland San Jose Santa Clara and Sacramento.

For a free California bicycle accident lawyer consultation, you may submit the California Bicycle Accident Attorneys Contact Form and Mr. Henke will contact you within 24 hours. There is absolutely no obligation and initial consultations are absolutely free of charge. As California bicycle accident lawyers the Henke Law Office serves all of California as your bicycle accident lawyers of choice for every county from Los Angeles County and Orange County to Marin County to San Juaquin Kern County Ventura Imperial County Kings County and the Inland Empire. As California bicycle accident attorneys we represent bicycle riders in Southern California in San Diego and in Orange County and as Southern California bicycle accident lawyers in Los Angeles Pasadena Santa Monica the San Fernando Valley Burbank Van Nuys Encino Sherman Oaks Thousand Oaks Torrence and Woodland Hills; also as bicycle accident lawyers in Pomona Santa Ana Bakersfield Riverside and San Bernardino. We are your bicycle attorneys in Ventura County and Santa Barbara. The California bicycle injury lawyers represent bike riders in all of Central California including in Fresno. We are your Northern California bicycle accident lawyers in San Francisco serving those injured in bicycle accidents throughout the Bay Area, in Berkeley and Oakland, as well as: bicycle injury lawyers in San Jose Santa Clara County Palo Alto and Davis, up to Sacramento. California bicycle accident lawyer, Henke, is licensed to practice in all the Courts of the State of California and will be pleased to consider the bicycle accident case of any rider seriously injured in any county in the state of California.