Motorcyclists face unique dangers anytime they hit the road. Accidents can still happen even when they take all the right measures to protect themselves, such as wearing a helmet and protective clothing and operating their motorcycles safely and responsibly. Motorcyclists suffer the effects of an accident much more directly than those in passenger vehicles, and the results can be devastating.
If you suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident due to a driver’s negligence or recklessness, you might wonder, Should I get a lawyer for a motorcycle accident? After all, the other party could owe you compensation for your medical and repair bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.
But the complex legal process is not something you should navigate on your own, especially when you’re trying to heal from your injuries. Fortunately, an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can help you pursue the maximum compensation after an accident.
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How Do Motorcycle Accidents Happen?
Motorcycle accidents occur due to a variety of causes. Often, a combination of human, vehicular, and environmental factors is to blame, each of which can affect the severity of the crash and subsequent injuries.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcyclists accounted for 14 percent of all traffic fatalities in one year despite accounting for just 3.5 percent of all registered vehicles.
In fact, motorcyclists are 24 times more likely to die in an accident than people in passenger vehicles. Their likelihood of injury is four times greater, and riders who survive motorcycle accidents often face a long road to recovery.
Motorcycles have unique vulnerabilities relative to passenger vehicles. For starters, they’re smaller, so drivers need to take extra care to watch for motorcyclists nearby.
They also offer far less protection to their riders than passenger vehicles do to their occupants, since motorcycles don’t fully surround riders and they don’t have airbags, seatbelts, or other safety features. And while motorcycles are easier to maneuver, they’re also more challenging to control in the event of a collision.
Top Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
A major cause of motorcycle accidents is the failure of other drivers to extend the proper duty of care to motorcyclists. In other words, drivers owe it to motorcyclists to operate their vehicles in a manner that reduces the likelihood of collisions and prevents injury to riders.
Vehicle operators may demonstrate negligence by:
- Driving at high speeds
- Changing lanes in an erratic or sudden manner
- Failing to check blind spots for motorcyclists
- Failing to yield to motorcyclists when making left turns
- Driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol
- Driving while distracted (eating, using electronics, etc.)
- Opening their doors in a motorcyclist’s path
- Driving too close to a motorcycle’s rear wheel
Accidents may also occur due to environmental conditions, such as inclement weather, lack of road maintenance, construction, debris on the road, and similar factors.
Environmental conditions may also contribute to collisions in which driver error or negligence is the primary cause.
Common Types of Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Because motorcyclists have so little protection, they may suffer a variety of injuries in the event of an accident.
This lack of protection often exacerbates the severity of their injuries, which could involve:
- Head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis
- Back injuries
- Fractures
- Cuts and bruises
- Road rash
- Internal injuries, such as internal bleeding and organ damage
- Crushing injuries, potentially requiring amputation
Motorcycle accident injuries can be catastrophic. Even those who emerge comparatively unscathed may require significant medical treatment and considerable recovery time. Particularly devastating injuries may limit their ability to work and enjoy life in the way they used to.
While the effects of an accident may never entirely go away, a motorcycle accident lawyer can help an injured motorcyclist pursue the compensation they need to live their life to its fullest.
What a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Can Do for You
When you’re suffering from injuries after a motorcycle accident, you need help navigating what lies ahead, particularly if you’re thinking about pursuing compensation for your injuries and other effects of the collision.
Retaining a motorcycle accident attorney offers the best path to securing the funds that will help you recover and move forward.
Motorcycle accidents are complex. They happen in an instant, and the sudden trauma can make it hard to recollect what happened.
An attorney with experience handling motorcycle accident cases can analyze the situation and seek the compensation you deserve from the parties responsible for your injuries. Here’s a closer look at what a motorcycle accident lawyer will do for your case.
Gather and Review Evidence to Determine Liability
Your success in recovering compensation depends on showing that another party is liable for your injuries due to their negligent action or failure to act.
For example, perhaps you were riding your motorcycle on a stretch of road and had to slow down due to congestion or a traffic stoppage ahead of you.
The driver behind you took their eyes off the road to look at their phone, didn’t realize you were slowing down, and rear-ended you, ejecting you from your motorcycle and causing severe injuries and property damage. In this case, the other driver should be liable for your injuries and property loss.
This may seem like a very straightforward case – and in many ways, it is – but you have to prove that the other driver was to blame for hitting you, and to do so requires evidence.
Your attorney’s job is to gather and review the evidence related to your accident and craft a solid argument on your behalf. They’ll demand, collect, and review the police report, statements from eyewitnesses, medical records, and other evidence to establish a link between the driver’s actions, the accident, and your injuries.
Some of this evidence may be readily available, but it is only the first piece of the puzzle. Your attorney will take advantage of existing relationships with experts who can provide additional evidence.
For example, they may consult an accident reconstruction expert to help them get to the root causes of the accident and determine exactly what happened. They may also bring in medical professionals to analyze your injuries and your prospects for physical recovery.
Determine Fair Compensation
Once they’ve determined the other party is liable for your injuries, your motorcycle accident lawyer will calculate a dollar amount that represents fair compensation for your losses.
Knowing how much compensation to seek isn’t solely a matter of adding up your bills, as your injuries likely have effects that are harder to quantify. That’s why your attorney will look at your options for both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages cover quantifiable losses. Your medical bills are perhaps the most obvious expense arising from the accident, and this category may encompass medical transportation, emergency care, surgery, rehab, long-term care, prescription medication, and more.
There’s also the cost of repairing or replacing your motorcycle and any property you were carrying that suffered damage in the collision.
Replacement for lost income is another important category of economic damages. Severe injuries may keep you off the job for an indefinite period. They may even make you unable to continue working in the same capacity, if at all. Your attorney can calculate your lost income and loss of earning capacity and seek compensation for them.
Non-economic damages compensate you for intangible losses. The physical and emotional pain and suffering you experience following a motorcycle accident can have a significant adverse effect on your life, and you deserve to have this both acknowledged and offset financially.
Motorcycle accidents can also cause life-altering disfigurement, loss of quality of life, and other intangible effects. Your attorney will look at all these factors and account for them when calculating compensation.
Negotiate With Insurance Companies
Insurance companies aren’t interested in making large payouts after accidents – doing so makes it harder for them to make a profit.
Instead, they may take advantage of a victim’s vulnerability in the period following an accident by offering a settlement in the hopes that the victim will accept it, closing off their avenues for collecting further compensation later on.
Unfortunately, these settlements tend to be far lower than what a motorcycle accident victim may be able to recover with an experienced attorney’s guidance.
This is why you shouldn’t accept a settlement offer without consulting an attorney. They’ll be able to determine whether it’s a fair and reasonable offer that adequately reflects what you’ve been through.
If your motorcycle accident attorney believes you deserve more compensation than what the insurance company is offering, they will go back to them and demand a higher dollar amount. These negotiations may go back and forth, but your attorney will always pursue the maximum amount that represents full compensation for your losses.
Argue Your Case in Court
In most cases, a good attorney can get the insurance company to agree to pay the amount their client needs, but in some cases, the other party won’t agree to a fair settlement.
If this happens in your situation, your attorney will file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf and initiate court proceedings. This demonstration of their commitment could get the insurance company to return to the bargaining table, but if not, your case goes to trial.
In a courtroom setting, your motorcycle accident attorney will present evidence of the accident, your resulting injuries, and their effect on your life and health.
The insurance company’s lawyers will also present their side, and the judge or jury will render a verdict based on the evidence and arguments presented. Your attorney will comply with all court procedures and prepare in advance for the possibility of going to court.
Provide Reassurance
The process of recovering from a motorcycle accident is physically, emotionally, and financially taxing. When you add a legal battle to this existing stress, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. You deserve to focus your energies on getting better without having to worry about a complex legal process.
One of the biggest benefits of retaining an attorney is that doing so provides valuable peace of mind, from the initial consultation to the conclusion of your case.
Your motorcycle accident attorney will have the situation under control and take care of the day-to-day tasks associated with your legal case. They’ll be there to support you and provide the guidance and reassurance you need during a difficult time.
Choosing a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Working with an experienced and knowledgeable motorcycle accident lawyer can have an enormously positive effect on the outcome of your case – but how do you go about choosing an attorney to represent you?
First, look for a lawyer with experience handling motorcycle accident cases specifically. You want an attorney who understands the factors that cause and contribute to motorcycle accidents.
They’ll know the relevant laws and the processes of both negotiating with insurance companies and arguing on victims’ behalf in court.
During your initial consultation, they should point to cases in which they’ve successfully recovered compensation for clients who suffered motorcycle accident injuries.
Your rapport with your attorney matters, too. You want to feel like you can speak freely and openly with your lawyer, and feel comfortable asking them questions about your case and your legal options.
An attorney will likely be a good fit if you feel like they listen to you, understand you, and empathize with you.
Be sure to ask any attorney you’re considering working with about their fee structure. Many attorneys who represent motorcycle accident victims work on a contingency basis — in other words, they don’t charge a fee unless and until they recover compensation.
The fees are then deducted from the settlement amount. That way, there is no barrier between you and legal representation, and your lawyer has an incentive to recover every cent possible in your case.
Contact a Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today
When you’re facing a long road to recovery and significant medical expenses following a motorcycle accident that was someone else’s fault, you deserve the skilled legal representation you need to pursue full compensation for your losses.
Contact a San Diego personal injury attorney, and they will help you understand your legal rights and walk you through your options.
If you choose to retain them, they’ll build a strong case on your behalf, negotiate with the insurance companies, and seek the compensation you deserve.
The sooner you do so, the more they can do on your behalf – and the sooner you can focus your attention on what really matters in life.
Ashley Rae Rawlins
Founder and CEO - Rawlins Law Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC
Personal Injury Attorney
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