If you are in a motorcycle accident, it is important to contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible.  An attorney can protect your legal rights and help you get the compensation you deserve from the insurance company.  When you get into an accident, the insurance company for the other driver will try to get you to say things that make it look like you were at fault.  Please remember even if you are honest, you can make your case worse.  For example, if you don’t get the medical treatment you need to document your injuries, or if you don’t take pictures of your injuries when they are still fresh, the insurance company will have a harder time believing that you were really injured.  If you don’t collect evidence or talk to witnesses, it will be even harder to prove that the accident wasn’t your fault.  Most people don’t know what to do after an accident and need legal help.

Call us right after contacting 911—the sooner you reach out, the better we can protect your rights.

There is a lot of variation when it comes to personal injury cases. This depends on the fault issue, the nature and the extent of the injuries, and whether a lawsuit is filed if the case cannot be resolved with the insurance company in pre-litigation.

A tort is an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which liability (fault) is imposed.  This includes injuries and damages sustained in a motorcycle accident.

In some cases, we file suit right away, but usually, we try to resolve the case with the insurance companies first.  Once our firm is hired, we order the traffic collision report and tell the insurance companies that our firm represents the injured person.  We also send letters to the other driver to preserve all evidence from the accident.  Depending on where it happened, we may send a private investigator to find witnesses and surveillance footage.  In some cases, we send our accident reconstructionist to the scene of the accident.  We also order information from relevant law enforcement departments about any witnesses who might have seen what happened.

There are many injuries that can occur from motorcycle accidents.  The shoulder, knee, ankle, femur, wrist, tibia, and road rash are some of the most common.  Other common injuries include broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, lower extremity injuries, internal injuries, lacerations, and disfigurement.

The most common type of motorcycle accident is when the other vehicle turns left in front of the motorcycle.  This is because, at this angle, the motorcycle is least visible, and its speed is hard to judge.  The other most common accident is when someone changes lanes into the motorcycle rider.

If you are in a motorcycle accident, it is very important to have good uninsured motorist coverage.  This is insurance that will help you if the other driver does not have any or enough insurance.  We recommend at least $250,000 in coverage.  You can also try to find surveillance footage and witnesses to help identify the other driver.

Because the motorcycle rider doesn’t have the legal background to know who is at fault, they might make the wrong decision.  We had a client who thought he was at fault because he broadsided the passenger side of a vehicle that turned left in front of him.  He thought he was at fault because he hit the other vehicle. In that case it was the driver’s fault as the left-turning car violated the motorcycle’s right-of-way.  The motorcycle rider might not have all of the facts straight because of how traumatic an accident can be and how quickly they happen.  There may be witnesses who saw what happened, whose account is different than what the motorcyclist remembers.  Never admit fault if you’re in this situation.

Since the passenger is negligence-free, he or she can pursue a claim against all involved drivers, including the driver of the motorcycle. As you might imagine, under some circumstances, you as a passenger may be faced with a tough decision on whether to pursue a claim against your own driver. However, in order to receive compensation for your injuries adequate to cover your medical expenses, it may be necessary.

In the situation where the motorcycle rider is fully at fault, the passenger will also have to proceed against his own driver if he wants to recover. This is a difficult decision and some passengers simply choose not to take any action against their own driver. Others understand that the funds are paid from the driver’s insurance company, not the driver himself, and agree to proceed against those funds only. It should be noted that usually, the claim cannot be made against a family member or if both are on the same insurance policy.