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What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident
What you do after a motorcycle accident may determine your financial future. Because your financial situation will have a direct effect on the types of treatment you can seek and your quality of life, you must be certain to take the right steps after the collision—there is a lot at stake.
Seeking medical care and hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer are the two most important things to do after a motorcycle accident. If you take these steps without delay, your lawyer will work to ensure you receive all the compensation you deserve for the cost of your motorcycle accident.
Everything You Must Do After a Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycle accident victims face a sudden, unexpected to-do list. You may need to notify your employer of your injuries and inability to work. You may need to find temporary transportation. While the list of obligations is long, there are two especially time-sensitive duties that you must address immediately, which are:
- Finding a qualified healthcare professional: Riders are at a well-documented risk of severe injuries. Even if you have escaped a collision without catastrophic injuries, symptoms of injuries like head trauma are not always obvious. If you have not yet received a comprehensive physical exam or other necessary care, seek medical attention right away.
- Hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer (who will immediately begin fighting for your financial recovery): You cannot wait for financial relief after your accident. However, it’s likely that you’re fully occupied by obligations, so hiring an attorney (whose sole mission is securing fair compensation as soon as possible) makes plenty of sense. Attorneys also have experience with claims and lawsuits that you may lack, providing more reason to hire one.
You undoubtedly have other important priorities to tend to. However, your health cannot wait, and your lawyer will face many time-sensitive obligations when leading your case. Therefore, these two priorities should come before virtually everything else in the wake of a motorcycle accident.
What Not To Do After a Motorcycle Collision
When you hire a motorcycle accident attorney, they will issue actionable advice that protects you and provides clarity. It is worth providing some of this advice now, though, because you may not yet have a lawyer (though you should hire them as soon as possible).
Some mistakes to avoid after a motorcycle accident include:
- Refusing to get medical attention: Motorcycle riders are often tough by nature, which is one reason they are unafraid to ride a bike. However, those who refuse medical care—even when they have no immediate symptoms—set themselves up for long-term financial hardship. If you don’t report injuries shortly after your accident, you will likely be unable to seek fair compensation for injury-related damages.
- Speaking with insurers before hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer: An insurance company may owe you thousands of dollars (or even more), and insurance companies are not fond of handing away money. Therefore, you may face a bevy of bad-faith tactics when you interact with insurance representatives. Don’t speak with insurers until you’ve hired a lawyer.
- Accepting a settlement (again, without accepting a lawyer): This falls under the category of “don’t talk with insurance companies before hiring a lawyer,” but it’s worth noting. Once you agree to an insurance settlement, that’s likely the end of your case. Therefore, you should be 100 percent certain that an offer is fair before accepting, and that means speaking with a lawyer about the offer.
- Waiting to get legal help: An attorney is a resource you should access immediately. If you ultimately file a lawsuit, there will be a deadline for filing it. Even if you don’t, your attorney must secure accident-related evidence (including witness accounts) while the evidence is available and viable. Your lawyer will also protect you and your case as soon as you hire them, so you’re vulnerable until you hire one.
The primary point is to hire a motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as you possibly can. Your insurance claim or lawsuit is too important not to lean on a lawyer’s guidance, services, and resources.
Do I Take the Same Steps If I Lost a Loved One Because of a Motorcycle Accident?
Yes, you should also hire a lawyer as soon as possible if you have lost a loved one. Motorcyclist deaths have followed a recent upward trend, and lawyers see firsthand the toll such deaths take on survivors.
Those who lose a loved one don’t typically need medical care (though they can suffer serious physical symptoms of shock and grief). Therefore, hiring a wrongful death lawyer may be your greatest priority after losing a loved one, along with getting all necessary treatment for grief and other forms of pain and suffering.
How Your Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Will Immediately Build Your Case
Motorcycle accident lawyers recognize that their clients are either healing from a serious collision (as most motorcycle accidents are) or grappling with a loved one’s unexpected passing. In both cases, the attorney knows it’s their duty to lift the entire weight of the case off the client’s shoulders.
Your motorcycle accident lawyer will provide comprehensive legal services. This means that they will:
Be Your Proxy with Insurance Companies
Insurance companies responsible for riders’ injuries and survivors’ death benefits often engage in bad-faith tactics. These are attempts to avoid paying compensation to deserving parties, which can include:
- Assigning you fault for the accident (even if it is obvious that you did not cause the collision)
- Claiming that one or more of your injuries occurred before the accident and, therefore, do not entitle you to compensation
- Undervaluing the financial cost of your damages
- Offering and pressuring you to accept a lowball settlement
Motorcycle accident lawyers face these kinds of tactics on a regular basis—every insurance company wants to save money, after all. An attorney will be best positioned to address such tactics one by one and push toward the settlement you deserve.
Investigate the Motorcycle Accident
Your attorney will investigate your accident, secure evidence, determine who caused the collision, and make a detailed record of all relevant information. Some accident-related evidence that may help your lawyer secure fair compensation for you includes:
- Video from security cameras, traffic cameras, dash cameras, or cell phones
- Interviews with eyewitnesses whose accounts may support yours
- Any police report related to the accident
- An expert’s reconstruction of the collision, which may incorporate evidence and complex digital technology to show how the accident happened
Photographs showing damage to your motorcycle and any vehicles involved in the accident may also be relevant. For instance, a car with a crushed-in front bumper and a totaled motorcycle may be proof of a rear-end accident (for which the car driver would likely be responsible).
Identify Those Responsible for Your Damages
While there is no shortage of advice telling riders how to avoid collisions, a motorcyclist has no control over others’ negligence. Your attorney will identify those who contributed to your accident, which may include:
- The driver of a car, truck, SUV, or other motorcycle
- The manufacturer or seller of a defective vehicle
- A municipality responsible for dangerous road conditions
In some cases, other parties are responsible for those who cause a motorcycle collision. Some common examples include employers paying for employees’ accidents, trucking companies paying for drivers’ accidents, and insurance companies covering policyholders.
Secure Proof of Your Damages
Your lawyer will obtain any documentation proving your damages, which may include:
- Photographs and medical images of your injuries
- Invoices related to the repair or replacement of your damaged motorcycle
- Doctors’ diagnoses of and notes about your injuries and symptoms
- Doctors’ detailing of your healthcare needs
- Medical bills
- Bank statements and employment records that prove your professional damages
- Mental health professionals’ diagnoses of your pain and suffering, as well as their description of your mental health service needs
Lawyers have experience detailing many different injuries and damages, so they will efficiently gather such documentation as they build your case.
Calculate Your Case Value and Lead Settlement Talks
Your lawyer will consider all of your damages (including future expenses and pain and suffering) to determine how much money you are entitled to. Motorcycle accident attorneys are especially helpful when calculating non-economic damages like pain and suffering. These damages are complex and without obvious financial value, so your lawyer will use accepted methods to calculate their value.
Most civil cases eventually settle, though it can be a contentious path to a fair settlement. However, if anyone can convince an insurance company to pay you fairly, it’s an experienced motorcycle accident attorney.
File a Lawsuit (If You Decide To)
Motorcycle accident victims often have to file lawsuits when:
- Insurance companies insist they are responsible for the accident
- At-fault parties lack adequate insurance (and, in some cases, have no insurance at all)
- Insurance companies undervalue the financial cost of the rider’s damages
- Insurance companies do not offer fair compensation for any other reason
Your attorney will help you determine whether filing a lawsuit is the best decision. If you choose to file, your lawyer will draft the suit, file the suit, and lead every step that comes after filing.
Represent You at Trial (If Necessary)
Suing does not necessarily mean your case will go to trial. You may file suit only for your lawyer to negotiate a fair settlement—often, liable parties take lawsuits seriously and choose to offer fair compensation rather than risking a larger loss in court.
If your case does go to trial, though, your lawyer will be your in-court representative.
Do I Have to Work on My Case Once I Hire a Lawyer?
One of the most obvious benefits of hiring a lawyer is handing over your entire case to a trusted professional. This means you won’t have to work on your case, as your lawyer will handle the claim or lawsuit from start to finish.
You may need to take certain actions that a lawyer cannot do themselves, including:
- Giving one or more statements to insurance companies
- Providing your account of the accident to your lawyer
- Handing over any accident-related documentation (like medical bills) to your lawyer
- Deciding whether to accept a settlement offer
- Deciding whether to file a lawsuit
- Deciding whether to go to trial
These responsibilities are a relatively small portion of the total case demands. Furthermore, a lawyer will work to make your participation as minimal and pain-free as possible, as you deserve to focus on your health after the motorcycle accident.
Trust Your Lawyer to Pursue a Claim, Lawsuit, and Any Other Route to Compensation
There are a few possible ways for motorcycle accident survivors (and those affected by wrongful deaths) to obtain fair compensation, including:
- Filing an insurance claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company
- Filing an insurance claim with the insurance company for a liable organization (like a trucking company, rideshare service, or employer whose employee caused your accident)
- Filing a claim with your own insurance provider
- Suing liable parties (which may lead to a settlement or award obtained after trial)
It can be difficult to know which of these paths is best for you. You may start with one approach (like filing an insurance claim) and later decide that a lawsuit is necessary. A lawyer will guide you through such decisions, relying on their experience and legal training to help you make the right choices.
What Damages Will My Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Pursue Compensation For?
Those who endure a motorcycle accident often face expensive and unexpected damages that can include:
- Medical costs
- Pain and suffering
- Bike repairs
- Replacement of a totaled motorcycle
- Mental health treatment costs
- Temporary transportation costs
- Lost income
- Diminished earning power
- Long-term disability
Your lawyer will account for all of your accident-related damages and negotiate with all their might to secure fair compensation for you.
Recoverable Damages in a Fatal Motorcycle Accident Case
Thousands of riders die every year, a tragic statistic that, for those related to the victims, is far more than a mere statistic. A personal injury attorney can lead a wrongful death lawsuit for you, seeking compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial costs
- Lost financial support
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of the decedent’s household services
- Any other harm resulting from the fatal accident
Do not wait to hire your motorcycle accident attorney, as they may face deadlines and won’t ask for any upfront compensation from you.