Motorcycles have a reputation for being prone to accidents, mainly due to the fact that they’re known for their high speeds. If you’re a motorcycle rider/enthusiast, it’s essential that you’re following proper vehicle safety, including:
- Wearing Protective Eyewear
- Wearing a Helmet
- Practicing Basic Motorcycle Safety
Following the basic safety procedures will help ensure that you’re minimalizing the possibilities of ever being involved in a motorcycle accident and sustaining injuries. Regardless of how careful you are motorcycle accidents can and will happen. They can happen with various forms of liability, such as:
- Your Own Personal Negligence
- The Fault of another Driver
- Both Parties Can Share Levels of Fault
If you’ve sustained injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident, who pays for your damages, medical bills, future medical costs, and so on, will depend on your accident specifics.
Duty of Care in Motorcycle Accident Personal Injury Cases
All motor vehicle operators have a duty of care that must be exercised when they’re driving. Duty of care generally calls for drivers to be:
- Operating Their Vehicle at Reasonable Speeds
- Anticipating Situations Where It’s likely an Accident Could Occur
- Maintaining Control of Their Vehicle
As an example, if a motorcycle is ahead of a vehicle that’s approaching a red light, the driver of that vehicle will have a standard duty of care to ensure that they’re stopping behind the motorcycle. If the driver doesn’t stop and causes a rear end collision with the motorcycle, the driver has most likely violated their duty of care when causing the motorcycle accident injury.
Should a driver violate their standard duty of care, they’ll more than likely be found at fault for the accident, or partial fault at the very least. The fault assumes that the accident is the proximate cause of the motorcyclist’s injuries and no other intervening factors were in play as contributory factors. If the driver is found to be at fault, either the driver’s insurance company or the driver holds the responsibility for paying for the damage and injuries.
Filing a Personal Injury Suit
If you’re at least fairly confident that the motorcycle accident was the other drivers fault, then it’s unlikely you’ll be responsible for the payment of your medical bills. Conversely, if you were at fault for the accident as a result of your own negligence, it’s likely that you’ll not have much of a case.
If the other driver is the one at fault for the accident, you’ll want to contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in order to receive adequate compensation for your personal injuries. You’ll also want to ensure that your lawyer has experience that’s specific with motorcycle accidents and not just with auto accidents generally. At the Doan Law Firm we’re not only motorcycle accident lawyers, but we’re motorcycle riders and enthusiasts as well.
After you’ve retained your lawyer you’ll want to provide them with all of the evidence that you have that supports your claim if the motorcycle accident was the fault of the other driver. Your evidence will include:
- Injury Photos
- The Police Report
- Scene Photos
- Accident Photos
- Medical Bills
- Medical Records
- Other Expenses
If the other driver is insured, your lawyer will then contact their insurance company and most likely submit a demand letter. A demand letter serves to notify their insurance company (the insurer) of the intentions to sue unless they’re willing to settle for an indicated amount. If the insurance company refuses the settlement request, your lawyer will then file a formal suit with the court for motorcycle accident personal injury.
If the other driver is not insured, you’ll more than likely need to sue the driver in order to pay for all your medical bills, lost wages and all other expenses related to the accident.
An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer will let you know that accidents that involve multiple vehicles including the motorcycle aren’t usually the fault of the motorcyclist. If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident and the other driver is at fault for the accident, you’ll more than likely be entitled to compensation from either the individuals insurance company or the individual themselves.