A Guide to Understanding Your Rights in a Motorcycle Accident

You could get badly injured, and it might change your life forever, especially if you’re a motorcycle owner. But thanks to our judicial systems, you have the opportunity to get compensated for your unfortunate circumstance. 

Most people don’t understand their rights, so take a look below at what you can do if you’ve been in a motorcycle accident.

What’s the first thing to do?

The essential thing you should do first after an accident is to check your surroundings, see if anyone is hurt or needs assistance. Then you need to check on yourself, most people who’ve experienced an accident don’t notice or feel what has happened to them. It’s mostly because of the shock and adrenaline rushing through your body, but it’s still imperative to check on the possible injuries you’ve sustained and if you need medical assistance immediately or not. Regardless of anything else, it’s a step that you need to do because it’s essential for you if you want to protect your legal rights because the medical reports will be needed later. Remember to take all the recovery time you need, and take note of what the doctors have suggested too.

Get the authorities involved

The police should be notified shortly after the accident had occurred; it’s a good step to get them to the scene of the accident so they can assess the issue themselves. Also, they bring with them an ambulance if the situation requires it, so remember to save the police officer’s name and badge number that responded to the scene. Don’t move your motorcycle at all unless the officers told you to do so. The law enforcement officials will have their own assessment of the accident and determine who was at fault, but it’s not always the final verdict and possibly in some cases, they might be mistaken. But that will be proven later in the process.

Get all the evidence you can find

Another thing you should do is take a lot of pictures of the crash scene and your bike. The damages your bike might have gotten from your motorcycle accident, along with the road conditions at the time and the speed limit of the area you’re living would greatly help your case later. See if there were cameras from nearby shops or restaurants that could have captured the accident on film, but your lawyer would take care of all that later if you couldn’t at the time. Just remember to get all the information you can get your hands on, whether it involved names of people in the accident, pedestrians and witnesses at the scene of the accident, license plate numbers, and many more.

Let your insurance company know

It’s important that you follow this step because it can aid you greatly if the other person’s insurance company had denied responsibility for the accident. So you’re forced to make a collision claim afterward; it’s also a good idea to call them because it shows good faith on your part, even if it wasn’t your fault, they still need to know. Insurance claims can drag a lot and might be a dead-end sometimes, that’s why hiring a lawyer is still the best decision you can make to aid you in this situation.

What a professional attorney can bring to the table 

When you have a highly capable lawyer that’s skilled in the laws involving motorcycles and accidents, you have a much better chance of getting all the reimbursements or settlements you are entitled to. Not to mention all the advice they could offer you seeing as they have seen cases like this all the time, so they are familiar with what you should do next. They will get to the bottom of everything that needs to be addressed, whether it was the driver’s speed, your speed, traffic and weather conditions, who really was at fault for the accident, and many more helpful information. Most importantly is that you have the right to stay silent from any meetings, questions being asked, or not sign any papers from the insurance companies without the attorney being there with you. It will greatly help your case later on if you do not give any additional statements or have any critical documents signed without your lawyer’s consent. This is your right, and many people forget it in cases such as these.

The lawsuit process

After some time, when the insurance companies turn out to be a dead-end; your lawyer would suggest taking the case to court. They will be speaking on your behalf, whether it’s to the insurance companies or in front of the judge. Every single piece of evidence is crucial in your case, and some might argue that it was your fault and you shouldn’t be compensated at all. But this is where the expertise of your attorney would come in handy; you have the right to be adequately defended. An excellent legal representative would consult with medical experts, road officials, and engineers to determine who was at fault. They would have all the proper legal evidence and prove that it wasn’t yours at all, showing all the damages you had to deal with and injuries you’ve endured. They would counter-argue any contributory negligence accusations and eventually win you the case. 

You are covered

You have the utmost right to get all the settlement and compensation you need to make up for all the damages and the pain you went through. Proper legal representation can make a huge difference in your case, and even though it will take some time, it’s well worth it when you’ve come out with something for that ordeal. 

The repercussions of a motorcycle accident can be extremely unfortunate, but there are ways to make up for that if you’re smart about it. There is always help available that can get you the right compensation you need for your predicament. So be sure to do a little research and find the perfect attorney to consult and represent you, and get you the proper compensation you deserve.