Accident victims who have severe injuries or disability or have lost a loved one to wrongful death in a motorcycle accident should get a lawyer immediately. You may receive substantial compensation for your damages and losses.
Manassas Motorcycle accident lawyers work on contingency, meaning you pay no upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs to retain legal counsel. Call now for your free case evaluation to discuss the merits of your case.
How Do Motorcycle Accidents Differ From Other Motor Vehicle Crashes?
Motorcycles lack vehicle enclosures, seatbelts, and airbags, exposing riders to the direct impact of a crash. These collisions are generally more severe than other accidents, with significantly higher fatality rates.
Traffic collision statistics demonstrate an 80 percent greater chance of injuries and fatalities in motorcycle accidents compared to 20 percent in passenger vehicle collisions.
Due to their lack of safety features and enclosed structure, motorcycle accidents also differ in the types of injuries sustained. Injuries tend to be considerably more severe and include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, road rash, severe burns, permanent disability, and wrongful death.
Reasons You Need a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycle lawyers have extensive knowledge of local regulations, state and federal laws, and insurance claims processes. They are clear communicators, skilled negotiators, and understand the legal system.
Reasons you should get a lawyer for a motorcycle accident include:
- Severe Injuries or Disability: If you or a loved one suffered severe injuries or disability requiring substantial medical treatment, rehabilitation, or long-term care, you may have a considerable compensation claim. An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can help exhaustively evaluate damages and demand and secure a fair settlement.
- Liability Issues: When liability is unclear, disputed, or involves multiple parties, it can create havoc on recovering compensation. Insurance companies will point fingers at other liable insurers to minimize their company's loss or avoid paying claims. A lawyer will comprehensively investigate and collect evidence to prove liability and hold all liable parties accountable for maximum compensation.
- Inadequate Insurance Coverage: You don't want to be responsible for absorbing costs when at-fault parties have insufficient insurance coverage to compensate you for your damages. A lawyer will uncover all potential paths to securing compensation for your motorcycle accident. These may include filing claims through your insurance policy if coverage includes collision, personal injury protection (PIP), or uninsured/underinsured motorists (UM/UIM).
- Case Complexity: Many motorcycle accidents involve complexities that require a lawyer. For example, if improperly marked construction zones, hazardous road conditions, or defective vehicle components cause the crash, having an attorney with experience navigating these complexities is critical to achieving an optimal outcome for your case.
Bad-faith insurance tactics are another viable reason to get a lawyer for a motorcycle accident.
Insurance companies often use bad-faith tactics to avoid paying out on claims. These tactics include denying or unreasonably delaying valid claims, significantly undervaluing claims, misrepresenting policies, and making threatening statements to intimidate injured parties into settling or admitting liability.
After you hire a motorcycle accident attorney, insurance companies may not legally contact you about your case again. They must direct all communications to your lawyer to handle.
If they continue to harass you after you inform them you have an attorney, they may commit a legal violation and could face a lawsuit for bad-faith practices. You can also hold them accountable by filing a complaint with your state Department of Insurance (DOI).
Why Should I Get a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident?
Do you know extensively about state and federal law, tort law regulations, the legal system, and insurance claims practices? Most people do not and don't need to. Motorcycle accident attorneys are available to take on that responsibility for you.
There are many reasons to get a lawyer for a motorcycle accident claim, including case evaluation and strategy, paperwork and insurance communications, determining liability, gathering evidence, and building a strong case. Additionally, attorneys will calculate case damages, handle insurance negotiations, file a lawsuit when necessary, and handle appeals.
Case Evaluation and Strategy
Most motorcycle accident lawyers offer free case evaluations. They listen to case specifics compassionately and are intent on finding a strategy for recovering financial compensation for your damages. Their contingency fee arrangements allow anyone to afford to get a lawyer for a motorcycle accident.
Come prepared with questions to help you determine if an attorney is right for your case.
Handling Paperwork and Insurance Communications
Motorcycle accident insurance claims and lawsuits involve extensive paperwork and endless communication. They require detailed and accurate reporting of data and meeting legal deadlines.
Hiring a lawyer to handle these necessities ensures you focus on your medical treatments, rehabilitation, and recovery. Prioritizing your health is the only thing you should be concerned with following a collision.
Determining Liability
Determining liability in a motorcycle crash requires thoroughly investigating all possible liable parties. To secure maximum compensation, your lawyer will hold all liable parties accountable for your collision, resulting in injuries and damages.
Typical parties you may hold liable in a motorcycle accident are:
- Other Motorists: Other motorists on the road cause motorcycle accidents with negligence, including distracted driving, drunk or impaired driving, speeding, following too closely, not signaling, failing to yield, and failing to check blind spots.
- Employers: If the at-fault motorist was working when they caused your motorcycle accident, you can hold their employer vicariously liable. A typical example of this involves trucking companies and delivery drivers.
- Rideshare Companies: If a rideshare driver is at fault, you can hold the rideshare company’s insurer liable for damages. Uber and Lyft have third-party liability insurance coverage for drivers online and available or en route.
- Motorcycle or Parts Manufacturers: If a motorcycle or part is defective and causes a collision, you can hold the motorcycle or part manufacturer liable for your damages.
- Repair Technicians: When licensed mechanics fail to make or perform improper repairs, you can hold them and their company liable for damages incurred in your motorcycle collision.
- Property Owners: You can hold the property owner liable when a motorcycle crash occurs on someone's property due to negligence in remedying or properly securing an unsafe condition.
- Government Entities: You can hold a government entity liable for damages if a hazardous road condition caused your motorcycle accident or the at-fault driver was a government employee.
Your lawyer may work with motorcycle accident reconstruction specialists to recreate the conditions of your crash. They will visit the accident scene, gather evidence, and use a scientific process to pinpoint moments and all liable parties.
Motorcycle accident reconstruction expert testimony is invaluable to proving liability and damages in your claim.
Gathering Evidence and Building a Strong Case
Building a strong case means collecting and preserving evidence to be thoroughly analyzed and investigated.
Depending on the nature of your motorcycle accident, evidence may include:
- A police report, including witness statements and issued citations
- Video footage of the collision from traffic cams, dashcams, security cameras, bystander cell phones, and social media uploads
- Photos of the accident scene, documenting vehicle positions, traffic lights and signage, and potentially hazardous road conditions
- Photos and video of your injuries following the crash
- Pictures of your motorcycle after the accident
- Detailed medical records
- Documents demonstrating financial losses, such as medical bills, repair notices, pay stubs, and lost income statements
- The at-fault driver's cell phone records
- The at-fault driver's toxicology report
- Vehicle inspection and maintenance records when an employer may be liable
- Truck, delivery, or government vehicle electronic logging devices (ELDs) or event data recorders (EDRs)
The more evidence involved, the more complex and time-consuming an investigation can be. However, solid evidence builds a strong foundation for establishing liability and proving negligence to recover compensation.
Provide your lawyer with any evidence in your possession during your free case evaluation. It will help them better assess liability and damages.
Calculating Case Damages
Calculating case damages involves tallying the sum of your economic damages. These are the monetary losses associated with your claim. It also requires valuing non-monetary losses called non-economic damages or pain and suffering.
The damages your lawyer will consider when calculating your motorcycle accident claim or lawsuit include:
- Emergency Services: The ambulance transport from the motorcycle accident scene, ER visits, emergency room diagnosis and treatment, hospitalizations, imaging services and diagnostics, medical equipment and devices, and urgent care visits.
- Primary Care: The medical evaluation following your crash and follow-up primary care visits to assess your symptoms, manage your pain, and document your injuries and recovery.
- Surgery Costs: The surgical care received, including your surgical evaluation, anesthesiology, surgery(s), and post-operative care following surgical procedures.
- Rehabilitation Costs: Any rehab services necessary for recovery, including physical therapy, orthopedics, chiropractor adjustments, traction, massage, speech and language therapy, audiology, neurological physical therapy, and occupational and vocational therapy.
- Mental Health Services: Any mental health services and associated costs, such as appointments with psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors, as well as mental health therapy-technique workbooks and medications.
- Disability Damages: All expenses associated with vehicle mobility modifications, such as steering devices, hand controls, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Home mobility modifications, including accessible bathrooms, chair lifts, ramps, and widened doorways. Compensation for disabilities, including amputation, paralysis, brain injury, vision or hearing impairment, chronic pain, or assistive device needs.
- Property Damages: All costs associated with damaged or destroyed property in your motorcycle accident, including your motorcycle, helmet, leather motorcycle gear, clothing, and glasses. Third-party property damages to fences, mailboxes, and structures are also recoverable.
- Income Losses: Lost earnings include all losses from your motorcycle accident because you missed work or can not return to work, such as lost earnings, salary, sick leave, vacation days, paid time off, overtime, healthcare benefits, pension, retirement benefits, and diminished or lost earning capacity or future earnings.
- Household Services: Any costs associated with required household services for daily functioning, such as cleaning and laundry, cooking, yard maintenance, childcare or daycare, and grocery, meal, and prescription med delivery services.
- Non-Economic Damages: All intangible losses, including chronic physical pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), worsening of existing injuries, shorter life expectancy, disability, loss of companionship and society, loss of enjoyment of life, and long-term or lifelong pain management.
- Wrongful Death: Families can recover wrongful death damages after losing a loved one to a motorcycle accident, such as funeral and burial expenses, final medical costs, loss of consortium, physical intimacy, guidance and support, loss of household services, and lost income the decedent would have earned had they lived.
Provide copies of all documentation of financial losses and pain and suffering to your motorcycle accident attorney. Evidence of economic damages may include lost income statements, pay stubs, medical bills, motorcycle repair invoices, and receipts for copays, prescriptions, and out-of-pocket costs.
Your lawyer can establish non-economic damages through detailed medical records, expert witness testimony, and post-motorcycle accident journals.
Insurance Negotiations
The negotiations will begin after your lawyer drafts and sends a demand letter to all liable insurers. It's typical for insurance companies to bid small to start. However, your attorney will fight for a fair settlement on your behalf.
Negotiations often involve multiple rounds of figures before deciding on a final number. Liable insurers will compensate your attorney once all parties agree to settlement terms.
Your lawyer will collect their agreed-upon contingency, pay medical liens after negotiating them for less, and immediately disburse you the remainder of the funds.
Filing a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit
When negotiations fail—or liable insurance companies refuse to pay valid claims, your lawyer may file a motorcycle accident lawsuit. However, this is generally a last resort. Insurance companies and attorneys want to minimize losses for their clients and themselves.
Court and litigation can extend cases. Still, when necessary, lawyers will proceed with a civil lawsuit.
Handling Appeals
If the insurance company denies your claim, it doesn't mean it's over, as you may have a right to appeal. Contact a lawyer for your motorcycle accident appeal. Bring your denial letter to your free consultation so that you and your attorney understand why the insurer denied your claim and how to file a successful appeal to recover compensation for your damages.
Get a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident Claim
If you have injuries or lost a loved one, speak to a Manassas personal injury lawyer about your motorcycle accident immediately. They will best advise you on what to do and what not to do next. You'll want to discuss case specifics and discover a means for securing compensation.