28 Jun

How a Motorcycle Accident Injury Lawyer Can Help You

Being involved in a motorcycle accident is potentially a life-changing event. If you have recently suffered harm as a result of a motorcycle accident, no doubt you are struggling with emotional pain and financial stress on top of the physical pain of injury and recovery.

Here’s some good news, though. If your accident was a result of another party’s negligence, Florida law entitles you to recover damages. You might know that a personal injury attorney can help you take legal action to seek compensation after a motorcycle accident, but you might be aware of the specific ways an attorney can assist. Below are some of the many ways a motorcycle accident injury lawyer can help you.

Evaluating the Viability of Your Claim

Not all claims require legal action, especially in Florida, where no-fault insurance laws require drivers to file claims under their mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. While motorcyclists aren’t required to carry PIP insurance in Florida, many do.

Motorcyclists are victims in car crashes far more than they cause accidents. The lack of physical protection for motorcyclists in a crash often results in severe injuries, quickly exceeding insurance limits and requiring further steps to recover losses from medical bills and missed work. A skilled motorcycle accident injury attorney can evaluate your claim and determine the right path for your accident, injury, and specific situation.

Communicating With Insurance Companies

Whether dealing with your own insurance company or a driver’s insurance company, you should never think of insurance adjusters as your friends. Insurance companies are concerned with their bottom line. In addition to denying claims, insurance companies train adjusters to get people to admit liability for an accident. Even the most well-meaning comments after an accident might give an adjuster a reason to devalue or deny your claim. Protect yourself from these types of issues by letting an attorney handle all communication with insurance companies. Additionally, many insurance carriers are far less likely to push ethical boundaries when an attorney is involved, which might result in a better outcome for your case.

Investigating Your Accident

Parties who are named in a personal injury lawsuit will employ every tactic possible to avoid liability, and might even try to shift the blame to the victim. Building a strong case against the defense often means an attorney needs to investigate your case to uncover all the facts supporting your claim. Investigations include gathering relevant documents such as police reports and medical records, as well as interviewing witnesses and gathering any other information that might help you. For example, if a driver caused an accident while texting on a cell phone, a lawyer might obtain cell phone records as evidence. In some motorcycle accidents, an attorney might enlist the expertise of forensic and/or accident reconstructionist specialists. This scientific support of an accident claim can be crucial for the court to determine liability and could provide the evidence that causes a court to rule in the plaintiff’s favor.

Estimating the Value of Your Claim

If you decide to sue for damages after a motorcycle claim, you might recover medical expenses and lost wages beyond what your insurance policy already covered, as well as future medical treatment costs and lost wages. Damages also often include non-economic costs such as pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, loss of consortium with a spouse, and others which might apply to your specific case. Some costs are easy to quantify, but others require experience, an understanding of past Florida case law, and a familiarity with the cost of long-term healthcare, therapy, and other future medical costs. An experienced motorcycle accident attorney knows how to place a reasonable value on your claim, and has a network of specialists to consult with when uncertainty exists.

Preparing You for Deposition

Part of prevailing in your case is providing a strong deposition—legal statement—about your accident and injuries. Plaintiffs might get nervous about providing this testimony, especially when a significant amount of time has passed since the accident. Your attorney can help you prepare for your deposition by teaching you about best practices and reviewing the facts of your case with you.

Negotiating Your Case With an Insurance Company

Insurance companies do not like to pay out large claims, even if they know their policyholder is at fault. Making quick settlement offers is one way insurance carriers try to avoid large settlements or court-awarded damages. These offers are meant to be attractive enough so you will waive your rights to a lawsuit, but they are often for far less money than the full and fair compensation you deserve to receive for an accident and injuries caused by their policyholder’s negligence. It’s best to let an attorney handle communications with insurance companies on your behalf. In addition to protecting you from inadvertently undermining your own claim, your attorney can often negotiate a higher settlement than you would otherwise receive if you try to deal with insurance companies on your own. When you accept an insurance settlement offer without consulting an attorney, you almost always leave money on the table. Insurance companies are often more responsive to attorneys, who know the law and their clients’ rights.

Litigating Your Case

The vast majority of accident injury claims settle before going to trial. No matter how well a personal injury attorney negotiates, however, sometimes the insurance company is unwilling to offer full and fair compensation. You deserve compensation for your injury and accompanying pain, anguish, and financial loss and liable parties deserve to be held accountable for their negligence. The best motorcycle accident lawyers are also skilled trial lawyers who will aggressively pursue a verdict in your favor in the courtroom, if that’s what it takes.

Hiring a motorcycle accident attorney doesn’t guarantee you will win your case or guarantee any particular dollar amount of recovery, but it’s almost always in your best interest to hire a lawyer rather than going it alone. A lawyer handles the complexities of your case while you focus on healing. When lawyers take over communication and negotiation with insurance companies, investigate accidents, prepare their clients, and litigate when necessary, they increase the odds of a positive outcome for their clients.