Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Legal Help for Motorcycle Accidents
Why do I Need a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident?
What Can I expect from the Insurance Adjuster on a Motorcycle Injury Claim
What Kind of Damages are Available in Motorcycle Accidents
How Long do I have to File a Motorcycle Injury Lawsuit?
What are the Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents?
How to Prove Fault by the Other Driver?
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?
Choosing a Huntsville Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Contact Huntsville Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
Legal Help for Motorcycle Accidents
Injuries from motorcycle wrecks are often serious. Many prove fatal. Those who survive may suffer long-term or permanent disability.
Always call the police after a motorcycle wreck. Of course, some accident victims are too badly hurt to do this. If possible, take photos and videos of the scene. Exchange contact and insurance information with the driver of the other vehicle.
Get legal help right away. Do not submit a statement to the insurance company until speaking with an attorney.
Bikers who are injured due to other motorists’ negligent actions can take legal action to recovery medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other damages. Contacting a motorcycle accident lawyer should be one of your first steps after being involved in a motorcycle accident. Get an experienced motorcycle accident attorney by call Warren & Simpson today! 256-539-7575. We are here to help you!
Huntsville is especially dangerous for motorcyclists given the congested traffic and rapid growth of our city. Traffic can be heavy and other drivers are often distracted by construction.
Why do I Need a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident?
Dealing with an insurance adjuster for an injury claim is never easy. Hiring an injury lawyer for your motorcycle accident will not only maximize your settlement, it will also take much of the stress off your shoulders. Hiring an experienced attorney will give you peace that your case is being handled for you. This allows you to focus on recovering.
More than 50% of motorists in Alabama are uninsured or only can the bare minimum amount of insurance coverage. An experienced lawyer can help find more insurance coverage to help cover your medical expenses and other damages.
What Can I Expect from the Insurance Adjuster on a Motorcycle Injury Claim?
Insurance companies train their insurance adjusters to minimize the value of injury cases, especially motorcycle injury cases. If you represent yourself after a motorcycle accident, you can expect some of the following tactics from the insurance adjuster:
- Asking you to sign a medical release or HIPAA release so they can obtain your medical records and bills.
- Why did the insurance company send a medical release or HIPAA release? This is commonly sent to accident victims. These documents allow the insurance company to request copies of your medical records from before and after the accident. The insurance company will carefully comb through your medical records to see if there another accident in your past or other health issues that they can blame as the cause of your injuries
- Blame shifting or other attempts to blame you for causing the accident. Usually, an adjuster will accuse you of being 25% or 50% at fault and offer to pay half your medical bills and other damages.
- Low ball settlement offers- insurance companies will commonly start with offers that are totally unreasonable. A common offer is to pay your medical bills plus $500 or $1,000 for lost wages and pain and suffering. Hiring an injury attorney is the best way to maximize your settlement.
- Refusing to pay a portion of your medical bills- insurance adjusters commonly claim that certain types of medical bills are “excessive”. Insurance companies will also claim that some medical bills are unrelated to the accident.
- Insisting that a recorded statement is required before the claim can move forward. You do not have to give a recorded statement. In fact, it is usually a bad idea to give a recorded statement. You should never give a recorded statement until you have consulted with an accident and injury lawyer.
It is important to keep in mind that the insurance adjuster’s job is to pay as little as possible. If you do not have a lawyer, then you will likely be dealing with a low-level adjuster who does not have the ability to pay a large settlement. When an accident and injury lawyer is hired, your claim will automatically be transferred to a different adjuster who likely has more freedom to pay larger settlements.
Dealing with insurance adjusters can be difficult a frustrating. The truth is that it is difficult to settle injury cases without a top-notch accident lawyer on your side.
What Kind of Damages are Available in Motorcycle Accidents?
Compensation in motorcycle accident includes:
- Medical expenses, current and future
- Lost income
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Punitive damages (if the other motorist’s conduct was reckless)
Motorcycle accidents usually result in severe injuries. Occupants of cars are surrounded by the shell of the vehicle. Seat belts and airbags are safety features. In contrast, motorcycles offer no protection from a collision.
- Broken bones
- Loss of limbs
- Road rash
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injury
Motorist accident injuries are also more severe because they involve a smaller vehicle. Motorists usually weigh between 300 and 700 pounds. On the other hand, most passenger vehicles weigh between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds.
How long do I have to file a motorcycle injury lawsuit?
The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Alabama is two years from the date of the accident. It is critical to contact motorcycle attorneys as soon as possible after a motorcycle accident in Huntsville. A prompt investigation is necessary before potential evidence, such as neighborhood surveillance video, vanishes.
What are the Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents?
Most motorcycle wrecks are not the motorcyclists’ fault but occur because other drivers are not paying attention to motorcycles. Other vehicles making a left-hand turn in front of motorcycles is the most common cause of motorcycle crashes. Many motorcycle accidents are rear-end collisions.
Poor road conditions may contribute to motorcycle accidents. In certain situations, the group in charge of road maintenance may be held accountable.
Unfortunately, motorcycle accidents in Huntsville, Alabama occur all too often. As of 2019, Alabama ranked 15th in the nation for the number of motorcycle fatalities, despite having a universal helmet law and being the 24th largest state. There are over 8 million registered motorcycles in the United States.
Motorcycles provide less safety than closed vehicles, so motorcycle wrecks frequently result in catastrophic injuries or death. Motorcycles are also less visible to other drivers and pedestrians and less stable than four-wheel vehicles. Operating a motorcycle requires a different combination of physical and mental skills than those used in driving four-wheel vehicles. Motorcyclists and their passengers are more vulnerable to the hazards of weather and road conditions than drivers in closed vehicles. According to NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis, in 2018, motorcyclists were 27 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash per vehicle miles traveled.
Most motorcycle accident victims are usually less than 30 years old or more than 50 years old, making up 64% of motorcyclist fatalities according to NHTSA’s 2018 data.
In Alabama, motorcyclists are required to wear helmets. Helmets are proven to reduce motorcycle accident injuries and prevent fatalities. NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,872 motorcyclists in 2017. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 749 lives could have been saved.
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812683
How to Prove Fault by the Other Driver?
The first step is to preserve as much evidence as possible, including asking for contact information for witnesses and taking pictures, if you are able.
About a week after the accident, you should be able to obtain an accident report. The accident report will start with basic information about the drivers. Next, it will include a diagram of the accident and a narrative describing how the accident occurred. On the last two pages, the accident report will include a key where the investigating officer gives an opinion on which driver caused the accident.
Hopefully, the investigating officer places blame on the other driver. However, the accident report is not admissible at trial so more evidence is needed before fault is proven. Even if the adjuster says they “accept responsibility,” it does not mean that the adjuster will make fair offer or that they will not later blame you. Adjusters are taught to “accept responsibility” early on to discourage the accident victim from hiring a lawyer. You need a lawyer.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?
Most experienced accident and injury lawyers are hired on a contingency fee basis. This means that the lawyers are not paid until the case is won. Most of the accident cases we handle at Warren & Simpson involve significant injuries and can take years to resolve. Fortunately, you do not have to pay anything out of your pocket for us to represent you.
Choosing a Huntsville Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
You should always do your homework before you sign a contract with an accident lawyer. Spend time looking through the law firm’s website to see if they are the type of lawyers that you are comfortable with. Read their reviews. Look at their credentials. Are they recognized as Top Lawyers or Super Lawyers?
You should also interview the attorney yourself. Never hire an attorney unless you feel that you can fully trust them. Interviewing with multiple lawyers is also wise. Ask them these questions when choosing a motorcycle accident lawyer.
Contact Huntsville Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
If you were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident due to another party’s negligence, or if a family member was killed in such a crash, you need the services of the experienced motorcycle accident attorneys at Warren & Simpson.
Alabama Motorcycle Manual 2021 | AL (driving-tests.org)Ala., Ga. rank in top 20 states with highest motorcycle fatality rate (wtvm.com)
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/Publication/812979
Good weather and riding motorcycles go hand in hand. Motorcycle enthusiasts want to spend their time on the open road, and northern Alabama is a great place to enjoy this hobby.
W&S handled my sons motorcycle accident case when he broke his foot in a bad crash and was not able to work. The team worked hard and got a great settlement. I would recommend Warren & Simpson to anyone with an accident case. Sincerely, David Terry