You get into an accident with another vehicle on the road. At the scene, you take the other driver’s information, document everything with pictures, and obtain addresses and names from witnesses. Then, not long after, you proceed to contact your insurance company and see a doctor to be examined for injuries beyond scrapes and bruises.
If, a few weeks afterward, injuries require extensive medical treatment and the vehicle significant repairs and the insurance company insists on low-balling the total amount offered for the claim, getting a lawyer with motor vehicle accident experience becomes necessary.
Such a scenario occurs when two vehicles – cars, motorcycles, or trucks – collide. However, beyond the basics, claims concerning motorcycles greatly vary in a handful of key areas:
1. Protection On The Road
The approximately 2,000 pounds of metal surrounding a driver in a car is gone once you’re on a motorcycle. Bikers, instead, are expected to wear protective gear on the road.
However, only in 20 states are all riders required to wear a helmet, and in 27 others, just some are required.
Along with these factors, motorcycles tend to be less stable and less visible than other passenger vehicles, thus increasing the potential instances of accidents.
When a claim goes to trial, the protective gear may be used as evidence not just for resulting damage but also to demonstrate the motorcycle rider’s safety and responsibility on the road.
2. Severity of Injuries
Less protection frequently means a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle results in a catastrophic injury or even death.
Motorcycle accidents make up 11 percent of all traffic fatalities, 13 percent of occupant fatalities, and four percent of instances in which an occupant is injured.
However, 45 percent of all motorcycle accidents result in an injury exceeding “minor” scrapes and bruises. Specifically, when a motorcyclist is injured after the crash, he or she has a greater chance of experiencing a brain or spinal cord injury or losing a limb. As a result, months of recuperation and therapy may be needed, with wages lost in the process.
Should you, as a motorcyclist, find yourself in this extensive recovery situation, lawyers recommend documenting all injuries, attending all medical appointments without gaps, and recording the amount of pay and hours lost from not working during this period.
3. Types of Accidents
Although motorcyclists get into standard types of accidents with other vehicles, one instance varies: Collisions resulting from a motorist making a left turn in front of a motorcycle. In this type of situation, the motorist is frequently at fault for not yielding to all oncoming traffic, but a motorcyclist not driving carefully through an intersection may also be responsible.
However, when an accident occurs, 51 percent in which a motorcycle collides with another vehicle tend to be fatal, with 79 percent out of this figure resulting from a head-on collision.
As well, out of all accidents between a motorcyclist and another vehicle, fatal or not, 66 percent stem from the other driver violating the motorcyclist’s right of way.
