Should I Get a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident?
If you or a loved one recently suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, get a lawyer to handle your claim for damages. Hiring a skilled motorcycle accident lawyer is the only reliable way to obtain the money you need to pay your bills and recover from your trauma.
While a lawyer works on your behalf to hold at-fault parties and insurance companies accountable, you can focus your time and energy on healing and rebuilding.
Here’s an overview of your rights after a motorcycle accident and the many reasons you should hire a lawyer for your motorcycle accident injury claim.
Your Legal Rights After a Motorcycle Accident
As the victim of a motorcycle accident, you have significant legal rights to compensation for your injuries. Anyone whose careless, reckless, or intentional misconduct led to your wreck could owe you monetary damages, and so could others, such as insurance companies, which have a legal obligation to pay for the harm that at-fault parties have caused you.
By taking legal action against those liable parties, you could receive substantial compensation, including payment for your:
- Medical and other accident-related expenses.
- Loss of earnings and job benefits due to your injuries.
- Physical pain and emotional suffering.
- Diminished quality of life.
- Scarring, disfigurement, or loss of bodily function.
In the tragic case of a fatal motorcycle wreck, the deceased biker’s surviving spouse, close family members, or legal estate may have the right to receive compensation for their loss.
Through a wrongful death lawsuit, they may claim monetary damages that include:
- Loss of the victim’s income, services, or financial support.
- Loss of the victim’s love, affection, or parental guidance.
- The victim’s hospital and medical expenses before death.
- Funeral and burial expenses.
If an at-fault party engaged in extreme or malicious actions that caused a motorcycle accident injury, you may also claim punitive, or exemplary, damages.
The types and amounts of compensation you can receive for a motorcycle accident depend on various factors, including the severity and impact of your injury, the strength of your claim, and the financial resources liable parties have available with which to pay you. In many motorcycle accident cases, injured bikers and the families of deceased crash victims can recover substantial sums to assist them in paying expenses and planning for the future.
Always Get a Lawyer to Handle Your Motorcycle Accident Claim
In an ideal world, the parties liable for your losses would pay you immediately and in full. That’s not the world we live in, however. Obtaining full compensation for a motorcycle accident is labor-intensive, procedurally complex, and full of pitfalls for those unfamiliar with the law. It’s a job, therefore, for an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer.
A lawyer is an advocate who fights for your rights and protects your interests—someone who possesses the legal knowledge to understand the complex rules and procedures associated with motorcycle accident injury cases and the know-how to find and present evidence to substantiate your claim. A lawyer can investigate your motorcycle accident to determine who should be liable for your losses and take the steps necessary to pursue them through informal demands, insurance claims, and lawsuits.
Lawyers also handle all communication with the other party’s insurance company, working to negotiate a fair settlement whenever possible, while preparing to take your case to trial in court whenever necessary. A lawyer advises and counsels you along the way about your physical, emotional, and financial recovery from the trauma of a motorcycle wreck, guiding you in making decisions that could affect your rights or future.
These aren’t tasks you can realistically handle on your own, especially not when you’re recovering from a motorcycle accident. Even if you had the inclination to try to tackle them, it would be a terrible idea. No insurance company, defense lawyer, judge, or jury takes a personal injury claim seriously unless a skilled lawyer presents it. Only an experienced attorney can lend the credibility and weight that are necessary for your claim to result in full, fair compensation for your losses.
Risks of Waiting to Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Don’t wait to hire a lawyer to handle your motorcycle accident claim. The longer you go without an experienced motorcycle accident attorney on your side, the more difficult it can become to obtain fair compensation for your losses. There’s no upside, in other words, to a delay in getting a lawyer for your motorcycle accident, but there are plenty of downsides.
Every motorcycle accident claim is subject to a deadline called a statute of limitations. Failing to take legal action before it expires results in loss of your rights to compensation. The statute of limitations varies by jurisdiction and depends on the facts of your case, but it can be as short as a few months and is never longer than several years. Hiring a lawyer quickly can protect your rights by ensuring you don’t miss that deadline.
Hiring a lawyer today can also strengthen your claim. To obtain compensation, you need evidence to prove someone else’s liability and the amount of damages you should receive. You may lose, delete, or forget evidence as time passes, so the sooner you hire a lawyer, the better the opportunity to collect that evidence and use it to support your claim.
Hiring a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Is Affordable
If you’re worried about the cost of hiring a lawyer for your motorcycle accident claim, don’t be. Most motorcycle accident injury lawyers offer a free consultation for you to learn about your rights and options. They also handle cases on a contingent fee basis. That means you won’t have to pay for their services unless and until they get you money for your losses.
Contact an Experienced Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
If you or someone you love recently suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, a lawyer can handle your claim and get you the compensation you deserve. Contact an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in your area today for a free consultation.