Motorcycle accidents are devastating and can leave motorcyclists with life-changing injuries. The injured motorcyclist can take months or years to recover from this life-threatening ordeal. It can take a toll physically, financially, and emotionally, especially if the motorcyclist wasn’t responsible for the accident.
Therefore, it's imperative to have a personal injury attorney capable of ensuring that the injured party is rightfully compensated. Fair compensation will go a long way in making sure the driver at fault is held accountable. However, many roadblocks can hinder an injured motorcyclist from getting compensated.
Some shoddy insurance may not want to pay up the full amount so that it can take home more profits. The insurance company may even attempt to make it seem that the accident happens because of motorcyclists. People cannot accept any offer from insurance without consulting a personal injury lawyer.
Victims may schedule a free consultation with Keating Law Firm LTD by contacting legal representation of personal injury cases at 866-836-4878.
What Are Motorcycle Accidents?
These are road crashes involving a motorcyclist and other road users. It can either be vehicle or truck drivers. Studies indicate that motorcycle accidents leave motorcyclists at risk because they have minimal protective gear.
Sometimes, a vehicle driver can see a motorcyclist when it’s too late and cause an accident - Leaving both parties with life-changing injuries. When such a situation happens, it’s important to seek a free consultation from an experienced Columbus motorcycle accident attorney who can help in making a personal injury claim.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents may occur if road users are not keeping in mind road safety rules. The common cause of motorcycle accidents include:
Negligence
A negligent driver can partake in the following negligence acts like swerving in front of cyclists, failing to leave space between vehicles, failing to see a motorist changing or entering a lane, and driving under the influence, among other things.
Injuries Sustained from Motorcycle Accidents
There are a variety of injuries sustained due to motorcycle accidents. They include: head injury, bone fractures, spinal cord injuries, head trauma, and in a worst-case scenario, death.
If a motorcyclist is injured or dies due to a motorcycle accident, they may be entitled to some form of compensation depending on the gravity of their injuries. A Columbus motorcycle accident lawyer is better positioned to advise a person on the next steps to take and legal representation of a personal injury case.
Why Motorcycle Accident Lawyers?
Seeking compensation for personal injury is one thing, but getting the actual settlement in a compensation case is another thing. Riders often find it difficult to get compensated, especially if they have no assistance from a personal injury lawyer. This is because personal injury insurance companies in some states only have protection covers for only four-wheel vehicles. Here are some reasons why accident lawyers from reputed Keating law firms are a must.
Knowledgeable Experts
Personal injury lawyers understand that motorcyclists don’t require PIP insurance coverage. Even if the rider has a car and has insurance for PIP, it will not extend to motorcycle accidents. If the motorcyclist doesn’t have insurance cover from any insurance company, they may stress and struggle to pay medical bills.
Moreover, if the personal injury victim can’t perform personal tasks like going to work, it adds to the already stressful situation because the rider may not know where the money to pay medical expenses will come from. Talking to personal injury attorneys at Keating Firm LTD can assist the rider to be knowledgeable about their options as far as pursuing compensation for medical care is concerned.
Years of Experience
Experienced lawyers from the Keating Law Firm can also compound other losses like medical malpractice. It’s wise for riders to contact accident lawyers soon after the motorcycle accident. The accident lawyer will start collecting evidence to build a case to support the motorcycle accident claim.
Building Motorcycle Accident Cases
To build a case, the accident lawyer will start collecting information from the scene and police reports, taking photos of the scene plus investigating the other driver's history, recreating the accident scene, reviewing medical records, and consulting experts like insurance companies on behalf of the injured victim.
Motorcycle Accident Claim
If the motorcyclist is not at fault, they can seek compensation from the negligent driver who caused the accident. Even though motorcyclists are not protected by PIP insurance cover, they are not restricted by it. This means that victims of personal injury may not fall short in the damages they seek to compensate for their lost wages, including damages due to pain and suffering.
Motor Vehicle Accident Claim
Vehicle accident claims entail PIP insurance, which requires the injured victim to pass an injury threshold so that the injured party can seek a fair settlement from the negligent driver. The process, however, does not seek recovery of pain and suffering damages.
Negotiations
On the other hand, motorcyclists don’t have to pass any injury threshold to pursue compensation for damages due to motorcycle accidents. The damages may include lost wages, medical expenses, plus pain and suffering. However, the motorcycle accident lawyer the rider hires from a reputable law firm can seek an audience from the negligent driver's insurance company for negotiations.
Legal Action
When negotiations don’t work out, the rider can go for legal action against the negligent party with the help of Columbus motorcycle accident lawyers. This type of lawsuit falls under personal injury, which bases its theory on negligence.
The accident lawyer has to prove that the other party failed to follow the standard care for road safety, thereby making the accident occur. A Keating Law Firm lawyer representing the rider has to investigate to find out more information about the incident.
Investigation Process
During the process, the law firm will seek to find out whether or not negligent drivers were following traffic rules, paid attention to their surroundings, or if they were under the influence of drugs. The accident lawyers will also look at the product liability to determine whether the car involved in the accident was defective. If the law firm finds this true, it can sue the car manufacturers on behalf of the victim to recover fair compensation for injuries.
The law firm will study with the help of forensic experts if the victim's motorcycle was defective or working in the same condition since its purchase. Here, the answers that the accident lawyers find will help them file a product liabilities lawsuit.
Some examples of defects the law firms will file in the lawsuit include defective brakes, tires, fuel systems, and accelerators. In case of wrongful death due to a motorcycle accident, loved ones can recourse to recover compensation by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
The law firm can help the deceased's family determine if the other party was negligent, causing an accident that resulted in death.
What Fair Settlement Can Be Recovered?
In the negotiations process that the accident law firm will have with the other party's insurance firm, the following compensation may be recovered:
• Past and Future Medical Expenses
Vehicle accident victims will have a chance to file to get compensation for medical expenses like surgery, hospital bills, and care, together with emergency visits. The law firm must show that the injuries sustained were directly related to the motorcycle accident to get such compensation.
• Lost Wages
Accident victims can seek compensation for the wages they may have lost while they were bedridden in the hospital nursing wounds from the accident. The motorcyclist can get compensation for the time they were away from work.
• Pain and Suffering
A Columbus law firm can also assist injury victims in getting a fair settlement for pain and suffering caused by the whole incident. Motorcyclists don’t have PIP insurance; therefore, they can seek to recover compensation from pain and suffering experienced during a life-threatening ordeal. To determine whether a victim may need settlements, accident lawyers have to look at various aspects of the motorcycle accident, like the gravity of the injury and the extent of pain.
• Mental Anguish
The victims' families can also recover compensation for the emotional pain and suffering the ordeal has made them go through. Family members' emotional ordeal may include embarrassment, nervousness, fear, and worry.
• Loss of Consortium
The spouse of the deceased can also recover compensation due to wrongful death. Here, a loved one can get compensated for the loss of assistance, companionship, services, aid, and society. A surviving guardian may also get this same compensation for the loss of their child due to a motorcycle accident leading to wrongful death.
Other Hilliard Practice Areas
Contact The Keating Law Firm LTD
Whether it’s a free consultation or legal representation of personal injury cases, Keating Law Firm LTD has the client's best interest in mind. The law firm has specific legal representation for a motorcycle accident, which differs from car accidents.
The experienced motorcycle accident lawyers have forged excellent working relationships with various other stakeholders, from accident reconstructionists to medical experts, which enables them to find evidence for a personal injury case. To start the journey with Keating Law Firm LTD, the motorcycle accident victim must make the first step of scheduling a free consultation session with trusted motorcycle accident lawyers.
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