Motorbike Injury Claims
Motorbike injury claims in the USA are reducing in number but increasing in value. The reasons behind this are that fewer motorcyclists are taking to the roads, but many of those that do are older in age and, although more responsible road users, take longer to recover from serious injury. Consequently, motorbike injury claims – which have to account for factors such as more expensive rehabilitation and longer periods away from work – are increasing in value and have to be handled effectively to insure that the motorbike accident victim receives their full entitlement of motorbike injury compensation.
Procedures Prior to Making Motorbike Injury Claims
Whenever you have been injured in a motorbike accident, irrespective of whether you or another party was at fault, your primary concern has to be that of your health. In the most serious accidents, the emergency services will attend, administer first aid and an ambulance take you to hospital while the police compile a road traffic collision report. In accidents which are not deemed sufficiently serious for the emergency services to attend, you should exchange insurance details with the negligent driver and have a medical examination at the earliest possible opportunity.
It is important that you do not ride your motorcycle to the hospital, as a head injury may not be immediately apparent. Nonetheless, you may become a danger to other road users without realising it and the fact that you were able to get back on board your bike immediately after an accident may influence the validity of any motorbike injury claims. It is recommended that you leave your vehicle at the side of the road and have a friend transport you to hospital in a car or accompany you in a taxi.
Reporting Your Motorbike Accident to the Authorities
If you have been involved in a road traffic collision to which the police did not attend, it is recommended that once you have received treatment for your injuries you make a report of the accident at a local police station. It may help you to remember specific details about the accident if you visit the scene of the accident first and make notes to record the physical features of the road and any hazards which may have been present at the time. You should give the police as much information as you can – including the name and contact details of the responsible driver – and take a copy of the report to support your motorbike injury claims.
Approximately a quarter of all motorbike injury claims originate in non-collision circumstances due to poor road condition, mechanical engineering failure or diesel spills. In the event of your injuries being due to the condition of the road, you should report your accident to the relevant highway authority, and advise your motorbike retail shop or last garage to service your vehicle that a mechanical failure was responsible for your injuries. Only in the event of your injury being due to a diesel spill should you delay reporting your accident to the Motor Insurers´ Board until you have spoken with a personal injury lawyer.
Compensation for Motorbike Injury Claims
How much compensation you may be entitled to receive will be calculated by taking into account the severity of your injury, the costs involved in medical treatment and rehabilitation, the effect the injury has had on the quality of your life and any other financial costs you have incurred due to your motorbike accident. Motorbike injury claims for compensation can include an amount for loss of earnings – both now and in the future – and damages for psychological injury where it can be proven that you have lost your confidence to ride your bike on the roads or have suffered some other form of emotional trauma.
Motorbike injury compensation claims can be devalued if it is deemed that you contributed to your own injuries by the manner in which you were riding your bike, by failing to seek immediate medical attention or by riding your bike to the hospital after the event. Due to a bias against motorcyclists by insurance companies, they may even try to devalue your motorbike injury compensation claim simply because of your manner of transport. For all these reasons, and more, it is essential that you obtain professional legal advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer before making motorbike injury claims.
Lawyers and Motorbike Injury Claims
The lawyer you choose should have an understanding of motorbike injury claims – what the injury means to the victim if they are unable to ride their bike again, and the consequences that a long term physical injury can have on the victim´s quality of life and their mental state of mind. Most lawyers will give free advice on motorbike injury claims and offer to take the claim on a “Contingency Fee” conditional agreement once it has been established that you have a motorbike injury compensation claim that it is worth your while to pursue.
Consequently there is no harm in contacting a number of personal injury lawyers, identifying which seems to be the most understanding to your situation, and proceeding with a claim for motorbike injury compensation once you are confident that the lawyer has your best interests at heart. When major injuries are sustained in motorbike accidents, it is imperative that motorbike injury claims are handled comprehensively and with the greatest of care, for if the motorbike injury compensation settlement is ultimately insufficient for your needs, you cannot go back for more.