Were you injured in a motor vehicle crash in Florida? Read about the 4 things you need to know about motorcycle accidents, then call us today.
1. Case Timeline
Generally, with motorcycle accident cases, unfortunately, because of the lack of protection, the injuries are far more serious. Those claims in and of themselves take much longer because the claim is always about you as the injured victim. You need to complete your treatment in order to – for us to understand what the full value and the full extent of all of your injuries are. Just because you fracture a bone and have a surgery to repair that bone with rods and instrumentation doesn’t mean that you’re not going to need future treatment for that fracture. Motorcycle injury cases generally take much longer.
Once we can get an idea from your treating surgeons, trauma surgeons, what the extent of your injuries are, we can know what the coverage of the at-fault party is and can begin to evaluate the extent of compensation that you’re going to need to cover any expenses in the future. The other issue involving motorcycle injury cases is that we don’t have personal injury protection benefits unless you pay extra to have medical payments coverage on your motorcycle to pay your medical bills. We generally are in a position where we either have to rely upon your health insurance, which we try to do if you have it, or on surgeons and specialists who will wait to be paid from the proceeds of your compensation.
Depending on the extent of your injuries, motorcycle accident cases can take much longer. They are generally resolved short of trial because insurance companies know that juries are going to see catastrophic type injuries, but there’s no specific answer.
2. Common Mistakes
The first issue that we find is that most motorcycle accident cases involve the injured victim going to the hospital and then loved ones talk to the insurance company of the at-fault driver and give them information rather than seeking the input of an attorney first. You do not want your family to talk to the at-fault insurance company. You want your family to be looking for a lawyer who can make sure that your medical bills are paid, to make sure that you receive appropriate evaluation.
We represent a motorcycle driver right now, and we talk to our clients regularly. We were able to find out that our motorcycle driver, who a truck driver turned in front of and catastrophically injured, was still having pain in areas that hadn’t been evaluated while he was in the hospital for two weeks. We were able to obtain the services of an orthopedic surgeon who discovered that our client had two additional fractures up in his shoulder area – in his collarbone and in his shoulder blade – that weren’t evaluated by the surgeons either while he was in the hospital or afterwards when they followed up with him.
In fact, great doctors, but trauma surgeons, so they kept telling our client that’s normal. You’re going to have aches and pains in various areas. Instead, we were able to have our client evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon who got new x-rays, and those fractures were discovered. Those fractures are being treated, and now those fractures are part of his compensation, so don’t make the mistake of just relying on the hospital physicians. Seek the advice and the input of an attorney so that you can be fully compensated for your motorcycle accident injuries.
3. Talking to the Insurance Company
One of the biggest mistakes that can be made by a motorcycle accident injury victim is to talk right away to the insurance company for the at fault driver. Even if the motorcycle accident victim is incapacitated, often a mistake is made where the family speaks directly to the insurance company for the at fault driver. If you drive a motorcycle, let your family know you don’t want them to talk to the at fault insurance company if you’re not able to speak for yourself. Make sure your family is aware that you know what your rights are and that you want them to help you find an attorney who have handled numerous motorcycle accident cases and can help you get evaluated for your injuries and guide you in seeking the appropriate medical care. Don’t talk to the insurance company.
4. After a Motorcycle Accident
You need to make sure that you get immediate emergent care at the hospital right away, even if you think you’re not injured other than road rash. You don’t know initially what injuries you may have. It’s stunning to be hit on a motorcycle. We often find that the at fault driver tries to put partial blame on the motorcycle victim. You want to make sure that you seek the advice of an attorney, that you get evaluated for all of your injures, that you talk to an attorney who can find out what coverages are available to compensate you for any of your motorcycle accident injuries and for all of your motorcycle accident injuries.
Were you or a loved one seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash in Arizona and have questions about the 4 things you need to know about motorcycle accidents? Contact experienced Tampa Bay Motorcycle Accident Lawyers at Morgenstern & Herd today for a free legal consultation and case evaluation.
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