The last thing anyone who has been in a motorcycle accident wants to have to deal with after a crash is trying to navigate their insurance policy to discover in what ways they are, and what they aren’t, covered. The best thing to do is to make sure that you are very familiar with your insurance policy ahead of any potential accident. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20.
If you are not the at-fault driver in an accident, then you don’t have to worry too much about your own insurance policy, as you will most likely be suing the other driver’s insurance for coverage of your injuries. However, even in this case, you might file a claim with your own insurance, which they will pay. This is because they will essentially step into your shoes as a claimant and move to recover the money paid from the other driver’s insurance.
This second option can be appealing to many drivers because they don’t have to deal with a hostile insurance company. If your insurance company believes the case against the other driver to be strong, you will likely have your least contentious experience claiming money from an insurance company ever.
Hiring an Attorney
How can a motorcycle accident attorney help? However you may choose to proceed regarding an insurance claim, an experienced attorney can help to make sure you get the best settlement possible. In the case of a motorcycle accident, an attorney will take several steps on your behalf. This can include all of the following.
Visiting the Accident Site
Your lawyer will go to the site of your accident to look for things like blind corners, missing street signs, or other factors that may have played a contributing part in your accident. They will review any surveillance footage that may have covered the accident and assess how the accident occurred.
Obtaining a Copy of the Police Report
Your attorney will obtain a copy of the police report documenting your accident and speak with the responding officer to see if they remember any other helpful details that are not mentioned in the report.
Speaking With Witnesses
Your lawyer will track down witnesses to the accident and speak to them about what they saw. They will assess their reliability as witnesses and whether their testimony could be helpful in your case.
Obtaining Copies of Your Related Medical Files
Your lawyer will gather your medical files directly related to the accident, as well as copies of your medical bills and any other files which may have an indirect connection. For example, this could include records of a previous time when you broke a leg if you broke your leg again in the current accident.
Speaking With Experts
Your attorney will speak with any experts that could possibly provide helpful testimony pertaining to your case.
Filing a Lawsuit
After your attorney has gathered all of the relevant information that they need for your case, they will officially file a lawsuit on your behalf.
This is the first official step in legal proceedings. This is preceded by discovery (the sharing of evidence between the two sides), deposition (the recording of testimony by witnesses and experts), and mediation (the two sides coming together in an official attempt to settle the case with a trained third party on hand to try to assist in getting the two parties in coming to terms).
If a settlement still has not been reached at this point, then your case will go to trial.
Negotiating With Insurance Companies
At every step of the process, your legal team will be in constant negotiations with the insurance company to try to come up with a settlement agreement that will be advantageous to both sides.
Avoiding court is almost always the aim, as even in a seemingly airtight case, you can never know how things will turn out in a courtroom. That doesn’t even take into consideration the time and money involved in a court case. Because of this, doing everything to settle the claim out of court is in everyone’s best interests.
Representing You in Court
If you are unable or unwilling to come to a settlement agreement, then your attorney will represent you and your interests in court and do their best to win you the compensation that you deserve.
