Driving a motorcycle can be a lot of fun as well as cost effective, but it can also be quite dangerous being on the road with distracted or inattentive drivers in cars and trucks. If you are hit by one of these drivers through no fault of your own, you are likely to sustain serious injuries, no matter how much safety gear you wear. Use the following tips to ensure that you are properly compensated through a financial settlement if you are hit on your motorcycle by a distracted driver and suffer injuries:
Stay on Top of Your Medical Care
Many motorcyclists who are hit by cars or trucks will need to be transported to a hospital for medical care immediately after the accident. If you receive treatment at the hospital, make sure you go to all follow up appointments with your own doctor to ensure that you are recovering properly. In addition to helping your health, attending all of your medical appointments can help strengthen your case and your medical records will be looked at when it comes time to talk about settlements.
Hire the Right Attorney
As soon as you are medically stable and able to use the phone, it is imperative to hire an attorney. You will need a personal injury attorney, specifically one who specializes in motorcycle accident cases. Vehicle accident cases that involve motorcycles can be a little bit more complicated than regular car accident cases, so you want to make sure that your attorney is trained as a trial lawyer and has trial experience should you case need to go to court. The last thing you want is to work with one attorney only to learn that your case has to go to court to be settled, but he or she does not do trial cases.
A lot of cases are settled between an attorney and the legal counsel for the other driver's insurance company or through mediation, but it is not uncommon for motorcycle accident injury cases to need to go to trial to ensure that the injured motorcycle driver gets the settlement that he or she deserves. Your trial attorney will receive a percentage of your settlement, so you won't be responsible for paying anything upfront.
Document Lost Wages
If you're seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, you may end up missing a substantial amount of work. It is a good idea to keep detailed records of lost wages and ask your employee to sign a certified document noting the number of days missed as well as your salary or wage.
