The Florida Motorcycle Accident Guide was created by Norden Leacox, PLLC to help residents who have been injured in a motorcycle accident obtain maximum compensation for their claim.
First of all, you need to understand that motorcycle riders are looked at with a bias. People think that just because you ride a motorcycle you’re signing up for a dangerous vehicle and, therefore. are responsible for whatever happens to you on the road. They also think that accidents involving motorcyclists are typically because the motorcyclist was to blame. Understanding that there is this bias, you need to ensure you have Orlando motorcycle accident lawyers who understand what you are up against. A jury may have a bias against you from the start, which could complicate your trial, if it comes to that.
It might be impossible for you to personally do this, but you need to make sure that there’s evidence collected at the scene of the accident. If you’re able to stay on the scene and take pictures and videos and get contact information for witnesses that’s great. If you cannot personally do this, however, because you have been whisked away to an emergency room on an ambulance, you can call on a family member, friend, or one of our Orlando motorcycle accident lawyers to do this on your behalf. Evidence of a motorcycle accident can disappear virtually overnight, so if this is not done as soon as you can possibly do it, you’re not going to have evidence to build a strong case.
One huge mistake that we see people make in motorcycle accident cases is they talk to the insurance company about the details of what happened to them. The insurance company will reach out to you as soon as they can, even if they know that you have just undergone surgery or are on pain medications and more vulnerable than you normally would be. They want to get a recorded statement from you, regardless of the state that you are currently in. This recorded statement is designed to get you to say things that would devalue your motorcycle accident claim. We strongly advise you not to give them any sort of recorded statement. You have no legal obligation to do so, and if it’s only going to damage your case, why do it at all?
Lastly, the idea of a motorcycle accident claim can be intimidating to a lot of people. They might avoid bringing a case, either because they think it’s going to be a lot of work or very expensive. Our Orlando motorcycle accident lawyers are going to take on all of the work for you so that you can focus on physical recovery. Also, you do not owe us a penny unless we win your case.
Compensation is going to be the way you get justice for your case. It is compensation for the pain, suffering and damages this motorcycle accident has cost you. Any medical bills, wages you’ve lost from missing work, and emotional anguish that you’ve gone through because of this accident can be compensated for in your award at the very end of the case.
All of this gets calculated and deliberated on, and you will be offered a settlement. Please understand that the insurance company will likely offer you a settlement early on that does not fully factor in all the damages you’re suffering. For this reason, we strongly advise that you do not take the first settlement offer and instead fight for the full, fair justice that they are capable of giving you.
You do not get a second chance if you take the first settlement offer and then decide later that it wasn’t enough to cover the damages that you have. That is why we want you to get as healthy as you can physically from medical treatment so that we know the full extent of your injuries and can determine what compensation they owe you to cover all of the damages that their insured caused you.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Orlando, it’s very important that you speak with a lawyer right away. The main reason to speak with a lawyer right away is to get education and guidance on what’s going on and what the process is. Another important reason to hire a lawyer right away is to make sure that the evidence at the scene, the evidence in the case can get saved and documented. Oftentimes, there’s key pieces of evidence at the scene that will disappear within hours if not properly memorialized and it is necessary to get out letters to the at-fault person and company to make sure that all key evidence is kept. It’s very important to hire and speak with a lawyer right away.
Another very important thing to do right away is to seek medical attention, to go to the doctor. That will not only give you peace of mind of what’s going on with your body, the nature and extent of your injuries, but also to document the nature and extent of your injuries, in case that is needed later down the line.
Being Injured As A Motorcycle PassengerIf you’ve been in an accident in Orlando riding on the back of a motorcycle, you can pursue not only a case against the other driver, if they’re at fault, but the driver of the motorcycle if they were the cause or partial cause of the accident. Oftentimes, it’s not about going against that person individually, it’s about going after the insurance company that insured them.
It’s very important that you hire a lawyer with experience in those types of cases so they can explore all avenues of insurance coverage, all avenues of recovery for you, to make sure that you get full and fair compensation. Oftentimes, motorcycle accidents result in serious and catastrophic injuries that can affect a person for the rest of their life.
If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident in Orlando, it’s very, very important you hire the right lawyer. How do you do that? The most important thing you want to do is hire an experienced motorcycle accident attorney who has had experience with those types of cases. Motorcycle accidents typically result in very serious injuries, and, as a result, it’s important you hire the right lawyer.
In looking for a lawyer, you want someone with experience, someone that’s focused on personal injury, and someone that has had trials and experience in motorcycle cases.
Unfortunately, there’s several common mistakes that we see people make over and over again after they’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident in Orlando. One of the main mistakes we see people make after they’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident is fail to hire the right attorney. It’s very important, if you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident, that you hire the right lawyer, an attorney that has experience in motorcycle accidents, that has experience representing people injured in motorcycle accidents, and that’s not afraid to take a motorcycle case to trial.
Another common mistake we see people make is failing to seek medical treatment right away. It’s very important that you go see a doctor, if you’ve been in a motorcycle accident, for many reasons. One, to document the nature and extent of your injuries, and two, to give yourself peace of mind so you know what is going on with you and can get on the road to recovery.
Another common mistake we see people make in motorcycle accidents is failing to keep their motorcycle. It’s very important that the motorcycle is kept after an accident because that can be a key piece of evidence in presenting your case. That’s why it’s important to hire a lawyer right away to ensure that that key evidence is kept.
The last common mistake we see people make after a motorcycle accident is speaking to the insurance company for the at-fault person. It’s very important that you do not speak to the insurance company for the person that injured you or the company that injured you prior to hiring a lawyer. Oftentimes, they’re trying to get a quick settlement, settle your case for pennies on the dollar, and take a recorded statement that can be used against you later. It’s very, very important that you do not do that.
Motorcycle accident cases are very different from car accident cases. The first reason they’re very different is, oftentimes, motorcycle accidents result in much more serious injuries because of the nature of riding a motorcycle, the speed at which they often occur, and the type of accidents that typically occur with motorcycles.
The second big reason that motorcycle accident cases are very different from auto accident cases is that many people, especially here in Florida, immediately believe that the motorcycle driver must be at fault for causing the accident— maybe not wholly at fault, but partially at fault or significantly at fault. It’s important to hire a lawyer that has experience with motorcycle cases.
Another reason that motorcycle cases are very different from auto accident cases is that they involve unique facts and unique characteristics that oftentimes need expert witnesses, including accident reconstruction experts, conspicuous experts, human factors experts, experts that can talk about operating motorcycles and the unique vantage points and viewpoints on the roadway.
Our clients often ask us, “What is the value of my motorcycle accident injury claim here in Orlando?” It’s our job to give our clients guidance to know whether or not they should accept a settlement offer or take their case to trial. There’s no exact science or answer to the exact value of any case or any injury claim. What we do is we use the many years of experience that we have, not only defending representing at-fault individuals and companies and insurance companies for motorcycle cases, but the many, many years and the many, many motorcycle cases we’ve helped our clients get full and fair compensation for. We use the experience of what we’ve seen in those cases to guide our clients.
We also use jury verdicts. What have juries done in Orlando with similar injuries and similar types of cases? Using our experience and using that knowledge of jury verdicts, of not only our own cases but cases of other lawyers, we can give our clients guidance and a range so that they can make an informed and educated decision whether or not to settle their case based on the offer that they’ve been given or whether they should present their case to a jury.
Often, we’re asked how long it’s going to take to resolve a motorcycle accident case in Orlando. Unfortunately, there’s no specific or exact answer to that question. Each and every case is different, and all we can do is give you a guideline based upon what we’ve seen in the past. Sometimes, although rare, motorcycle cases settle very quickly. More often than not, the insurance companies for the at-fault person will treat our clients unfairly, and we will not be able to resolve the case quickly early on, without having to file a lawsuit.
Once we file a lawsuit, on average, a case takes about a year and a half to get to a jury. Every case is ordered to mediation before it ever gets to a jury, which can typically take around a year. That’s the general guideline. There’s no exact time frame on how long a motorcycle case will take; it depends on the injuries; it depends on the amount of treatment; it depends on the insurance company. There are many factors involved.
We’re often contacted by individuals that have been involved in motorcycle accidents in which they believe they were at least partially at fault for the accident. The good thing in the state of Florida is that you can still seek recovery and seek a claim if you’re partially at fault for your motorcycle accident. Florida has what’s called pure comparative fault. An assessment is made of what percent of fault you were responsible for in the motorcycle accident and what percent of fault the other party or other company was. There’s an assessment made on that basis of comparative fault. Even if you’re partially at fault, or even if you’re majority at fault – 60%, 70% – you’re still entitled to seek recovery and seek fair compensation for your injuries.
It’s important that you hire a lawyer and talk to a lawyer that can give you guidance on those issues, fully evaluate the case to see what percent at fault you really are, and to protect you and hire expert witnesses, if needed, to present your case. The short of the answer is, even if you’re at fault, partly or majority at fault, you can still pursue your case in the state of Florida due to the law of pure comparative negligence.
Pre-existing Injuries In A Motorcycle Accident CaseWe’re often asked by individuals that have been involved in motorcycle accidents and have preexisting conditions or prior injuries how that is going to impact their claim. The good thing here in the state of Florida is that the law protects all people. It protects not only those people that are young and healthy, but also the elderly, the frail, and those with preexisting conditions, prior injuries and prior problems.
If you’ve been in a motorcycle accident and you had a preexisting condition, and that injury aggravates your condition, makes your injuries worse, causes something that wasn’t bothering you to become symptomatic, the law protects you. We can seek full and fair compensation for you, under the law, for aggravation of those preexisting conditions.
After a motorcycle accident, it’s never a good idea to speak to the insurance company for the driver that hit you without talking to a lawyer. That insurance company is not your friend. They’re not speaking with you to try to help you, and, most commonly, they’re trying to do something that is in your detriment. They’re going to try to settle your case for pennies on the dollar, get you to sign a release that precludes you from presenting your case later down the line, maybe even giving a recorded statement to them that can be used against you.
It is almost never a good idea to speak to the insurance company for the at-fault person prior to speaking to a lawyer. Once you get a lawyer, they’re going to take over all that communication, they’re not going to allow you to speak to that insurance company, and they’re going to protect you and make sure that the insurance company that does this everyday doesn’t take advantage of you.
If you were someone you love has been hurt in a motorcycle accident, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Orlando motorcycle accident lawyers. You will receive prioritized care and dedicated support from our staff. You are a priority, and your justice is our mission. If you don’t know what needs to happen next in order to get justice, call us as soon as you can. Set up your free initial consultation today.
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