If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, you are probably suffering a great deal as result. These accidents are never easy to go through for anyone, and we want to stand by you through this very difficult time. Your life is probably flipped on its head, and you may not know what’s next. Please allow our Orlando motorcycle accident lawyers to help you through your case to get justice. Call today to set up a free initial consultation with our experienced personal injury attorneys.
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If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a motorcycle collision in Orlando, it’s very important that you speak with a lawyer right away so you can get education and guidance on what’s going on and what the process is. Another important reason to retain legal representation right away is to make sure the evidence at the scene 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 send letters to the at-fault person and their insurance company to make sure that all key evidence is kept.
Another very important thing to do right away is to seek medical attention. That will not only give you peace of mind about what’s going on with your body, but also documents the nature and extent of your injuries for evidence of damages in a civil claim.
Unfortunately, there are 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 is failing to hire the right attorney. If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle collision, it’s very important to hire a lawyer with experience in representing injured motorcyclists who is not afraid to take a case to trial.
Another common mistake we see people make after a motorcycle crash 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. Hiring a lawyer right away helps ensure that this key piece of evidence is kept.
Furthermore, another huge mistake people tend to make in motorcycle wreck cases is talking 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 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 you are 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 team can take on all of the work for you, so you can focus on physical recovery. Also, you do not owe us a penny unless we win your case.
First, it is important 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 are therefore responsible for whatever happens to you on the road. They also think that accidents involving motorcyclists are typically because the motorcyclist’s fault. A motorcycle accident attorney in Orlando understands 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.
While it might be impossible for you to do this yourself, you need to make sure that evidence at the scene of the accident is collected. If you’re able to stay at the scene and take pictures and videos and get contact information for witnesses, doing so can strengthen your claim. If you cannot personally do this, however, because you have been whisked away to an emergency room on an ambulance, you can ask a family member, friend, or one of our motorcycle accident lawyers to do this on your behalf. Evidence of a motorcycle crash can disappear virtually overnight, so if this is not done as soon as possible, you’re unlikely to have enough evidence to build a strong case.
Motorcycle collision cases are very different from car crash cases. For instance, motorcycle accidents tend to 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 crashes that typically occur with motorcyclists.
Another difference between motorcycle crash cases and auto accident cases is that the former often requires expert witnesses, including accident reconstruction experts, conspicuity experts, and human factors experts, to talk about operating motorcycles and the unique vantage points and viewpoints on the roadway.
Unfortunately, there’s no specific or exact answer to the question of how long a motorcycle accident claim will take to resolve. Each and every case is different, and all we can do is give you an estimated timeline based on what we’ve seen in the past. While it is rare, some motorcycle cases settle very quickly.
Once we file a lawsuit, a motorcycle accident injury case takes about a year and a half on average to get to a jury. Every case is ordered to mediation before it ever gets to a jury, which can take around a year. That’s the general timeline. There’s no exact time frame for how long a motorcycle case will take, as it depends on the injuries, amount of treatment, and the insurance company. There are many factors involved, making it imperative to work with qualified legal counsel.
Compensation awarded in a successful motorcycle collision case is meant to cover an injured motorcyclist’s pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages from missing work, and emotional anguish. All of this gets calculated and deliberated on, and you will be offered a settlement. The insurance company will likely offer a settlement early on that does not fully reflect all the damages a motorcyclist is 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 your damages. That is why we want you to get as healthy as you can from medical treatment so 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 were hurt in an accident while riding on the back of a motorcycle, you can pursue not only a case against the other driver, if they’re at fault, but also the driver of the motorcycle if they were the cause or partial cause of the collision. More often than not, it’s less about going against that person individually and more about going after the insurance company that insures them.
An experienced motorcycle accident attorney in Orlando can explore all avenues of insurance coverage and recovery to make sure you get full and fair compensation you’re owed. Oftentimes, motorcycle crashes result in serious and catastrophic injuries that can affect a person for the rest of their life. If you or a loved one was a passenger on a motorcycle at the time of an accident, please consider working with one of our motorcycle accident lawyers.
In the State of Florida, an injured person who is found partially at fault for a motorcycle accident can still file a civil claim for compensation. Orlando civil courts use what’s called “pure comparative fault.” An assessment is made of the injured claimant’s share of liability for the motorcycle crash and what percent of fault the other party or other company bears. Even if you’re partially at fault, or even majority at fault, you’re still entitled to seek recovery and pursue fair compensation for your injuries.
A well-trained lawyer can fully evaluate the case to see what percent of fault you really bear and defend your right to receive compensation to offset your losses.
There’s no exact science or answer to the value of any case or injury claim. It takes many years of experience in not only representing at-fault individuals and companies and insurance companies, but also in helping injured motorcyclists get full and fair compensation to determine the value of an individual case.
We also refer to past jury verdicts to see what juries in Orlando have done with similar injuries and similar types of cases. Using our experience and knowledge of not only our own cases but cases of other lawyers as well, we can give you guidance on whether to settle your motorcycling accident injury claim or present your case to a jury based on the settlement offer you’ve been given.
Florida law protects all people — 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 a motorcycle collision causes a preexisting condition to worsen or causes something that wasn’t bothering you to become symptomatic, our motorcycle accident attorneys in Orlando can seek full and fair compensation for aggravation of those preexisting conditions.
If you or someone you love has been hurt in a motorcycling collision, 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.
