A motorcycle accident can be a devastating incident. Without the protection of a vehicle around you, the impact of a car or truck can cause significant injury, even if the accident does not seem intense at first. You may know what to do after a motorcycle accident right away – such as going to the emergency room for care and filing a police report about what occurred.
Then what? How do you get your medical bills paid for, and how can you get financial compensation from the people who caused your losses?
Our Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorney at Simmrin Law Group can provide you with the guidance and support you need. Set up a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case with our trusted team. We can answer your questions while providing you with exceptional insight into the steps you can take to minimize risk and maximize your compensation recovery.
What to Do Right Away
After a motorcycle accident, there are a few key things you have to do.
- Call the police to the scene to report the incident. Provide a full detailing of only the facts to the police officer.
- Go to the ER and ensure that you are getting full care for your injuries, even if you do not feel bad after the accident.
- When possible, gather the names and contact information of any witnesses.
- Snap photos of the area if it is safe to do so.
- Follow up with the medical care recommendations you have.
Once you take these steps, you are documenting the case so it can be verified later. That is going to help you when you file a claim for compensation. Once you contact our motorcycle accident attorney, we can offer guidance on how to maximize your claim.
Determining Your Losses
One of the first steps your attorney will help you with is determining what all of your losses are. In a motorcycle accident, those losses can be extensive, often impacting numerous areas of your life. With our experience working with clients who have been seriously hurt in motorcycle accidents, we have a good understanding of how these types of accidents can impact not just your current health but also your long-term well-being.
Your economic losses may include:
- Medical bills for your emergency care
- Costs related to hospital admissions
- Surgical procedures
- Infection treatment, if needed
- Medications for pain and to support recovery
- Skin grafting procedures and reconstruction
- Burn treatment
- Lost time at work
In situations where your care needs are extensive, it is often necessary to consider additional losses, such as any in-home health aid that you need, rehabilitation, and supportive services. If you are unable to work due to the injuries, you may be eligible for compensation for that as well.
Non-Economic Losses
Your non-economic losses may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life
- Emotional distress
These types of accidents often impact a person in many ways. In many cases, these are traumatic events that can make it very hard to get back on your bike again. That could impact your quality of life for years to come. You may be owed compensation for that loss, though nothing can really bring back what you lost from it.
When you work with our motorcycle accident lawyer, we try to put a value on that loss. That is done based on the circumstances as well as looking at other cases like your own. The key here is to allow our professionals to have a full understanding of how this accident has impacted you.
We want to fight for the compensation you are owed.
Who Is to Blame for Your Losses?
Another important part of the process is better understanding who is responsible for what happened to you. It may be that another driver is the sole person responsible. That is very often the case when that driver is in a car, tired, or otherwise distracted, and it can often mean that you are suffering from significant loss due to the negligence of that individual.
Sometimes, accident losses occur because of more than one cause. For example, it may be that you were hit by a truck driver who was working too many hours in a row, leading to fatigue. In some cases, the trucking company may be responsible for the losses you have incurred as a result.
These are just simple examples, and oftentimes, there are many more complications that can play a role in your loss. What you should do is write down all of the details you can remember from the accident, including what the other driver was doing prior to the accident or any swerving you may have noticed. The more information you can provide, the better.
Filing a Claim with the Insurance Company
Often, it is the other driver’s insurance that will be responsible for paying for the losses you have. You will need to seek out compensation in the form of a settlement.
We do not recommend just sending them your medical bills since there is often much more to the process than that. Instead, let our team formulate a settlement for you and submit it for you. This allows us to handle the conversions, the questions, and the pressures to reduce what you are owed.
Our team often gets the insurance company to settle out of court, but if that is not possible, we will go to trial to defend your right to compensation. The sooner you call us, the better.
Put Our Team to Work for You Today – Call our Motorcycle Accident Attorney for Help
At Simmrin Law Group, we work hard to help our clients with every step of the process of getting the compensation they are owed. Now that you know what to do after a motorcycle accident, let us take over and start working on your behalf to get the support you need and the compensation you deserve. Set up a free consultation with our Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorney in California to learn what your case may be worth and what your next step should be.