A motorcycle accident lawyer can seek the money you deserve after the accident. They will handle every step of your insurance claim or lawsuit. Your lawyer will consider all your accident-related damages, including motorcycle repairs, lost income, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.
A San Marcos motorcycle accident lawyer will leverage their experience in your favor. They will protect your rights, advise you about all aspects of your case, and take the burden of your claim or lawsuit off your shoulders.
What Does a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Do?
Every motorcycle accident attorney shares a common goal: Securing all the compensation their client deserves after a traffic accident.
The three common groups who hire motorcycle accident lawyers are:
- Those who suffer injuries during a motorcycle accident
- Those whose loved one passes away because of a motorcycle accident
- Those whose loved one suffers a catastrophic (but non-fatal) injury in a motorcycle accident
Despite accounting for only 3 percent of registered vehicles, motorcyclists account for about 14 percent of traffic deaths. This figure illustrates how motorcycle accidents are likely to cause serious injuries.
A motorcycle accident lawyer’s goal is to ensure that clients don’t pay out of pocket for the cost of a severe injury or wrongful death.
Each case and client presents unique demands and challenges. However, motorcycle accident lawyers typically serve their clients (and will serve you) by:
Building an Evidence-Based Case
Your motorcycle accident lawyer will secure evidence of negligence as soon as possible.
Important evidence in your case may include:
- Eyewitness testimony about how the accident happened
- Video footage of the accident (which may come from security cameras, dashboard cameras, cell phones, or other sources)
- The police report detailing the collision
- An expert’s reconstruction of the accident (which may be a digital or physical exhibit)
- Expert testimony about why the accident happened and who was responsible
- Statements from those involved in the motorcycle accident (such as a motor vehicle driver’s admission that they struck the motorcyclist)
- Photographs of the accident scene, and specifically damage to motor vehicles and motorcycles
The need to collect time-sensitive evidence is one reason to hire your lawyer as soon as possible. If you wait to retain an attorney, valuable evidence (like footage from city-owned traffic cameras) may get lost.
Determining Who Owes You Compensation
Your motorcycle accident lawyer will identify who owes you compensation for your economic and non-economic damages.
Liable parties in a motorcycle accident case can include:
- Motorists
- Employers whose employees cause a motorcycle accident
- Motor vehicle manufacturers
- Motorcycle manufacturers
- A municipality responsible for dangerous road conditions
- An establishment that serves alcohol to a drunk driver
- Any other party whose actions or failures contribute to a motorcycle accident
Facts and evidence from your case will lead your attorney to liable parties. If multiple parties are liable for your damages, your lawyer will seek a fair share of compensation from each.
Detailing All Damages from the Motorcycle Accident
The list of damages from a motorcycle accident can be extensive, as this is usually the case when severe injuries and wrongful deaths happen.
Your attorney will detail your accident-related damages with:
- Medical bills
- Medical records
- Images of injuries
- Testimony from doctors about your injuries, care needs, and medical costs
- Invoices for vehicle repairs, replacement of damaged property, and temporary transportation
- Past income statements proving how much income you have lost because of your motorcycle accident
- Expert testimony about mental health struggles resulting from your accident
- Any other proof of economic or non-economic damages
Your law firm may hire experts to establish your case and prove your damages. Hiring those experts may strengthen your case significantly.
Calculating the Total Cost of Damages (Which Will Set the Settlement Target)
Your attorney will calculate your accident-related damages to determine the value of a fair settlement. Law firms have extensive experience calculating damages and should always account for the damages a client will suffer in the future.
Creating a Comprehensive Case Strategy
Once your lawyer knows why your motorcycle accident happened, who is responsible, and how much your damages are worth, your lawyer will craft a detailed case strategy.
A strategy should reflect:
- The cost of all your accident-related damages
- Whether liable parties have active insurance
- How much coverage insurance policies provide (as this will influence whether your lawyer files a lawsuit)
- The other unique details of your case, as a lawyer must consider everything when creating an effective legal strategy
Your attorney will provide regular updates to ensure you understand the strategy for your case. As your case moves forward, the strategy may change (and you will be the first to know about such changes).
Negotiating a Settlement
Your lawyer is your designated negotiator. They will meet with liable parties and demand the entire financial settlement you are entitled to.
Taking Your Case to Court, If Necessary
If going to trial is the right option for your case, your lawyer will go to trial. Though this is not the most common path for a motorcycle accident case, you mzy need to take it.
Going to court generally requires a lawyer to:
- Complete the discovery process
- Organize and present evidence (and address the defense’s evidence)
- Prepare and present witnesses (and cross-examine the defense’s witnesses)
- Make opening and closing arguments
- File motions and lodge objections throughout the trial process
A trial may conclude with a jury awarding you the compensation you deserve.
Managing Every Other Detail of Your Case
Your lawyer will handle every detail of your case. This includes leading communications (including with insurers), drafting and filing paperwork, and the many other steps necessary to complete a motorcycle accident claim or lawsuit.
What Damages Will a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Seek Money For?
Motorcyclists do not have the protection of seat belts, airbags, or metal cages that protect motor vehicle occupants. This means that careless motorists can cause life-altering motorcycle accidents.
When a motorcyclist survives their collision, resulting damages may include:
- Property costs (including motorcycle repairs): A motorcyclist may face the cost of repairing or replacing their bike after an accident. Additional property costs may come from replacing clothing and other property and securing temporary transport.
- Pain and suffering: Your attorney will account for the non-economic cost of your accident, including pain and suffering. A mental health expert can diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and other conditions from the accident. Physical pain, sleep problems, scarring, and lost quality of life may also require fair compensation.
- Medical bills: Motorcyclists can suffer severe (possibly disabling) injuries, and head injuries are especially common. Serious injuries create expensive medical bills, and even seemingly minor injuries can cost you thousands of dollars. Your motorcycle accident lawyer will seek compensation for every accident-related medical expense.
- Work losses: When a motorcycle accident disrupts your work, you may lose income, miss bonuses, and suffer other work losses. Your attorney will include these damages in your case.
- Mental health treatment: If you elect to treat mental health symptoms with counseling, medications, or other forms of care, your lawyer will demand that liable parties cover the cost.
Each motorcycle accident victim experiences unique damages. The value of one victim’s settlement might not cover another motorcycle accident victim’s damages. You must know your settlement target, and a lawyer will handle these calculations.
A Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Will Seek a Fair Recovery for a Wrongful Death
Fatal motorcycle accidents have increased in recent years, indicating that motorcyclists are in as much danger as ever. This makes sense, considering that America’s ceaseless population increase makes roads more packed and chaotic everyday.
If you are affected by a fatal motorcycle accident, an attorney will seek financial justice for your tragic loss.
You may receive compensation for:
- Your pain and suffering, including grief
- Any grief counseling, medications, or other treatment you seek for pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial (or cremation) expenses
- Loss of spousal companionship
- Loss of parental guidance
- Lost financial support
- Loss of the decedent’s household contributions
- Any other economic or non-economic harm resulting from the fatal motorcycle accident
You deserve help after a motorcycle accident, whether you suffered an injury, lost a family member, or need to assist an incapacitated loved one. A motorcycle accident lawyer and their firm will provide the support and services you need.
How Much Do I Have to Pay a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?
You do not have to pay a motorcycle accident lawyer out of your own pocket.
Most law firms that handle personal injury cases use contingency fees, which means:
- The firm covers the financial cost of the lawsuit or insurance claim.
- The firm may hire experts, commission accident reconstructions, and take other elective steps at no added cost to the client.
- The client agrees to pay the firm a portion of any settlement or judgment their lawyer secures.
- If the law firm does not win, the client pays nothing.
There is no immediate or out-of-pocket cost to retain a lawyer. This is one reason why many motorcycle accident victims hire an attorney.
What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Lawyer After a Motorcycle Collision?
As you ponder whether to hire a motorcycle accident lawyer, you should consider that:
- Lawsuits and insurance claims demand your time: Do not take the demands of an insurance claim or lawsuit lightly. After a motorcycle accident, you will lack the time required to mount an effective case.
- The stakes of your case are likely high: Because motorcycle accidents are often severe, the financial stakes of resulting cases can be high. This means that losing your case can have catastrophic financial consequences for you. An attorney is most qualified to build an effective case.
- A lawyer provides experience, an asset you cannot purchase: If you hire an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer, they will bring invaluable experience to your case. Someone who knows the law and has completed challenging cases can resolve your case.
- Your health deserves your full attention: Of the time and energy you have available, channel that time and energy towards your recovery. Focus on your health while your attorney fights for your financial recovery.
An attorney’s advice, support, and legal protection can comfort you after a motorcycle accident. If your lawyer secures the financial recovery you deserve, you will be glad you accepted a lawyer’s help.
Who Is Liable for a Motorcycle Accident Victim’s Damages?
As part of their representation, your motorcycle accident lawyer will establish liability for your accident (and resulting damages). Liable parties may include the manufacturer of a defective vehicle or bike, a motorist who caused the accident, or a range of other parties.
Your attorney will gather all the relevant facts. They will identify liable parties and demand that those parties pay what you deserve.
Can I Receive Compensation Even If I Was Not Wearing a Helmet?
Yes, you can still seek compensation even if you did not wear a helmet at the time of your accident, but you will need a lawyer to minimize any responsibility for your injuries.
Find a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer as Soon as Possible
Reputable motorcycle accident law firms offer free consultations. You can ask questions about the firm and experience its culture firsthand as you decide which firm should lead your case. They also do not charge fees to begin representing you or until they successfully obtain compensation for you.
Do not wait to speak with San Marcos personal injury attorney, your case may have a filing deadline, so waiting to retain a lawyer can have severe consequences.