What Are Your Rights After a Motorcycle Accident?

If you’re injured by a negligent or reckless driver while you’re riding a motorcycle in Maryland or the District of Columbia, you will need to discuss your rights and options as quickly as possible with a Silver Spring motorcycle accident attorney.

Motorcycling is great recreation and economical transportation. It’s also quite dangerous. How is the fault for a motorcycle accident determined? What are your rights if a negligent driver injures you in a motorcycle crash? Can you be compensated for your medical expenses and other losses?

For answers, keep reading this brief discussion of motorcycle crashes, liability, and your legal rights as the injured victim of another driver’s negligence.

What Steps Should You Take After a Motorcycle Accident?

If you’re injured in a motorcycle accident, seek medical attention first. That’s the top priority. Then call the local police. You will need to trade personal contact and insurance details with the other driver. Take photos of the accident site, the damage to the vehicles, and your own injuries.

After a medical professional has examined and treated you, your next priority is arranging to speak with a Silver Spring motorcycle accident lawyer who will discuss your legal rights and your options – which may include bringing a personal injury claim.

You should contact an accident lawyer as soon as possible after you’ve been examined and treated. Accident lawyers need to examine any evidence while it’s still fresh and interview any eyewitnesses before their memories fade.

Under the law, the injured victims of negligent drivers are entitled to seek and recover monetary compensation for their current and future medical expenses, their lost wages and projected future lost wages, as well as their personal pain, suffering, and related losses and damages.

How Will Fault for the Accident Be Determined?

Motorcycle accidents often raise complex legal issues, but proving that the other party was at-fault is the key to recovering compensation. The right attorney will examine every aspect of an accident to determine liability and will develop a strategy to recover the compensation you need.

If a negligent driver injures you while you’re riding a motorcycle, don’t even speak with an auto insurance company until you’ve consulted a Silver Spring motorcycle accident attorney. Your attorney will review the evidence, medical and police reports, and any eyewitness statements.

What Questions Must Be Answered?

What factors are considered when liability is determined for a motorcycle accident? After you’ve been injured in a motorcycle crash, if you bring a personal injury claim, these questions must be investigated and answered:

  1.  Is there sufficient evidence to prove that the other driver was negligent?
  2.  Did you have any share of the fault for the accident?
  3.  Were you wearing a motorcycle helmet?
  4.  Did you have a pre-existing injury or medical condition?
  5.  Does your injury prevent you from working? If so, for how long?

Why is a Medical Examination So Important?

If a traumatic brain injury is not immediately detected, it can quickly develop into a serious medical condition. If you are not rushed to an ER or examined by a medical professional at the scene of the accident, have a medical examination immediately – if possible, within 24 hours.

A prompt medical examination protects you both medically and legally. If you’ve sustained a latent or difficult-to-detect injury, a comprehensive medical exam will find it, and that exam will also generate the documentation that you must have if you file a personal injury claim.

How Will a Lawyer Fight on Your Behalf?

Typically, a motorcycle injury claim in Maryland or the District of Columbia is resolved when attorneys for both parties meet privately – outside of the courtroom – to negotiate a settlement.

However, if the liability for the accident is in dispute, or if an acceptable settlement amount isn’t offered in the private negotiations, your Silver Spring motorcycle accident lawyer will take your accident claim to court.

At a personal injury trial, your attorney will explain to the jury how (and how seriously) you’ve been injured. Your attorney will then ask the jury to find the other party liable and to order that party to compensate you.

What Injuries Are Motorcyclists Most Likely to Sustain?

Brain and spinal cord injuries, burn injuries, limb injuries that require amputation, and paralysis are frequently sustained in motorcycling accidents – too frequently, in fact. Victims who suffer catastrophic injuries will need to recover the maximum compensation amount that’s available.

A good personal injury lawyer will determine exactly what happened and hold accountable the driver who is responsible for your personal injury or injuries.

Your lawyer will compile and review evidence, speak with witnesses, and may ask an insurance expert, a medical authority, or an accident reconstruction specialist to provide testimony or a statement on your behalf.

What Safety Precautions Can Motorcyclists Take?

Listed here are some basic safety tips offered by experienced motorcyclists and safety experts. Heeding these recommendations will enhance your safety as a motorcyclist and substantially reduce the likelihood of an accident:

  1.  Always wear a U.S. Department of Transportation-certified helmet when you ride.
  2.  Wear the right safety gear: boots, leather gloves, and a thick leather jacket.
  3.  Drive defensively and obey all of the traffic laws.
  4.  Never ride when you are fatigued or intoxicated.
  5.  Routinely maintain your motorcycle with safety in mind.
  6.  Enroll in a motorcycle safety class.

While taking these measures can considerably reduce the likelihood of a motorcycle accident, negligent drivers will always pose risks. And if you’re injured by one of them, you can’t rely on an inexperienced or untested motorcycle accident lawyer.

Why Should You Choose Goldberg Finnegan?

After a motorcycle injury happens, you should be represented and advised by an attorney who:

  1.  has experience proving how drivers are negligent
  2.  understands insurance companies and how to negotiate with them
  3.  knows how to succeed on your behalf if the case goes to court
  4.  fights aggressively and successfully for the injured victims of negligence

The legal team at Goldberg Finnegan has recovered millions of dollars for our clients in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. We know how to recover compensation for the injured victims of negligence, and our record speaks for itself.

If you file a motorcycle accident claim, you will owe no attorney’s fee to Goldberg Finnegan until we recover your compensation with a settlement or jury verdict. Learn more – or start the personal injury process now – by calling Goldberg Finnegan at 301-589-2999 to schedule a no-obligation, no-cost case evaluation. At Goldberg Finnegan, we put the law to work for you.