If you were hurt in a motorcycle accident and want to find out how to recover compensation, contact the Indiana motorcycle accident lawyers at Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers. We have a team of dedicated individuals who will fight vigorously for you when you hire us. We know the state laws that may affect the outcome of your motorcycle accident case, and we know how to assertively navigate insurance claims and lawsuits.
You won’t have to go through this challenging time in your life alone. Hiring an experienced Indiana motorcycle accident lawyer will be the best decision you make. We can assist you in collecting evidence, filing a claim, seeking medical care, and negotiating a fair settlement. Choosing to pursue this on your own will only hurt you and the outcome of your case.
Insurance companies don’t care about your well-being. They certainly don’t want to pay you the money you deserve. They will do everything in their power to deny your claim or offer you an inadequate settlement that doesn’t cover your expenses. With Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers by your side, you can feel confident knowing we’ll work hard to seek justice and secure the compensation you deserve. Contact us today at (219) 286-7361.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents?
Motorcycles are fun and exhilarating to ride. When the weather is beautiful, it’s the perfect excuse to take the bike out and get some fresh air. However, there are many risks motorcyclists face every time they’re out on the road.
Despite the precautions many bikers take, such as wearing a helmet, it’s impossible to fully protect themselves from external elements. They have to contend with adverse weather conditions, potholes, construction areas, and people in cars and trucks. If they collide with a vehicle, they’ll probably get thrown off the motorcycle and sustain a serious injury.
Many motorists don’t pay attention to bikers or can’t see them because of their smaller size in comparison to a car. However, most drivers cause motorcycle crashes because of negligence. The most common reasons motorcycle accidents happen include:
- Tailgating
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Passing a motorcyclist too closely
- Driver inattention
- Failure to check blind spots
Even if you follow traffic laws, other drivers might not. Some people are in a hurry or don’t bother to look if there’s a motorcyclist near them. If you remain diligent on the road, you could potentially avoid an accident that leads to injuries or fatalities.
Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers is Here to Help After Your Motorcycle Accident
Our Indiana motorcycle accident lawyers can represent you in your case and help you with each step of the process to prove someone else’s negligence caused your injuries. If you were the victim of a motorcycle accident, you should contact Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers right away so we can begin our investigation.
Indiana follows an at-fault system, so if you can prove the other motorist was negligent, they will be held financially responsible for your losses. To prove negligence, you have to show that the following elements exist:
- The at-fault driver owed you a duty;
- They breached that duty;
- If it wasn’t for their actions (or failure to act), you wouldn’t have suffered any injuries;
- The other motorist’s action or inaction was the proximate cause of your accident and injury; and
- You suffered damages as a result.
Once we start our investigation, we will begin to collect evidence. Some of the evidence relevant to your case that we’ll procure includes:
- Witness statements
- Photos
- Video surveillance
- Copies of insurance policies
- Your medical records and medical bills
- Police reports
Providing sufficient evidence in a motorcycle accident case can prove negligence and justify the compensation you’re requesting.
What’s the Difference Between a Claim and Lawsuit?
While claims and lawsuits aim to recover compensation for the injured party, there are some fundamental differences you should be aware of before deciding which one to file.
Insurance Claim
The victim of an accident can file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. So if the other driver caused the crash, you could file with their liability insurance. After you file the claim, the following steps will take place:
- The insurance adjuster will review the claim
- You will need to submit documentation, such as police reports and your medical records
- The adjuster will approve or deny the claim
- If they approve it, you’ll negotiate a settlement amount
- If they deny it, you can pursue a lawsuit if you believe you deserve a monetary award for your injuries
Your attorney will handle each of these steps for you so that they can optimize your claim and negotiate for a full settlement.
Lawsuit
If you’re unable to settle an insurance claim or the adjuster denies your claim altogether, that’s usually when victims of motorcycle accidents choose to file a lawsuit. You can also file a lawsuit against the negligent driver for reckless behavior, such as drunk driving.
There are various stages in a lawsuit, such as:
- Filing: Your Indiana motorcycle accident lawyer will file the lawsuit along with relevant documents.
- Discovery: Both sides will investigate the crash and gather evidence to support their argument.
- Trial: If opposing parties can’t come to a settlement agreement, they will go to court and argue in front of a jury.
- Verdict: The jury decides which side wins.
Your attorney will keep you updated throughout the entire process to ensure that your concerns are heard and represented. We won’t settle for less than you need and deserve.
What Are Damages?
Your first thought after deciding to pursue compensation might be, how much is my case worth? Understandably, you would want to know if you will be able to pay for all of your damages. Pursuing a motorcycle accident case only to find out the maximum settlement available won’t even cover half of your expenses is disappointing.
Damages are the losses an injured person incurs after an accident. To determine the value of your case, your Indiana motorcycle accident lawyer will review all your damages and calculate a fair figure to demand from the insurance company. Those damages are known as compensatory damages.
Compensatory damages include economic expenses, such as bills and expenses, and non-economic losses, such as pain and suffering. Together, they can compensate you for your past damages and any future damages you incur because of the necessary treatment or a resulting disability.
The damages available after a motorcycle accident generally include the following:
- Past and future medical treatment
- Past and future loss of income
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Disfigurement or disability
- Property damage
- Vehicle repairs
- Death benefits
Under specific circumstances in which the at-fault driver’s actions were so reckless that they deserve a financial punishment, you can seek punitive damages. Punitive damages punish the responsible party while also aiming to deter the same behavior from happening again in the future. This compensation doesn’t exist in insurance claims but can become relevant in a lawsuit.
What If the At-Fault Driver Doesn’t Carry Insurance?
Even though Indiana law requires all drivers to hold liability insurance, many people are driving around without coverage. If you discover the other motorist doesn’t have insurance, you can file a claim with your insurance carrier if you chose to purchase UM coverage.
UM, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, provides compensation for injured individuals if there’s no liability coverage (or not enough) available. Indiana law does not require it, but it’s optional on every motorcyclist’s insurance policy. Filing with your UM doesn’t affect your monthly premium or prevent you from being able to renew at the end of your coverage period.
Additional options are medical payments and collision coverages. Medpay can cover the cost of your bills while you’re treating your injuries. It works like medical insurance by paying upfront for your doctor’s appointments, prescription medications, and other expenses up until the maximum limit you purchased on your policy.
With collision coverage, you could get your bike repaired depending on the limit you chose to buy for your policy. Some policies even allow for total replacement of the motorcycle, if necessary.
Is It Expensive to Hire a Lawyer?
You might worry that you won’t be able to afford a lawyer to help you with your motorcycle accident case. A lot of lawyers charge by the hour and expect you to pay for every phone call and email throughout the legal proceedings.
Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers takes cases on contingency. A contingency fee is a predetermined sum or percentage of money a lawyer recovers as a legal fee if they win the case for their client. If you want to hire one of our Indiana motorcycle accident lawyers, you won’t have to pay upfront fees or costs. We don’t collect payment unless we win your case for you.
We also offer a free consultation to prospective clients. If you sustained an injury from a motorcycle accident and don’t know what to do next, we will be happy to speak with you at no risk. We’ll review the details of your case and let you know if we believe you should move forward to pursue compensation.
Contact Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers Today
Call us at (219) 286-7361 if you were the victim of a motorcycle accident. Our dedicated Indiana motorcycle accident lawyers are ready to take your call and help you get on the road to recovery.
We will stick by your side throughout the whole case and provide the individualized, one-on-one attention you deserve from your legal counsel. We know you’ve been suffering long enough, and we will fight hard to recover the money owed to you. It’s our goal to efficiently and successfully close out your case, so you can move forward with your life.
