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A motorcycle accident can be devastating for riders. Cars often suffer minor to moderate damage, but motorcycle riders can suffer incredibly severe injuries in an accident. The costs related to recovery can be very expensive, and you might be unprepared to shoulder that burden.
Motorcycle accidents are often caused by the negligence of other drivers who overlook motorcycle riders. After a motorcycle accident, you should immediately call for help. The police and emergency medical services can rush to the scene for assistance. Getting compensation from negligent drivers typically involves filing insurance claims or lawsuits. Your damages after a motorcycle accident might be severe and include serious physical injuries, medical bills, property damage, and more. Our attorneys can help you negotiate a settlement to end your case early, or we can take your case to a full trial.
If you were hurt in a motorcycle accident, you might have a few different options for compensation. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident lawyers can help you choose the best path for your case. Call Wruck Paupore at (765) 295-6920 for a free initial case evaluation and to start exploring your legal options.
In many cases, accidents happen because drivers in other cars or trucks are not paying attention to motorcycle riders on the road. Motorcycles are smaller than cars and tend to be more easily missed. However, that does not excuse other drivers from taking precautions to avoid hitting motorcycles.
Accidents frequently happen when a car or truck tries to switch lanes or merge. If they are not looking out for motorcycles, they could strike a motorcycle as they change lanes. This is often not very dangerous for the driver of the car but extremely dangerous for the motorcycle rider. You could be thrown from your bike into traffic or onto the hard, unforgiving pavement.
Other times, motorcycle accidents happen when drivers of cars make turns without checking for motorcycles. For example, suppose a driver in a car wants to turn at an intersection but does not properly signal. They could easily strike the motorcycle just behind them in their blind spot.
Rear-end accidents in Indiana are common at intersections and stoplights. However, when a motorcycle is rear-ended by a car, the accident is much more serious. The motorcycle rider could be pushed into the intersection because the force of the car is so great. Remember, it does not take a lot of force from a car to seriously injure a motorcycle rider.
If you were in a motorcycle accident and are unsure of how to piece the event together, talk to our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident lawyers. We can help you reconstruct the scene and gather evidence to build a case.
Immediately after a motorcycle accident, you should call for emergency help. A 911 dispatcher can send the police and emergency medical personnel to help you and anyone else involved in the crash. If you are too injured to make the call yourself, someone nearby can do it for you. You should contact our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident lawyers after your accident as soon as you can.
If you can safely stand up and move about the crash scene, it is a good idea to take pictures and videos of the scene. Motorcycle crash sites are usually cleaned up very quickly because they pose a safety risk to other drivers on the road. Unfortunately, this means important physical evidence is sometimes lost. Photos and video recordings of the scene help preserve evidence and information for insurance claims or lawsuits.
While you wait for help to arrive, you should exchange information with any other drivers involved in the accident. You will need the other driver’s insurance information to file a claim. You will need their personal information to file a lawsuit, like their name and contact information. Be careful what you say to the other driver and avoid saying anything that might be construed as an admission of wrongdoing.
Once law enforcement arrives, they will probably speak to all drivers involved about how the accident happened. Again, be careful what you say to the officers. While it is important to remain completely truthful, you want to avoid saying anything that makes you look guilty. Your statements and the statements of other drivers and witnesses will all be used to write an accident report that we can obtain later.
Accidents of any kind are often very expensive. However, motorcycle accidents tend to lead to more severe injuries. Higher medical bills often accompany severe injuries. Like all drivers on the road, motorcycle riders must carry insurance to help pay for accidents.
Indiana is a fault-based state regarding insurance for motorcycle and car accidents. After an accident, you can file a claim with the other driver’s insurance and hopefully get some damages covered. However, you must be prepared to prove the other driver is at fault. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident lawyers can help you argue for the most compensation possible.
If the insurance company denies your claim or refuses to offer an adequate settlement, we can help you file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver. Some injured motorcycle riders would prefer to file a lawsuit because they can claim more damages often not covered by insurance, like pain and suffering.
Whether you want to pursue an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit, you need evidence to support your allegations. Without evidence, proving the other driver is responsible for the accident will not be possible.
Motorcycle riders are required by law to meet the same insurance standards as other drivers. In Indiana, anyone driving a vehicle or motorcycle must carry insurance that meets minimum requirements. This coverage includes $25,000 for death or bodily injury of one person, $50,000 for death or injury of two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage.
Motorcycle riders stopped by the police with no proof of insurance may face legal penalties, including a citation and a costly fine. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident attorneys can go over your insurance with you and determine if you meet the minimum requirements.
Indiana is an at-fault insurance state, meaning injured motorcycle riders typically must file third-party claims with the other driver’s insurance, although you may have some limited medical payment coverage as part of your own insurance . If the other driver has no insurance, you may be able to turn to your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This kind of coverage is not absolutely required by law, but is included as part of your insurance unless your follow specific procedures to opt-out of the coverage. It is always a good idea to include this insurance and we can review an existing policy to see if you have this coverage.
If an insurance company is unwilling to settle your claim for the full value you are entitled to, you can file a personal injury lawsuit to seek full compensation for your damages. Lawsuits begin with the filing of a formal complaint with the appropriate court. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident attorneys are very familiar with the process of starting a lawsuit.
A complaint is technical and must contain very specific information laid out according to specific court rules, which vary state to state and county to county. Complaints typically contain information that identifies the defendant, explains how your motorcycle accident occurred, and provides certain allegations required to show the defendant is the liable party. It is very important that your complaint is properly drafted, filed correctly, and meets the technical requirements for service under the court rules. Complaints that fail to meet these requirements may be rejected by the court and your lawsuit dismissed.
It is also extremely important to submit your complaint to the appropriate court. Not all courts cover the same subject matter or have the same jurisdiction. In many cases, your case will need to be filed in a court in the same county as your accident, which would be Lake County, Indiana if the accident occurred in Hammond. However, in some instances there may be other venues where the lawsuit should be filed. When discussing your case with our legal team, we can evaluate the correct court and best venue for your case.
For insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits, you need to assess the value of your damages. Damages are the total value of your injuries and losses. It is common for injured motorcycle riders to overlook significant damages and miss out on compensation. Talk to our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident attorneys about calculating your damages so you do not miss anything.
Economic damages are those that come with a predetermined price or value. For example, bills or invoices related to your accident would be considered economic damages. Medical bills and bills to repair or replace your damaged motorcycle should be added to your damages calculations. You can also claim the income you would have earned but could not because you could not return to work after an accident.
Non-economic damages do not have a stated cost or value but deserve compensation. These damages often compensate injured motorcycle riders for losses and injuries experienced more personally. The physical pain and emotional trauma experienced after an accident are not necessarily financial losses, but courts can compensate them anyway. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident lawyers can help you establish the value of any non-economic damages in your case.
Any motorcycle accident case will need evidence to support claims for damages. The evidence available in your case may vary depending on how and where your accident occurred. Call our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident attorneys with questions about evidence.
Photos and videos may be key to proving your defendant is liable for your motorcycle accident. Since crash scenes are often cleaned up and cleared out very quickly by law enforcement, important evidence could be lost. You preserve the scene by snapping some photos or recording a video of the collision scene right after it happened. These pictures may be useful in supporting your claims of how the accident happened or negating false or mistaken claims made by the defendant.
Many motorcycle accidents are witnessed by multiple people. Witnesses could be other people passing by the scene, other drivers, passengers, or pedestrians. If you notice anybody hanging around your accident scene, or if anyone stopped to render aid, you should try to get their name and number. If you could not do so, their information might be on a police report if they spoke to the police.
Expert testimony is frequently relied upon to shed light on more complicated evidence issues. For example, accident reconstruction experts can be used to scientifically piece together an accident and figure out precisely how it happened and who is likely to blame.
A settlement agreement is a bargain between the defendant and plaintiff in a lawsuit. Most settlements involve the defendant agreeing to pay a certain sum of money to the plaintiff to cover their damages, and the plaintiff agrees to release the defendant from any further liability. The plaintiff forfeits their right to refile the case in the future. A settlement agreement frequently ends the lawsuit before it reaches a trial and sometimes before a lawsuit is filed. Statistically, the vast majority of cases resolve themselves through settlement rather than trial.
A good settlement should fully and completely compensate your for your damages. Keep in mind that settlements are compromises between the parties, and you might end up settling for less money than you initially sought. Whether a settlement is adequate depends on a wide variety of factors, but should include compensation not only for your out-of-pocket losses but also for your pain and suffering, inconvenience, and the loss of quality of life you have endured as a result of your motorcycle crash.
You should consider negotiating a settlement under several circumstances. If you have strong evidence and your success at trial is likely, you can negotiate a higher settlement without the hassle and expense of a trial. Alternatively, if you have weak evidence, a settlement, even a small one, might be the only way to get compensation.
We never recommend trying to reach such a settlement without first speaking to a qualified lawyer, however, because you are unlikely to know your true case value. The insurance company knows what cases like yours are worth and will almost always offer you less. The insurers are experienced and have often handled millions of injury claims and they will use this experience to their advantage to pay as little as possible. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident attorneys are experienced and over decades of practice have an understanding of what your case is really worth and will hold the insurance company accountable for the full amount owed. Often, this can result in a favorable settlement before even filing a lawsuit. However, if the insurer is unwilling to act fairly on their own, we are prepared to go to court to make them.
You should also never feel pressured to accept a settlement you feel is insufficient. Unless you can definitively answer the question “do I know what my case is worth based on my injuries and past Lake County jury verdicts in similar cases?” you should never attempt settlement. Consulting with a qualified Lake County injury attorney will help you understand the true value of your claim and will also let the insurance company know that you mean business.
If you were injured in a motorcycle collision, you might be on a long and expensive road to recovery. Our Hammond, IN motorcycle accident lawyers can help answer your questions and keep the insurance company honest. Call Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166 for a free initial case evaluation.
Don is a founding partner and one of the nation’s top-ranked personal injury litigators. He is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes less than 1% of the nation’s trial lawyers, and awarded the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbel and AVVO.
More importantly, Don understands representing personal injury victims is about more than recovering the best settlement: it’s about helping clients get back on their feet and supporting them in every aspect of their recovery.
In nearly all cases, our clients seek compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurance company. Before forming Wruck Paupore, Jason worked for a prominent law firm representing some of the world’s largest insurers. This experience gives Jason a deep understanding of the insurance industry and the strategies it uses to pay injury victims as little as possible.
Jason -- and our entire team -- put this inside knowledge to work to force insurance companies to pay what is actually owed. Often, we use the insurance company’s own tactics against them as we fight for the full compensation our client deserves.
For more than four decades, Keith has been fighting for injury victims. During that time, he’s watched the insurance industry change, with insurers now more interested in protecting their stock price than treating injury victims fairly.
Since the beginning, Keith has put people first. From his childhood in Gary, Indiana during the 1960’s and working his way through law school, Keith has risen to become one of the Midwest’s most respected trial lawyers. He has never forgotten that being a lawyer is about helping people -- and seeing injury victims through struggles in a way that could change their lives forever.
Over the decades, Keith, Don and Jason have fought relentlessly for clients, even when other lawyers have said the case was impossible to win.
Contact Us:
Wruck Paupore P.C.
Injury Lawyers
275 Joliet St. Suite #250
Dyer, IN 46311
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