What Are Your Legal Rights After a Motorcycle Accident?

Who Pays for Motorcycle Accidents?

If a negligent driver crashes into you while you’re motorcycling in Hillsborough or Manatee County, schedule a consultation immediately with an Apollo Beach motorcycle accident attorney to discuss your legal rights and review your options for compensation.

Motorcycles provide convenient transportation and exhilarating recreation, but they can also be quite dangerous. How do insurance companies and Florida courts determine and assign liability for motorcycle accidents? If a careless or negligent motorist injures you, what are your rights?

How Does Florida Law Address Motorcycle Accidents?

Under this state’s no-fault auto insurance system, car and truck drivers must have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. PIP insurance covers medical expenses and lost earnings after an accident, up to a maximum of $10,000, regardless of fault.

However, motorcycles are not covered by PIP. If you are injured while motorcycling in Florida, you will have to seek compensation directly from the driver who injured you by filing a claim with that driver’s insurance company or a personal injury lawsuit.

Motorcycle accident cases can become complicated very quickly. If a car or truck driver injures you while you are on a motorcycle in Hillsborough or Manatee County, contact an Apollo Beach motorcycle accident lawyer immediately after a medical provider treats your injury.

What Steps Should You Take After a Motorcycle Accident?

No personal injury attorney will be at your motorcycle accident site to advise you, so you must take these steps at once to protect your rights and put yourself in the best legal position to prevail with a personal injury lawsuit:

• Call 911 immediately to summon police and medical help.
• Swap insurance and personal contact information with the other party or parties.
• Take photographs of the location, damages to the vehicles, and your visible injuries.
• If there were witnesses, ask for their personal contact information.

Photographs and witness statements can be persuasive evidence in personal injury cases and often lead to quick out-of-court settlements.

What is Modified Comparative Negligence?

Florida courts and insurance companies determine each party’s share of the fault for a motorcycle accident. They assess physical evidence (like vehicle damage and skid marks), police and medical reports, eyewitness statements, photos, and any other pertinent evidence.

Florida courts operate under a modified comparative negligence system in traffic accident cases. This means the compensation a traffic victim may recover will be reduced by that victim’s percentage of fault for the accident, provided the victim’s share of fault is 50 percent or less.

For instance, if you are assigned 20 percent of the fault for your motorcycle accident and your damages amount to $50,000, you can recover only $40,000 (80 percent). If your share of the fault for your accident is greater than 50 percent, you cannot recover damages.

How Will Your Attorney Assist You?

For a motorcyclist in Florida, proving you did not cause a motorcycle accident may be a formidable challenge. There may be no eyewitnesses to verify your story, and the evidence may not provide a clear and accurate account of how the accident happened.

If a negligent car or truck driver injures you while you are motorcycling, you should be represented by an Apollo Beach motorcycle accident attorney who knows how to prove your injury claim and obtain the compensation you are entitled to under Florida law.

Your injury claim can probably be resolved out of court. That’s how most motorcycle accident claims are resolved in Florida. However, if liability is disputed or no reasonable settlement offer is forthcoming, your Apollo Beach motorcycle accident lawyer will take the case to court.

What Happens at a Personal Injury Trial?

Personal injury trials based on motorcycle accidents are rare. However, if your case goes to trial, your accident attorney will explain to a jury how you were injured, how severe your injuries are, and why the other party should be held accountable and ordered to compensate you.

If you bring a personal injury lawsuit, the other party’s insurance company and attorney may claim you were the at-fault party. You should be represented by a lawyer who comprehensively investigates the accident and defends you effectively against the other party’s counterclaims.

Both sides may present evidence and witnesses. Your lawyer may ask an accident reconstruction specialist to explain how you were injured. With today’s technology and a scientific approach, a specialist may be able to reconstruct the accident and tell the jury exactly how it happened.

What Deadlines Apply in Motorcycle Accident Cases?

If a car or truck driver crashes into you while you’re motorcycling, have a comprehensive medical exam as quickly as possible – even if you feel perfectly fine. Adrenaline can temporarily hide the symptoms of serious injuries, including concussions, fractures, and spinal injuries.

If you are qualified to file a personal injury lawsuit, you will have two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit. However, you should not wait two years to consult an attorney. Call SouthShore Injury Attorneys at once.

Bring Your Motorcycle Accident Case to SouthShore Injury Attorneys

At SouthShore Injury Attorneys, our record speaks for itself. If a car or truck driver injures you while you’re riding a motorcycle in Hillsborough or Manatee County, you should be advised and represented by a lawyer who:

1. knows how to prove a car or truck driver was negligent
2. is familiar with insurance companies and their negotiating strategies
3. fights effectively for the injured victims of motorcycle crashes

We represent the injured on a contingent fee basis. If you file a lawsuit based on a motorcycle accident, you will owe no lawyer’s fee to SouthShore Injury Attorneys unless or until we obtain your compensation with an out-of-court settlement or a jury verdict.

Learn more – or launch the legal process now – and call SouthShore Injury Attorneys at 813-797-5998 to schedule your free first legal consultation. If a negligent motorist injures you, the team at SouthShore Injury Attorneys knows how to fight for your rights.