Although cruising around on a motorcycle can be quite the thrill, it comes with its risks. Because of their size and lack of lighting, motorcycles are difficult to see on roadways. Very often, motorcycle accidents are caused solely by a negligent driver’s inability to identify an oncoming motorcycle. Without a barrier between the motorcyclist and a negligent vehicle, there is not much to protect a motorcyclist from injury.
Even with a helmet, motorcycle accidents are very often catastrophic or even deadly. In fact, motorcyclists are 27 times more likely to die in an accident than someone riding in an automobile. If you or a loved one has been affected, we can help.
Call our motorcycle accident lawyers at Schoenfeld Law Firm at (504) 688-7760 for your free case review today.
Who is Responsible in a Motorcycle Crash?
As mentioned, many motorcycle accidents are caused by another driver. Motorcycle riders know that their skin is quite literally on the line, and they often take every precaution to keep themselves safe on the road.
Often, motorcycle crashes can be blamed on one of these common causes committed by another driver:
- Inattention and distracted driving
- Improper lookout for smaller vehicles
- Drunk driving
- Speeding
- Running a red light/stop sign
In some cases, fault for the accident might be split among multiple drivers. Courts can assign partial blame to each party, including the motorcycle rider, and leave each to pay their share of the damages.
Elements of Fault
For any party to be “at fault,” there are four elements we need to prove:
- They owed you a legal duty
- They breached that duty
- The breach caused your injuries
- You suffered damages or, if suing for a loved one’s death, the loved one died from their injuries.
As mentioned, many of the common causes of motorcycle accidents are explicit traffic violations. However, our motorcycle accident lawyers can also sue for other mistakes based on carelessness or recklessness that are not explicit violations.
How Do You Get Paid for Damages?
There are multiple potential parties who can pay for your motorcycle accident:
Your Insurance
Louisiana is an at-fault state, meaning the defendant’s insurance pays for accidents when you file a claim against them. However, you might have additional coverage on your policy to cover things like medical bills or vehicle repairs.
If you file a claim with your own policy for these coverages, they can pay quickly, and usually without regard to who was at fault. You merely pay a deductible to activate your coverages.
However, these will never cover your case in full because of those deductible costs. Moreover, your insurance will not cover pain and suffering.
Their Insurance
When you file a third-party claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance, it may get their insurance to cover you in full. However, negotiating with insurance can often be difficult without a lawyer. In fact, even with a lawyer, we may need to sue to get anywhere if the insurance company refuses to pay.
Your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
If the other driver did not have insurance or their insurance was too low, you might have additional coverages on your policy to make up for this. This uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage pays as though it was standing in the other driver’s shoes, which means this may cover pain and suffering and other damages your insurance usually would not cover.
Lawsuits
If you cannot get damages from insurance, you can sue. We can take the driver to court, where their insurance will defend them and ultimately pay up anyway. If the insurance company’s firm stance against settling seems too expensive after the threat of a lawsuit, they might end up settling anyway, often after the discovery stage of your case.
Suing for Deadly Motorcycle Accidents in New Orleans
If someone has been killed as a result of a motorcycle accident, their family members may be able to bring both a survival action and a wrongful death claim against the negligent parties. This can be a long and legally complicated process, making it necessary to hire an attorney to carry out your case.
What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident
After a crash, get to a safe location, call 911, get medical treatment, collect evidence, and call a lawyer.
You must report accidents with injuries to the authorities, and they can write up a report. If you are too injured to stay at the scene of the accident, go straight to the hospital with the EMTS. Our lawyers can speak with the police and obtain a copy of their report to fill in the gaps in your evidence.
If you can stay, then collect evidence about the accident:
- Driver and witness contact info
- Driver insurance info
- Weather, lighting, and road conditions
- Road signs and signals
- Specific location of the crash
- What cars were involved (license plate number, color, make, model, etc.)
- What injuries you and anyone else sustained.
From there, call a lawyer. We can help you look for other evidence like security camera footage, we can help track your medical care and expenses, and we can talk to insurance about getting you paid.
When to Contact a Lawyer
You should contact a lawyer as soon as you can after the crash. That does not necessarily mean you need to call us from your hospital bed, but that is always an option.
The sooner we start on your case, the sooner we can get your case resolved.
Should I Talk to the Insurance Companies on My Own?
You should never try to handle insurance companies or insurance claims without a lawyer.
First, our lawyers have experience understanding what insurance companies want to hear and what can hurt your case. We can be the ones to talk with them about what happened and help you avoid any disclosures that might sound like admissions of fault.
Second, we can help you understand what your case is worth. If you settle your case with the insurance company before you talk to us, then your case is over; never sign anything or accept money until we get a look at your case.
Third, insurance companies often give unrepresented victims the runaround. They will stop returning calls or tell you they are working on the case, while our lawyers can contact them directly, send demand letters, demand to speak with their representatives and attorneys, and fight for you.
Lastly, you are injured, and you should focus on your recovery. Let us handle the legal side of things for you.
Call Our New Orleans Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Today
To get started on your case, call our motorcycle accident lawyers at Schoenfeld Law Firm at (504) 688-7760.
