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Many people see motorcycles as a nuisance on the street, assuming that motorcycle riders are responsible for the accidents they’re involved in. The truth is that motorcyclists generally pay a lot of attention while on the road because of the vulnerabilities they have compared to other vehicles.
In Arizona, there are more than 180,000 registered motorcycles. Each year in Maricopa County, there are approximately 1,940 crashes involving motorcycles, with an average of 85 of these resulting in fatalities. The majority of the crashes involve collisions with other vehicles.
If you have been in a motorcycle accident in Paradise Valley or anywhere in Maricopa County, you need the help of experienced Paradise Valley motorcycle accident lawyers.
To file a claim against another motorist, you have to be able to prove that the other party holds responsibility for the accident because they behaved negligently. You have to demonstrate that the other party had a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect your safety and that they breached that duty.
You then have to prove that their failure to adhere to their duty of care led to the injuries and property damage that you suffered. After that, you have to show that the injuries you sustained led to financial damages.
It’s not always easy to prove all of these things, especially if you’re trying to file a claim on your own. To have the best chance of getting compensation for the damages you’ve suffered, you have to turn to motorcycle accident lawyers.
Because most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations to assess the case, it’s always a good idea to reach out to experienced professionals. They can help you not only in determining whether you have a case but also in preparing and filing it.
The moment a motorcyclist is involved in an accident, bias against them comes into play. People tend to view motorcyclists as reckless, so everyone from an insurer to a juror might have the knee-jerk reaction of placing the blame on them. By having a lawyer representing you, you can make sure that your side of the story is told.
Additionally, most people don’t know much about motorcycles. This means that it can be challenging to prove to insurers or others that what happened wasn’t the motorcyclist’s fault.
Motorcycle accidents tend to lead to severe injuries for motorcyclists. This means that after an accident, you likely have substantial medical bills that need to be covered. Getting fair compensation for more severe injuries is always more complicated because you’re dealing with larger numbers.
Injuries that leave lasting issues, including paralysis and other disabilities, make claims even more complex because they have to address your future medical needs as well as your current pain and suffering.
In some instances, the party that caused the accident may not have been at the scene of the accident. Road conditions, for example, can affect motorcycles more than cars, with potholes and other similar issues putting the rider at risk of losing control of the bike. In such cases, the municipality in charge of the road is at fault.
All of these challenges make it vital that you seek the support of experienced Paradise Valley motorcycle accident lawyers as soon as the accident occurs.
Anyone who has been in a motorcycle accident in Paradise Valley should reach out to a lawyer for help. This is important to do even if you were partly at fault.
Arizona follows comparative negligence laws, which means that even if you were partly to blame, you may be able to get compensation. It is more difficult to prove that you were not wholly at fault, however, so having a lawyer in your corner gives you a better chance of winning your claim.
If you weren’t wearing a helmet during the accident, you also need to reach out to a lawyer. Although Arizona doesn’t have universal helmet laws, it can be harder to prove that the other party was at fault if you weren’t wearing one.
After being in a motorcycle accident, you have to turn to a motorcycle accident lawyer. The entire process of filing a claim is complex and requires knowledge of the law. Most people don’t know how to begin the process, which includes gathering evidence.
You want to collect as much evidence as you can to prove that the other party was at fault so that you can get the maximum compensation possible — but you may not know what kinds of evidence are helpful. Your lawyer will. They will sift through all of the information and even seek evidence themselves that can help prove your claim.
Keep in mind that dealing with insurance companies is never easy. Despite what they claim, they’re not on your side. Their goal is to pay you as little as possible, and they’ll try to achieve that goal in any way that they can. They may make low-ball offers or even threaten you with not paying at all.
Lawyers are used to these kinds of tactics. They will negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve.
A lawyer can also help you accurately calculate your damages. This is essential for all damages but especially for non-economic damages that don’t have an easily quantifiable value.
If you were in a motorcycle accident that caused injuries, no matter how minor you think they are, you should reach out to a motorcycle accident lawyer. The same thing applies if you suffered property damage.
Because the other party’s insurance company will try to undermine your claim from the start, the sooner you get representation, the sooner you can get your side of the story heard. By getting help from a lawyer from the start, you can begin the process correctly, ensuring that you don’t make any mistakes when dealing with insurance companies.
It’s essential that you reach out to a lawyer if the insurance company begins to contact you. The company will attempt to pressure you to settle for a low offer, so you need a lawyer to help you. Even if you think the insurer’s offer is reasonable, you should still always speak with a lawyer first.
If you file a claim and it’s denied, you should also contact an attorney. There may be legitimate reasons why it was denied, but many times, insurance companies deny claims with no real excuse.
Additionally, you must get a lawyer if more than one party may be at fault for the accident. Complex cases like these require experienced assistance. Don’t attempt to file them on your own.
After being in a motorcycle accident, you can claim a number of damages to help cover the costs of the challenges you’ve been facing.
Economic damages are those that have a monetary value, including medical expenses. If you’ve suffered an injury that required you to go to the hospital or get any kind of treatment, you shouldn’t have to pay for these costs yourself when the accident wasn’t your fault. Compensation for medical expenses can include hospital expenses, the cost of medications, rehabilitation bills, and more.
Medical expenses also include the consideration of whether you have an injury that will require ongoing care. If you need to have a nurse with you in the future or if you need to make changes to your home to accommodate disabilities, these expenses should also be covered.
Lost wages are part of economic damages, too. If you had an injury that prevented you from working, you missed those wages. You shouldn’t have to lose wages because of someone else’s negligence. Severe injuries might also prevent you from going back to your regular job or to any job at all. If that’s the case, lost wages have to include future losses, as well.
Often, a motorcycle accident results in damaged property, especially for the motorcyclist. Instead of having to pay for repairs out of your own pocket, you can ask for compensation.
Non-economic damages cover losses that do not come with a clear monetary value.
One of these types of damages is pain and suffering. While dealing with injuries, it’s likely that you’ve experienced significant pain and discomfort that you should be able to get compensation for.
Suffering emotional distress is also a common issue after a motorcycle accident. Some people even develop PTSD because of what they’ve gone through. Although it’s not easy to assign a number to your suffering, your lawyer can help you come up with an amount appropriate to compensate you for what you’ve gone through.
Loss of consortium is another type of non-economic damage. If you lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident or if they received injuries severe enough to cause serious disability, you have essentially lost the affection, support, and comfort they gave you. Non-economic damages make an effort to compensate you for that loss.
Arizona’s motorcycle laws can be complex, starting with helmet laws. Everyone under the age of 18 has to wear a helmet. Those over the age of 18 don’t have to wear a helmet. All riders, however, have to wear some kind of face protection unless the motorcycle has a windshield.
Your bike also has to have certain pieces of equipment:
The motorcycle must also have the original mufflers or other noise reduction parts to maintain the bike’s noise level at what the manufacturer intended it to be.
You also need to have minimum liability insurance. This insurance should include $15,000 per person for bodily injury, $30,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $10,000 per accident for property damage.
Lane filtering is now legal in Arizona. This isn’t the same as lane splitting, which is still illegal. Lane filtering allows motorcycles to travel between two lanes of stopped traffic going in the same direction if the posted speed limit is 45 mph or less and the bike travels at 15 mph or less.
The statute of limitations for motorcycle injury claims in Paradise Valley, as well as in the rest of Arizona, is usually two years. Each case is unique, however, and there are exceptions. Because statute of limitations are hard deadlines, once they pass, they’re gone. You won’t be able to file your claim at all.
To ensure that you don’t miss your claim, especially if you have a complex case, the best thing you can do is reach out to a motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible after your accident.
A motorcycle accident can leave you with serious injuries and property damage. If the accident wasn’t wholly your fault, why should you have to be responsible for all of the medical and repair expenses?
When you turn to Torgenson Law, you have the chance to file a claim to get compensation for the economic and non-economic harm you’ve suffered as a result of a motorcycle accident.
We have more than 20 years of experience offering clients all over Arizona the representation they can depend on. We can guide you through the entire process of filing a claim, gathering evidence, and, if necessary, going to court. With dedicated professionals ready to advise you, you can get the help you need after an accident.
Contact Torgenson Law today to schedule a free consultation.
