The 5 Steps After a Motorcycle Accident You Must Always Remember
If you own a motorcycle and ride one often, then you accept certain risks. The fact is that motorcycles are inherently dangerous, and when you ride one, you’re in more peril than when you’re in a car or truck. That’s because, when you’re on a motorcycle, there is no protective shell around you.
You can be a bit safer by wearing a helmet and pads. You can also obey all the road rules and laws that exist.
If you ever get in an accident, then there are a few particular steps that you must remember. We’ll go over each of them right now.
You Must Seek Medical Attention
If you’re in a motorcycle accident, seeking medical attention is the first thing that makes sense to do. You must check yourself for injuries, and if there was another driver or passenger involved, try to figure out if they are okay as well.
It’s more likely that you’ll sustain injuries in a motorcycle accident versus the people in a car, but either one is possible. You might also have hit a pedestrian, and if so, they may need medical attention.
You might believe that you’re unharmed, but you must get a doctor to check you out anyway. You may not feel an injury at first because of the adrenaline rush after a crash, but once that wears off, you might realize that something doesn’t feel quite right.
If you’re badly hurt, you’ll need to rely on someone nearby or the vehicle’s driver to call for help. In that situation, try to stay still until the paramedics come.
File a Police Report
Once a doctor looks you over, filing a police report is the next logical step. If you don’t need to go to a hospital, then you can talk to a responding officer at the crash site. It should not take long for one to arrive.
If you need to get medical attention, do that first, and then speak to an officer the first chance that you get. When you talk to them, you’ll need to give your name, driver’s license number, and your insurance information, as well as some other basic details. Next, you must tell them what happened.
It’s best to give the facts and not embellish your story or leave anything out. Be concise. Don’t ever speculate about who caused the accident or admit blame, as that can come back to hurt you later if you need to file a lawsuit against the other driver.
Also, treat the police officer respectfully. They have a job to do, so don’t say anything sarcastically or with any hint of an attitude.
Talk to Any Witnesses
If you’re able to get medical professionals to see you at the crash site and talk to the responding officers there too, you can speak to witnesses next. If anyone saw what happened, it’s best to try to get their names and contact information.
You might need to call on these material witnesses if you need to bring a lawsuit against the other driver, pedestrian, or whoever else the crash involved. It’s a great idea to speak to as many witnesses as you can. If you have a smartphone with you with a camera feature, you might even get some video of their onsite responses that you can use later.
If you can get some witnesses to corroborate your story, you can use that in court later if necessary. The people there might change their story if you talk to them days or weeks afterward, which is why it’s best to get an onsite account right after the crash if you possibly can.
File a Claim with Your Insurance Company
Once you’re safely back home and the excitement has died down, you must call your insurance company to file a claim. You can tell them what happened but follow the same formula as when you spoke to the police.
Don’t speculate about who caused the crash, and stick to the facts. Don’t leave out critical details, and don’t add any falsehoods either.
If the other driver’s insurance rep contacts you, answer their questions but remember that they are probably recording the conversation, so don’t say anything potentially incriminating.
Speak to a Reliable Personal Injury Attorney
The last step will be to contact a dependable, experienced personal injury attorney. You might not have to do this if the other driver admits that they caused the accident, and their insurance covers your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, physical therapy, and so forth. However, this doesn’t always happen, and frequently, you’ll need to bring a lawsuit against the other driver or at least threaten to do so.
You’ll want an attorney on your side if the other driver says that things happened differently from how you claim. At that point, the witness statements you recorded will come in handy.
You can talk to a lawyer and describe what happened. They’ll ask you about the accident details, and then they’ll tell you whether they believe you can bring a lawsuit and win. If they feel like you can, then you can officially hire them to represent you. You should get a lawyer that you can pay on a contingency basis.
The lawyer will likely have investigators who can get additional crash details. They might try to find traffic camera crash footage, or they may look for store camera footage if there were any businesses near where you crashed. More cameras than ever exist these days, so you might get lucky.
The lawyer can also subpoena expert witnesses if the case ever goes to trial. It’s possible the other driver might try to settle before that happens if their legal counsel says that it’s a smart idea.
Don’t neglect any of the steps that we mentioned. If you have them all in mind before you ever get on a motorcycle, then if the worst occurs, you’ll know what to do.