 
| Excerpt from: Motorcycle Lawyer
|  | | May 27, 2008 | | And why can't I do it myself? | After an accident, a lot of motorcycle riders wonder if they need a lawyer, what kind of lawyer to get, and what a lawyer can do that they can't do for themselves.
The answers are somewhat technical, but study after study confirms what anyone familiar with motorcycle accidents knows. Lawyers stay in business because the studies show that their clients end up with more money, even after fees and costs, than those accident victims that go it alone.
My clients are looking to get back on their feet, and hopefully back on their bikes. The first thing I do is advise them on how to get the insurance company to pay attention to the motorcycle damage claim. Most of the bikes are totalled, and will have to be replaced. I try to do this without charge, because if the client has to pay a fee, it makes it difficult to buy a new motorcycle.
Usually, suit needs to be filed quickly. It takes a year or more to get to trial in most courts, and you don't start working toward a trial date until the suit has been started. Waiting prolongs the process. While the case sits, the defendant can move, then more time is lost with an investigator trying to find them. A year is plenty of time for the medical picture to get straightened out, and courts normally allow enough time if more is needed. On the other hand, if you delay getting the suit started, it simply delays getting putting the kind of pressure on the insurance company that it will take to get paid.
Medical treatment is reflected in the records, but most of the time it takes more than mere records to get a claims person to understand fully what is going on. There are seven or eight major categories of fractures, everything from the simple greenstick that simply needs a cast, to the comminuted or crush fracture, that needs surgery, and often metal hardware to put the big pieces together. Obviously, these two types of fractures bring different settlement money. Who is going to make sure the claims person knows which type of fracture is involved?
There is a big difference in how a motorcycle accident affects an accountant, who can work at a desk in an office, from the way it affects a construction worker, who has to be healthy to work.
A lawyer understands this difference, and can make sure it is demonstrated clearly.
Even if a settlement offer is made, how would you decide if it was reasonable, unless an attorney advised you?
Unfortunately, unless things change dramatically, a lawyer who knows motorcycle accidents is required to get a fast and fair settlement following a motorycle accident.
| | |
|
|
|
|
