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ToggleWhat If I Get Hurt on a Motorcycle Course
What happens if you get hurt during a motorcycle course may include the following:
- The police respond to a 911 call and come to investigate the accident.
- The insurance companies of the involved parties also investigate and start assigning value to everyone’s injuries.
- Your fort lauderdale motorcycle accident lawyer launches their own investigation to determine fault and the value of your injuries and to pursue damages on your behalf.
The Police Will Investigate Your Motorcycle Course Accident
Motorcycle accidents that result in serious injuries and/or property damage often legally require a response from local law enforcement. Those involved in the accident must call 911, and the police have a duty to respond.
Police dealing with motor accidents have several responsibilities, including to:
- Arrive at the scene in a timely manner
- Check on everyone who was involved in the accident and, if necessary, make sure they receive emergency medical care
- Examine the environment and take care of any remaining hazards
- Collect the contact information from all involved parties, including witnesses and instructors
- Interview everyone at the scene
- File a timely report containing all of the information and evidence they gathered
It is generally important for you to remain at the scene of the accident and answer the police officer’s questions. However, if you are critically injured, it is fine for you to go to the hospital and let the police ask their questions later.
How to Speak to the Police
When you do talk to the police, remain courteous and honest. Answer their questions to the best of your ability, but do not offer any more than they ask for. A west palm beach motorcycle accident lawyer can advise you on how to:
- Respond to any further questions from the police
- Use the official police report as evidence in your case
- React to any inconsistencies or errors in the report
Why get a law firm’s advice for dealing with the police? As helpful as they are in emergency situations, the police are not on your side. Their job is to investigate and render aid, not help you recover compensation after an accident. Anything you say to the police could affect whether you end up getting the money you need.
How Insurance Investigations Affect Your Settlement
Each state has its own laws regarding when motorcycle riders must buy insurance and how much their policies should cover. Assuming the rider or instructor who caused your accident is properly insured, their insurer will pay for whatever damages you win from them.
What happens if you get hurt during a motorcycle course is that both your insurer and the other rider’s insurer will want to thoroughly investigate your accident. They may:
- Ask to interview you or even record a statement from you
- Talk to everyone else who was involved in the collision
- Want to look at photos of you and your motorcycle from before and after the crash
- Examine the place where the accident happened
- Request copies of the police report or important documentary evidence from the motorcycle training organization
At the end of their investigations, each insurer will draw their own conclusions about how the accident happened and, therefore, whether you deserve damages. The person responsible for making this determination is usually the insurance adjuster.
Unfortunately, in some cases, adjusters take more than the evidence into consideration when making a decision. ue your case to save their employer money.
Motorcycle Accident Lawyers and Your Case
Now that you understand how the insurers prioritize their own interests over yours, you can understand why it is a good idea to hire a motorcycle accident attorney for protection. They can:
- Collect evidence with the goal of building a strong case against the liable party
- Figure out how much money your case is worth
- Determine whether you should negotiate a pretrial settlement or take your case to court—and then take steps to implement that plan
- Champion your rights, especially if the insurance company or the training organization tries to take them away from you
If you want a Florida motorcycle accident lawyer to help with your case, you have a limited time to hire one. For example, HB 837/SB236 states that anyone wishing to sue over an act of negligence in Florida must generally act within two years of said act. This is a recent change to state law that you can find on Page 8 of the bill text.
The statute of limitations in your state may be shorter or longer. It is generally a good idea to hire an attorney promptly after an accident and to not respond to any of the insurers’ overtures until you have done so.
We File Motorcycle Accident Cases for Clients
The Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato has years of experience guiding clients through what happens if they get hurt during a motorcycle course. We take pride in assisting people in South Florida with their personal injury cases fort lauderdale —and now we want to help you. Contact or us at Call (954) 633-8270 for a free case review today.