Motorcycle riders often face unfair treatment on the road. Drivers in other vehicles often completely disregard motorcycle riders, jeopardizing their safety. If you were injured in a motorcycle crash, call our attorneys for legal help.
Motorcycle accidents are often blamed on motorcycle riders but are really caused by negligent drivers in other vehicles. Drivers who are distracted and not looking out for motorcycle riders might cause serious collisions. To get financial compensation, speak to an attorney about your legal options. Many injured riders file insurance claims, which can be helpful. If insurance is unavailable or your claim is denied, a lawsuit might be necessary to get fair compensation. To support your claims, we need evidence from the accident proving how the defendant negligently caused the collision. People sometimes resist hiring lawyers to help them, but a lawyer might be your best bet in a complicated lawsuit.
For a confidential evaluation of your case, call (312) 578-8502 and talk to our motorcycle accident attorneys at the Rhatigan Law Offices.
How Your Motorcycle Collision Might Have Occurred in Orland Park, IL
Like many collisions on the road or highway, motorcycle accidents tend to happen quickly. Drivers and motorcycle riders often claim that the other person “came out of nowhere.” As such, determining exactly how a crash happened can be challenging. Below are just a few common examples of motorcycle crashes. Our motorcycle accident lawyers can review details and evidence from your crash to figure out how it happened and who should be held responsible.
Distracted drivers are a huge problem nowadays. With things like cell phones, tablets, and GPS devices now capable of syncing with vehicles, there are more distractions on the road than ever before. It only takes a moment of distraction for a terrible accident to occur. When other factors like poor visibility or a high rate of speed are involved, accidents can be seriously bad.
Problems with blind spots are another major contributor to motorcycle accidents. Since motorcycles are smaller than ordinary cars, they are more easily hidden in a driver’s blind spot. This means a driver in a car might not see the motorcycle rider right alongside them. If the driver turns to change lanes without checking their blind spot, they might hit a motorcycle rider.
Speed is a huge factor in many motorcycle accidents. While speed is not always the primary cause of an accident, it tends to worsen an accident. A speeding driver might be unable to stop in time to avoid hitting a motorcycle rider. If the driver is going especially fast, the motorcycle rider is more likely to be badly hurt.
How to Get Financial Compensation After a Motorcycle Accident in Orland Park, IL
Getting financial compensation is not always easy. People often face large insurance companies wanting to weasel out of paying damages and belligerent drivers refusing to admit wrongdoing. A lawyer can make all the difference in an otherwise tough case.
Insurance Claims
Many injured motorcycle riders pursue insurance claims to get their injuries and damages covered. In Illinois, auto insurance, including motorcycle insurance, is based on fault. Injured riders must file third-party claims with the other driver’s insurance. They must also prove to the insurance company that the other driver is responsible for the accident.
To get compensation through insurance, we need to have evidence. Many insurance claims will not even entertain a claim without a police report from the accident. We might also need photos from the crash, statements from you and witnesses, and medical records of your injuries.
Navigating the insurance claims process can be difficult. Insurance companies are not exactly impartial decision-makers. If there is a way for the insurance company to get out of paying and save money, they will take it. A lawyer can help you prove your claims and make the insurance company pay.
Civil Injury Lawsuit
Insurance does not work out for everyone. In some cases, the insurance company refuses to acknowledge their customer’s fault for the accident. In others, the other driver might be uninsured. In such cases, your lawyer can assist you in filing a lawsuit against the negligent driver who hit you on your motorcycle.
A civil lawsuit is somewhat similar to an insurance claim. We need evidence and a well-planned legal strategy to get you fair compensation. However, the stakes in a lawsuit are somewhat higher. Courts are far more demanding of plaintiffs. We not only need evidence of the accident, but we need enough evidence to meet our burden of proof. Evidence must also adhere to rigid rules of admissibility. For example, while insurance companies often want to see a police report, such reports are inadmissible in court because they are considered hearsay.
Finding Evidence to Support Your Claims in a Motorcycle Accident Case in Orland Park, IL
Evidence is the foundation of your lawsuit. If we do not have enough evidence, your case cannot succeed. The tricky thing about evidence is that it can disappear quickly. A lot of evidence might come straight from the motorcycle crash scene. Unfortunately, if this evidence is not collected quickly, it might be lost forever.
A great way to preserve evidence is to take photos and record videos of the accident scene. Record the vehicles, street signs, people at the scene, your injuries, and anything else that seems important. If the defendant disputes details about the accident, your photos and videos can help us set the record straight.
We should also find witnesses. If other drivers were near the accident scene and saw it happen, they can testify in court about what they saw. Maybe they saw the defendant run a red light and hit you in an intersection. Maybe they can attest to how fast the defendant was going before the collision.
For Help with Your Legal Claims, Call Our Orland Park, IL Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
For a confidential evaluation of your case, call (312) 578-8502 and talk to our motorcycle accident attorneys at the Rhatigan Law Offices.
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