Can a Lawyer Help After You Suffer Road Rash in a Motorcycle Accident?

In general, a road rash injury is a skin abrasion a person sustains when they fall off a motorcycle and either skid or slide on a rough, hard surface.

To treat a road rash injury, an accident victim might need surgery, stitches, or skin grafts. Additionally, after their injury heals, they may bear unsightly scarring in the affected area.

In addition to serious road rash injuries in a motorcycle accident, victims may suffer other debilitating injuries, including broken bones, traumatic head and brain injuries, permanent cognitive impairments, soft tissue muscular injuries, internal organ injuries, spinal cord damage, and complete or incomplete paralysis injuries.

If you suffered any of these injuries in a recent motorcycle accident, you need to consult a skilled motorcycle accident lawyer in your area as quickly as possible. Your lawyer can explore your potential legal options and can take the appropriate steps on your behalf to recover the compensation you deserve.

For example, your lawyer may file a personal injury claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company and handle all settlement negotiations on your behalf. Additionally, your lawyer can file a personal injury lawsuit and take your case to a civil jury trial, mediation session, or binding arbitration hearing.

Every step of the way, your lawyer will keep you abreast of all developments in your case and aggressively advocate for your legal rights and interests. Your attorney can also answer your questions, enabling you to make intelligent and informed decisions throughout your case.

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Common Causes of Motorcycle Crashes

When other people drive in a particularly reckless manner, they may cause a motorcycle accident, which leaves a cyclist with severe injuries and significant pain. As a result, the cyclist may require ongoing medical treatment and miss time from work after their accident.

One common reason why motorcycle accidents happen is because other people drive in a distracted manner. Distracted driving may take many different forms, but it typically involves a driver taking their eyes off the road for some reason.

For example, a driver might look at their phone or smartwatch, send or read a text message, program a GPS navigation system, roughhouse with vehicle passengers, adjust the volume on their stereo, listen to loud music, or eat and drink while driving. These activities may cause a driver to take their attention off the road and miss seeing a nearby motorcyclist.

Motorcycle accidents may also happen when other drivers fail to follow various traffic laws and regulations. For example, a driver might tailgate a motorcyclist, speed, or fail to yield the right-of-way to a motorcyclist at a four-way traffic intersection. Unfortunately, these traffic law violations may result in a severe accident that involves a motorcycle operator and their passenger.

Motorcycle accidents may also occur when other drivers engage in road rage or reckless driving. When a driver cuts a motorcyclist off in traffic, speeds around the cyclist, or fails to use their turn signal properly, they may strike a motorcyclist.

Finally, some motorcycle crashes happen when other drivers operate a vehicle while they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The applicable blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for most passenger vehicle drivers is 0.08 percent. However, if the intoxicated individual is a commercial vehicle operator or a minor who is under 21 years old, different – and more stringent – legal standards often apply.

DUI offenders may be subject to various criminal penalties, including jail time and monetary fines. They may also have to pay civil compensation to an accident victim through their insurance company if they cause a motorcyclist or another individual to suffer injuries in an accident.

Intoxicated drivers may experience various physical and mental impairments that prevent them from operating their vehicles safely and carefully. For example, they might lose concentration and coordination. Drugs may impair reflexes, delay reaction time, and blur vision. As a result, drivers may not see or appreciate a motorcyclist in the vicinity, bringing about a severe accident.

If you suffered injuries in a motorcycle collision that a negligent driver caused, consult a knowledgeable motorcycle accident lawyer in your area as quickly as possible about your legal options. Your attorney can review those options with you and take the necessary steps to pursue the monetary recovery you need and deserve.

Filing a Third-party Motorcycle Accident Claim

Victims of motorcycle crashes may be eligible to file a third-party personal injury claim with the responsible driver’s insurance company.

Even in states like Florida that have no-fault insurance laws, motorcyclists are not typically allowed to make a claim under their own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance policy. Therefore, they must ordinarily turn to the at-fault driver’s policy for the monetary recovery they need.

When filing a third-party personal injury claim, a motorcycle accident attorney will submit various documents to the insurance company on your behalf. Those documents may later serve as evidence if your lawyer eventually files a lawsuit arising from your motorcycle accident.

Pertinent documents often include copies of police reports, injury photographs, property damage photographs, statements from witnesses, medical treatment records, medical bills, photographs of the crash scene, and video camera footage (if available).

Your lawyer will send these documents to the insurance company adjuster handling your claim, and the adjuster will review them and determine whether to accept fault for the motorcycle crash.

After submitting a settlement demand package on your behalf, your motorcycle accident attorney can handle all oral and written communications with adjusters. These communications typically pertain to settlement negotiations.

In general, the first offer that an insurance company adjuster puts on the table will not fairly compensate the accident victim for their losses. Therefore, your attorney will likely need to negotiate with the adjuster to pursue a higher settlement. If the insurance company refuses to increase its offer to an appropriate monetary settlement amount, your lawyer can pursue litigation in court.

Even after your case is in litigation, it may still settle at some point. If it does not settle, however, your lawyer can take your case to a civil jury trial or an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceeding, like mediation or binding arbitration.

Proving a Third-party Motorcycle Accident Claim

In a third-party personal injury claim that involves a motorcycle accident, the injured accident victim has the legal burden of proof. In contrast, the individual who caused the accident does not need to prove anything in the case.

First, the injured motorcycle accident victim must establish that the other driver violated their legal duty of care, typically by breaking one or more traffic laws or regulations.

For example, the other driver might not have paid attention to the road, or they may have operated a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Second, the injured motorcycle accident victim must establish that as a direct result of the other driver’s duty-of-care breach, both the accident and their injuries resulted.

When a motorcyclist claims they suffered a road rash injury or some other injury in their accident, a medical expert may need to testify as a witness in their case or, at the very least, draft a medical report that causally relates their claimed injuries to the accident.

Recovering Financial Compensation for a Road Rash Injury

Victims of motorcycle accidents who suffer road rash injuries and other physical injuries may be eligible to receive various types of monetary compensation.

First, they can pursue compensation for their related medical expenses, both past and future.

If a road rash injury victim needs to undergo surgery, for example, they can recover the compensation they need for that procedure as part of their claim.

Additionally, if the accident victim suffers injuries that prevent them from working after their accident, they can bring a claim for lost income.

Additionally, if a motorcycle accident victim suffers road rash, they may receive monetary compensation for their intangible losses, such as physical pain and suffering stemming from the road rash injury, loss of the ability to use a body part, permanent scarring, and humiliation or embarrassment resulting from scarring.

Your attorney can determine the likely value of your motorcycle accident claim based on the total cost of your medical treatment, as well as your pain, suffering, and inconvenience. Your attorney will then do everything they can to maximize your overall monetary damage award, helping you to become whole again after your motorcycle crash.

Talk with an Experienced Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today

Following a motorcycle crash, you need to seek help from a qualified personal injury attorney in your jurisdiction as quickly as possible.

Motorcycle accident victims must file a lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations period for the jurisdiction where the accident happened. If they file their lawsuit after the deadline passes, they cannot pursue any monetary recovery for their resulting injuries – including road rash injuries.

Therefore, take the steps necessary to secure skilled legal counsel in your case right away.

Your motorcycle accident lawyer can thoroughly investigate the circumstances of your motorcycle crash and determine your eligibility for pursuing monetary recovery. Your lawyer can submit a claim with the appropriate insurance company – or, if necessary, a lawsuit – to pursue the favorable monetary damages you need for your road rash and other accident-related injuries.

The sooner you seek a free case evaluation, the sooner you can rest knowing you have the right to seek compensation. Never face the claim process alone, as insurance companies regularly undervalue road rash costs. An attorney can ensure you seek the full amount you deserve to cover your losses.