In 2019, over 2,500 motorcycle crashes were reported in Indiana. These collisions resulted in 112 fatalities and more than 1,800 injuries. If you’re injured by a negligent driver while you’re motorcycling in Indiana, contact an Indiana motorcycle accident attorney at once.
Motorcycles provide excellent recreation. Motorcycles also offer affordable transportation to scores of working people in Indiana who either can’t afford or choose not to own a car or a truck.
But can you recover your medical costs if you’re injured on a motorcycle because someone else was careless? What steps will you have to take? If you keep reading, these questions will be answered, and you’ll learn the facts about motorcycling in Indiana and your rights.
What Are Your Legal Rights If You Are an Injured Victim of Negligence?
Under Indiana law, if you are injured by a car or truck driver’s negligence while motorcycling, you are entitled to monetary compensation for your:
- pending medical expenses and projected future medical expenses
- lost wages and projected future lost earnings
- personal suffering and pain
- other injury-related damages and losses
If a negligent driver injures you while you’re motorcycling, arrange a meeting to discuss your legal rights and options with an Indiana personal injury lawyer. If you are injured and cannot work, you can’t afford to wait. Make the call as soon as you’ve been treated for your injuries.
The right personal injury attorney will take every appropriate legal step to make sure that the driver who injured you offers you a reasonable settlement amount or is ordered by a jury to reimburse you fairly and fully.
What Causes Motorcycle Crashes?
Motorcycles pose risks in a variety of circumstances. Below are the primary causes of motorcycle accidents and injuries on Indiana streets and highways:
- Left turns: If a motorist turns left in the path of a motorcycle, it’s the most perilous situation that motorcyclists face. More than forty percent of motorcycle-car collisions involve either a driver or a motorcyclist turning left.
- Lack of visibility: If a driver’s view is blocked by parked cars, buildings, or anything else, and that driver rolls blindly into traffic, a motorcyclist may not see that driver in time to react.
- Inexperience: Until and unless you have plenty of experience on a motorcycle, avoid the busier roads and streets. Consider taking a motorcycling safety course.
- Objects and debris: Oil on the roadway, potholes, trash, and debris all pose hazards for anyone riding a motorcycle.
- Negligence: Negligence is the underlying cause of almost all preventable traffic injuries. It includes speeding and driving while intoxicated as well as reckless and distracted driving.
Can the Number of Motorcycle Accidents and Injuries Be Reduced?
Since most motorcycle crashes are preventable, it is up to drivers and motorcyclists themselves to reduce the number of motorcycle-car collisions. To accomplish that, you’ll want to adhere to these recommendations for avoiding motorcycle accidents and injuries:
- Never assume that others will stop for red lights or stop signs. Negligent motorists cruise right through traffic signals and stop signs – causing dozens of collisions and injuries.
- In motorcycle-car collisions, blind spots are frequently involved. As a motorcyclist, you should assume that others can’t see you unless they signify that they can.
- Wear a helmet. Indiana requires motorcyclists and their passengers under age 18 to wear helmets. Motorcyclists and passengers over 18 must wear protective glasses, goggles, or be protected by a transparent face shield, but they are not required to wear helmets.
- Boots, gloves, a helmet, and a motorcycle jacket are essential safety gear for anyone riding a motorcycle.
- Always keep your headlights on, never assume that other drivers can see you, and always tap your turn signal a few moments before you slow down to make the turn.
Passive obedience to the traffic rules is not enough if you are going to be safe on a motorcycle. You need to be proactive. Keep focused constantly and exclusively on the road and the vehicles around you.
What Should You Do After a Motorcycle Crash?
After a motorcycle crash, do not admit any fault, do not make a statement to an insurance company, and do not accept any offer from an insurance company before you’ve consulted with an Indiana motorcycle accident attorney.
Take photographs of your visible injuries, the damage to your motorcycle and the other vehicle or vehicles, and the overall accident site. Make and keep copies of all medical, police, and insurance reports and documents generated after the accident.
If there are eyewitnesses, try to get their names and contact information. Later, your attorney may need their statements or testimony. Photographs and eyewitness statements can become powerful evidence for or against you in a motorcycle accident case.
A Medical Exam is Imperative
Your health is your first priority after a motorcycle accident. Unless you are examined at the accident scene or taken immediately to a hospital, obtain a medical exam within twenty-four hours of a motorcycle accident – even if you feel perfectly healthy.
That exam is necessary in case you’ve suffered a hard-to-detect or latent injury, and it creates the medical documentation that you’ll need if you subsequently bring a personal injury lawsuit.
How Will a Motorcycle Accident Attorney Help You?
As explained previously, if you’re injured by a negligent car, bus, or truck driver – or by another motorcyclist – in a motorcycle collision, you are entitled by Indiana law to compensation for your hospital and medical bills, your lost wages, and your other related losses and damages.
Speak to an Indiana motorcycle accident lawyer immediately after obtaining medical treatment if you’ve been injured by another driver who was careless while you were motorcycling.
The right attorney will assess the evidence, determine which party or parties should be held liable, and fight effectively on your behalf – in private negotiations, or if necessary, in court – for the justice and compensation that you will need and deserve after you’ve been injured.
What Will It Cost to Begin the Personal Injury Process?
Personal injury attorneys in Indiana work on a contingent fee basis. When a lawyer takes your case, you pay no lawyer’s fee until and unless that lawyer recovers compensation on your behalf with a settlement or a jury verdict.
If you have been injured in a motorcycle crash, it costs nothing to learn more about your options and to discuss your case with an Indiana personal injury attorney. You’ll receive the personalized advice you need. After you’ve been treated for your injuries, make the call promptly.