If you have suffered psychological shock related to a Wisconsin motorcycyle crash, or know someone who is struggling with the mental aftereffects of a traumatic Madison bike wreck, you should seek help immediately. The following information may be helpful for those considering seeking professional help to combat after sustaining motorcycle accident shock:

• There are two main causes of psychological shock, both of which could be experienced due to a Wisconsin motorcycle accident. One cause of shock is hearing emotional news such as the death of a friend or family member. The other cause of shock is being involved in a traumatic event such as a motorcycle accident.
• Psychological shock can consume your life if left untreated, and you may begin to fixate or obsess about the event, making it difficult to maintain daily relationships and duties. 
• It is possible to have a delayed presentation of shock, or “delayed shock.” These symptoms may come to light anywhere between hours or even sometimes years following the traumatic event.
• If the symptoms of shock are left untreated and allowed to continue and the shock victim finds it difficult to return to normal life, there is a risk that they may have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is more difficult to treat, and can make a variety of daily activities seem difficult or impossible.

If you or someone you know is trying to cope with shock after a Wisconsin bike collision, contact the Madison bike wreck lawyers Hupy and Abraham toll-free at 800-800-5678 or locally at 608-277-7777to order your FREE copy of The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims. Call today to set up a free, no-obligation consultation with our team. We want to help get you the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering.

If you have been in a Madison motorcycle crash, then you’re very likely dealing with a great many issues already. Figuring out how to receive financial compensation for a broken collarbone should not be among your worries. The following are reasons to consider hiring a dedicated and experienced motorcycle crash lawyer:

• A specialist lawyer like the Madison bike wreck lawyers at Hupy and Abraham have plenty of experience dealing with injuries caused by a Wisconsin motorcycle wreck. Hiring a lawyer with specific knowledge of motorcycle insurance and personal injury following a bike crash could mean the difference between winning or losing money from your case.
• Hupy and Abraham have been working specifically to represent Wisconsin residents who have been in a motorcycle accident, which means that their knowledge of state laws and insurance intricacies are a tremendous asset to your case.
• An experienced lawyer will be better able to negotiate fair compensation for your injuries and all the pain and suffering that results. It is in the insurance company’s best interest to under-compensate the injured, and lower settlements are automatically offered to those without legal representation.
• It is also helpful to have a Wisconsin bike accident attorney on your side in the courtroom in the case of a disputed claim. A competant motorcycle wreck attorney like those at Hupy and Abraham will make sure you receive fair representation.

If you or someone you know is seeking legal representation after breaking a collarbone in a Wisconsin bike crash, contact the Madison bike wreck lawyers Hupy and Abraham toll-free at 800-800-5678 or locally at 608-277-7777to order your FREE copy of The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims. Call today to schedule a confidential, free consultation with our team. We want to set you on the road to financial as well as medical recovery.

This question requires a complex answer, so we’ll talk about various factors that you should consider when determining whether motorcycle riding in Gurnee is for you. We’ll cover some in this issue and some in a later one.

These questions are adapted from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s website.

• Do you take more risks than other people you know? If so, maybe you shouldn’t ride a motorcycle. If you tailgate, change lanes or turn without signaling, or lose your temper with other drivers, don’t ride a motorcycle. Gurnee motorcycle crashes happen more to risk-takers than to cautious riders.
• Can you ride a bicycle? If you can balance on and maneuver a bike easily, you should be able to master the art of motorcycle riding.
• Can you drive a car with a stick shift? If so, you may learn how to shift gears on a motorcycle more easily. If you have trouble shifting gears on a car, but you still want to ride a bike, try a motor scooter first; they usually have automatic transmissions.
• Do you have good vision? Seeing well ahead of you is imperative for safe motorcycle riding.
• Are you mechanically inclined? You don’t need advanced skills, but you should be able to use a wrench and a tire pressure gauge. You should be able to make an occasional adjustment when necessary.

If you or any other rider you know gets into a motorcycle accident in Gurnee and needs a Gurnee motorcycle wreck attorney, contact Hupy and Abraham toll free at 800-800-5678 or locally at 414-223-4800. Use our online contact form for a FREE, no-obligation consultation. You can also request our FREE book, The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims.

Speeding laws in Wisconsin are absolute, and both the quantity and severity of a speeding violation can seriously affect your auto insurance premium and driving record. Knowing how to proceed after receiving a Wisconsin speed limit violation citation could mean the difference between walking away with a fine, or facing a substantial insurance cost increase. 

The following are steps you can take to try and have your Madison speeding ticket revoked: 

• Plead not guilty and be proactive in scheduling a court date.
• Make a note of any serious errors on the ticket. An admissible mistake does not include a wrongly spelled name or misidentified vehicle color; look at the location of the incident, the make and model of your vehicle, and the type of statute cited. A mistake in any of these areas can result in the dismissal of your ticket.
• Note any inconsistencies with the officer’s report. If the police officer who issued your ticket reports several different speeds, or has contradicted himself in his reports of the handling of the incident, bring up these discrepancies in order to provide room for reasonable doubt.
• Request a dismissal from either the officer who issued your citation or with the judge if he is present.
• Stay polite, patient, and professional. Never raise your voice or become personally defensive when addressing the judge. Remaining objective and clear-headed will reflect far better on you and your case than any biting or sarcastic remarks toward the judge or the police officer.
• When in doubt, contact an experienced and dedicated lawyer. 

 

It’s not always expensive Harley Davidsons that are stolen. According to the Motorcycle Cruiser website, there are a number of reasons why someone may steal your bike.

• Someone sees an opportunity. You’ve left your bike vulnerable by parking it in a dark, secluded area, or you don’t have sufficient locks or alarms to dissuade a thief.
• A thrill-seeker is looking for a joy ride. Perhaps a less-than-scrupulous individual or group of individuals just wants to grab your bike for a joy ride. After having their fun, they simply ditch the bike, dismantle it for parts, alter the VIN and resell the bike, or smuggle it out of the country and sell it as-is.
• Your motorcycle is on a thief’s shopping list. A thief may be looking for a certain make of bike that he knows he can get rid of. This may include motorcycles that:

• • Are frequently wrecked;
  • Have racing potential;
  • Have a special engine, such as a car-racing formula class;
  • Are customized; or
  • Are sold in great numbers.

Don’t assume that your bike is safe from motorcycle theft in Gurnee. Take steps to ensure that it is safe from not only motorcycle wrecks in Gurnee but also enterprising thieves. If you ever need a Gurnee bike crash lawyer, contact Hupy and Abraham toll free at 800-800-5678 or locally at 414-223-4800. Use our online contact form for a FREE, no-obligation consultation. You can also request our FREE books, The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims and Secrets Your Insurance Agent Won’t Tell You About Buying Motorcycle or Car Insurance.

Although motorcyclists must follow the same rules of the road as drivers of cars, insurance companies and juries view these accidents quite differently. If your Wisconsin motorcycle lawyer does not understand these differences, you may lose your Wisconsin motorcycle accident case.

• People who are not motorcyclists must be taught how motorcycles work. This lack of knowledge can work against the motorcyclist, even if he is not at fault. If a juror is unfamiliar with the basics of motorcycle riding, he may not realize that a motorcyclist must maintain his speed in order to keep bike stable. Because he doesn’t know that motorcyclists cannot make sudden stops, he may think the motorcyclist was traveling at excessive speed.
• Many non-motorcyclists unfairly perceive all motorcyclists as reckless daredevils. This stereotype is propagated by the media and by riders who weave in and out of traffic. An experienced Wisconsin motorcycle lawyer will educate the jury about safe riding practices and show evidence that his client did whatever possible to avoid injury.
• Jurors may be unfamiliar with the severity of Wisconsin motorcycle accident injuries. A juror who is not a motorcyclist may associate road rash with the scraped skin one can get after a bicycle accident. He may not realize the motorcycle road rash is an extremely painful injury that can require surgical treatment. Other common Wisconsin motorcycle accident injuries are severe fractures, amputations and brain injuries. The motorcycle accident attorney must inform the jury about the severity of the injuries.

Insurance companies understand these biases and, if allowed, will take advantage of them. 

Learn more about what to do after a Wisconsin motorcycle crash in our book, The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims. Click on the link at the side of the page to request your free copy. To discuss your claim with an experienced Wisconsin motorcycle accident injury lawyer, schedule a free consultation with Hupy and Abraham at 800-800-5678.

Our Wisconsin car accident attorneys say, “Yes.” A teen with a Wisconsin driver’s permit has the same responsibilities as any other driver who operates a motor vehicle on public roads. The teen must follow traffic laws, show concern for public safety, and carry auto insurance.

If your child owns her own car, she may be able to purchase her own policy. However, she will get better rates if you add her to your policy.

If your child will be driving or learning on your vehicle, you are required to notify your insurer. A new driver is considered a change in the risk factors associated with your policy, and you are required to report such changes within 30 days. If you fail to add a new driver to your policy, especially if the driver is a minor child, your insurer may deny any coverage in the event of a Wisconsin motor vehicle accident, even if your child was not at fault.

For more information about teen driving, visit our article library. For more information about what to do after a Wisconsin auto accident, request a free copy of our book, The Ultimate Guide for Automobile Accident Victims. This guide will advise you about your rights after a Wisconsin car crash.

If you’d like to discuss a specific accident with a Wisconsin car accident attorney, contact Hupy and Abraham at 800-800-5678. The initial consultation is free.

Various factors come into play when it comes to motorcycle insurance rates. Does your nephew have his insurance through the same company? Does he have the same amount and type of Gurnee motorcycle insurance? If so, then take a look at these additional factors cited by online sources that insurance companies consider to come up with your rate.

• Age. Older motorcyclists generally receive a lower insurance rate.
• Experience. Experience is considered more important than age. A younger rider with experience will get a lower insurance rate than an older, beginning rider.
• Where You Live. If you live in a high-crime neighborhood or in an area where a lot of accidents occur, you will pay more for your insurance.
• Type of Motorcycle. If you have a powerful, expensive bike, you will pay more to insure it.
• Amount of Use. If your annual mileage is low, or if you ride your motorcycle for only part of the year, you may pay less for your insurance.
• Training. You may be entitled to a discounted insurance rate if you have taken advanced motorcycle riding or safety courses.
• Driving History. A ticket on your record—or an accident for which you were responsible—is likely to increase your insurance premium at the next renewal period or when you change insurers.

If you are ever in a motorcycle accident in Gurnee and need the expertise of a Gurnee motorcycle wreck lawyer, contact Hupy and Abraham. Call us toll free at 800-800-5678 or locally at 414-223-4800. Use our online contact form for a FREE, no-obligation consultation. You can also request our FREE book, The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims.

Surprise! This turns out to be a lesson in constitutional law.

Article IV, Section One of the U.S. Constitution contains something called the “Full Faith and Credit Clause.” It reads, “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.” The Framers—the people who wrote the Constitution—wanted to balance the unity of the whole nation with the sovereignty of each of the states. The Full Faith and Credit Clause does exactly that. It’s the federal government telling each state, “Look, you get to set the rules within your borders, but you have to respect the rules set by every other state government, too.”

Because of the Full Faith and Credit Clause, your Wisconsin driver’s license and Class M endorsement allow you to ride your motorcycle in all other states. By the same principle, though, you have to obey the specific traffic laws which prevail in the state you’re in. Wisconsin doesn’t require a motorcyclist over age 17 to wear a helmet. If you’re riding through Missouri, though, you must conform to state law that requires helmets for all riders.

State legislators pass laws that they believe will promote the public good for their citizens. There has been a longstanding controversy over mandatory helmet laws throughout the United States, with some people saying that individual freedom should be given more weight, and other people believing that the state sometimes has to force people to take protective measures they would resist on their own. Each state has come to a different answer on how to balance those conflicting values, and that range of opinions shows how difficult a question this is.

The “eat your lima beans” principle

If you’re an adult, Wisconsin law gives you the choice of wearing a helmet or not. Choose to wear a helmet.

It’s the responsible decision to make. If you are involved in a Wisconsin motorcycle accident, your chance of dying is less if you have chosen to wear a helmet. You are less likely to sustain serious injuries if you have chosen to wear your helmet. If you choose to wear a helmet, then you have the credibility to insist that your passenger wear her helmet, too, and that helmet may save her life in a traffic accident near Green Bay.

You can call this the “eat your lima beans” principle. Not many people enjoy lima beans, but they can be good for you. Part of being a responsible adult is occasionally doing things that are good for you, even if you don’t enjoy doing them. Choosing to wear a safe, approved helmet is one of those things.

Weigh the arguments in favor of wearing a helmet against the arguments opposed to a helmet. All the advice of road safety experts says that helmets are the right decision to make. The arguments against helmets boil down to the petulant complaints of an 8-year-old: “It’s not comfortable. It doesn’t look cool. My friends might make fun of me. I don’t want to. You can’t make me.” Look, now that you’re a grown-up, it’s time to stop listening to your little-kid instincts and do the responsible thing: choose to wear the helmet.

And one more reason to wear a helmet

Suppose you choose not to wear a helmet. Suppose you get injured in a serious Wisconsin motorcycle accident, and you are trying to get reimbursement for your medical bills and lost income from the insurance company. It’s entirely possible that the motorcycle accident insurance adjuster will put a lower dollar value on your injuries because you didn’t wear a helmet. “You clearly showed that you don’t care about possible injuries,” he might say, “so why should we take you seriously now that you want money for your pain and suffering?”

The Appleton bike crash attorneys of Hupy and Abraham have heard of insurance adjusters pulling tricks like this. We don’t let our clients get bowled over by aggressive claims agents. We still think you should be wearing your helmet, but we can work with all clients who have been injured in a Wisconsin motorcycle accident by someone else’s negligence. Give us a call today at 920-882-8382 (local) or (800) 800-5678 (toll-free). We can set up a confidential and free meeting about your case, and we’ll also send you a FREE copy of our book, The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims.

You were lucky—very, very lucky. Any Wisconsin personal injury lawyer will tell you that most motorcycle crashes are extremely serious events.

Every year, about 80,000 to 90,000 people in the United States are injured while riding motorcycles. Between 4,000 to 5,000 of those people die. Some analysts say that over 80 percent of the accidents that cause any injury will include death or a serious injury that requires medical treatment. Of those serious injuries, head trauma and spinal cord injuries are the second-most common, just behind leg and foot injuries.

The fact that your bike got wrecked in your Green Bay motorcycle crash should have been a major clue about how risky accidents can be. Your bike was built of steel—that’s a lot more durable than your flesh. If your accident had happened just a tiny bit differently, it would have been your mangled body left on the road.
 

Why are motorcycle injuries so often serious?

When we compare injury rates between types of motor vehicle accidents, we find that the motorcycle rider is far more likely than a car driver to be injured seriously or die in a crash. That’s not a random result.

• An automobile provides its driver and passengers with a protective barrier; bikes are exposed.
• Cars have seat belts and airbags that are impractical safety devices for motorcyclists.
• In a sudden stop, the motorcyclist is almost certain to be thrown from his or her vehicle, leading to serious injuries from striking objects and the ground. It is far rarer for a stop to eject a driver or passengers from a car.

Motorcyclists have access to one safety measure that car drivers don’t—a protective helmet. It’s appalling how often riders refuse to take advantage of that crucial accessory. Information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System finds that more than half of all fatal motorcycle injuries were to riders and passengers who were not wearing helmets. riders who don’t wear helmets also are much more likely to suffer serious nonfatal injuries, too. The Centers for Disease Control concluded that, if every rider had voluntarily worn a helmet, the total number of fatal motorcycle injuries would drop by about 800 a year.

After the crash

Recovering physically from a serious Wisconsin motorcycle accident can be a long and painful process. Then there is the additional stress of dealing with financial issues. A victim will often be unable to work. He will be trying to deal with insurance companies to get help for medical bills and replacement or repair for his bike. No one should have to cope with these additional burdens while trying to recover from serious injuries.

An experienced Appleton motorcycle wreck attorney from the Hupy and Abraham law firm can make a huge difference. If you have suffered a loss from a Wisconsin motorcycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence, we may be able to help you get full compensation for your medical care, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Please contact us at 920-882-8382 (local) or (800) 800-5678 (toll-free) to arrange a free consultation about your case. Just for calling, we will send you a FREE copy of our book, The Ultimate Guide for Motorcycle Accident Victims, which will be yours to keep even if you do not hire us as your legal team.