Most people would never want to consider a situation where they could be injured in a motorcycle accident. However, adequately planning for such an event is very important to your personal and financial well-being. Should you find yourself injured after a motorcycle accident that was not your fault, there are a great deal of factors that you need to have under consideration when moving forward with a personal injury claim, but one can be seen as paramount above others.
As is the case with most things involving motorcycle riders, the biggest issue you’ll likely have to deal with as you put together your personal injury case is overcoming bias and prejudice that certain people may have against motorcyclists. As unfair and unreasonable as it is, this is something that riders have to take seriously when approaching a personal injury settlement.
Here are a few ways that bias and prejudice toward motorcyclists can negatively impact your personal injury claim:
- Biased jury: In general, most potential jury members drive cars, and car drivers often bear prejudice against motorcyclists. If an accident involves a motorcycle, some jurors may begin with the assumption that the rider was at fault in the collision. A skilled motorcycle injury lawyer can offset this jury bias in the courtroom and win fair compensation for his client.
- Lower settlement offers: Unfortunately, insurance adjusters also know that juries can often hate riders. They will use this bias as leverage to pressure an injured motorcyclist to settle his legal claim for a lower sum than they really need or deserve. Insurance companies often assume that the jury would not give the rider fair compensation for his lost time from work, pain and suffering, and other losses. And as a result, they shouldn’t either. A motorcycle accident lawyer who deals regularly with insurance adjusters will ensure that you receive as much compensation as you need to alleviate the pain and losses associated with your injury.
- Incorrect police statements and witness reports: For the most part, police officers are usually decent human beings who try to treat everyone fairly and do their job as best they can. However, when a car collides with a motorcycle, the rider is usually the person most injured at the scene. It often happens that a rider may be too injured in a motorcycle accident to tell his or her side of the story to police, and so the police may end up misidentifying the person at fault. Similarly, witnesses tend to put too much blame on the rider rather than other drivers when a traffic crash occurs. Your attorney will need to be ready to conduct a full investigation, even visiting the accident site, to determine who was responsible for the accident.
Many individuals have inherent dislike or distrust for motorcyclists, and as a result, judges and juries may be less likely to award fair verdicts to motorcyclists. For this reason, it’s important to conduct yourself properly through the process and retain the best possible legal counsel to overcome any unfounded biases toward your lifestyle.
The attorneys at Hupy and Abraham have helped thousands of injured riders and recovered handsome settlements for them along the way. Should you find yourself the victim of a motorcycle accident, contact Hupy and Abraham to get started on your personal injury claim, our offices can be reached at 800-800-5678, or via online chat at hupy.com.
For more relevant news and articles for bikers, check out Current News for Riders on hupy.com.