Motorcycle Injury Compensation ?

[Yorkie]

So last weekend I was out for an early morning ride on the Triumph and a guy pulls out of a side street and knocks me off. Bike is totaled and I was pretty banged up after flying over the hood of his vehicle. However, I suffered no broken bones or internal injuries but I am black and blue down my left side and only now can walk albeit with a limp. Can I expect any compensation from the other party's insurance for my injuries?

[id10t]

If you sought medical treatment, etc. then yes.

[unclebilly]

YUP. Lawyer up.

[LakeCleElum]

I dated an attorney years ago when I got hit on my bicycle. Free advice I got regarding pain/suffering settlement:

Add up all your costs (whether paid by you or insurance). You have the cost of the bike, medical bills, maybe lost wages (even if paid medical leave), etc.

For pain/suffering, your attorney will go for 5X that amount. At fault party insurance will try to get it down to 2X that amount.

For me, I did my own negotiating, but told them I knew a well-known personal injury attorney (they knew the name well) if we couldn't agree.....I got the 5X w/o paying to be represented.

This was 25 yrs ago, things may have changed?

[sammyg2]

Sure, why not go for the law suit lottery?

The rest of us will gladly pay higher premiums to pay for your greed.

Hey here's an idea, sue yourself. You decided to ride a motorcycle, that puts you at least 50% at fault.


The world would be a much better place if there were no lawyers or clients.

[Gogar]

LOL you can always count on Sammy!

[wdfifteen]

I am in the midst of something similar now. I'm not a lawyer, but I can give you some advice based on my experience.

In the OP you mentioned nothing that will help you obtain compensation.
Was there a police report?
Did you go the ER or see a doctor?
If not you are better off spending your time pounding sand. Its your word against his insurance company's lawyer. The other guy's Insurance company isn't your friend.

[Jeff Higgins]

My wife and I hired a lawyer when a pickup hit us head on while we were on our Road King some four years ago. We were told the average "pain and suffering" settlement at that time was about three times the total of lost wages and medical bills.

What we ran into, however, was the guy who hit us was "under insured". In other words, his coverage was not enough to pay for the bike, the medical bills, and our lost wages. Now what?

Our lawyer said our only recourse was to sue. He did, however, advise against doing so. The guy who hit us didn't have enough assets to bother with, other than his house. Our lawyer told us that the courts and juries are both notoriously unsympathetic to motorcyclists, and very reluctant to take a guy's house.

In the end, we maxed out the guy's insurance. I'm convinced we could not have come even close to that without a lawyer. I would very much recommend one.

Things that were in our favor that allowed us to prevail: A couple dozen witnesses (it was in front of a produce stand). We were doing less than the speed limit (lots of people, dogs, etc. in the parking lot). We had "all the gear" on, including full face helmets. Police came and cited the other guy. We received medical attention at the hospital. Our blood tests showed no drugs nor alcohol. We received ongoing care during our recoveries.

Things that worked against us: We were on a bike. We went back to work too soon. I started riding again, and on top of that I started "too soon".

I hope it works out better for you. Above all, seek medical care and with it, documentation. Take all of the time off your doctor recommends, even if it hurts financially for now. Don't be too eager to settle - it took us three years. Good luck...

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Sure, why not go for the law suit lottery?

The rest of us will gladly pay higher premiums to pay for your greed.

Hey here's an idea, sue yourself. You decided to ride a motorcycle, that puts you at least 50% at fault.


The world would be a much better place if there were no lawyers or clients.

sorry for the rant, nothing personal. That is just one of my hot buttons.
Way too many people in this world looking for the easy way, and way too many lawyers willing to help them.
And the rest of us pay for it.

[Yorkie]

No worries. I agree that the world would be a better place without injury lawyers. Since I did not seek medical attention as I was not that badly injured I don't really expect anything. Just a bit annoyed that some guys poor driving has cost me a lot of pain and the curtailing of things I enjoy like mobility. Could have been a lot worse. My biggest battle is with the The Woman and her constant nagging about giving up riding. She might have a point....

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Yorkie

Just a bit annoyed that some guys poor driving has cost me a lot of pain and the curtailing of things I enjoy like mobility.

Hey, no problem. He probably had to pay for repairs to his car. Poor guy. Why should he compensate some jackleg scooter trash who was riding where he wanted to drive just because the guy got banged up?

Originally Posted by Yorkie

Could have been a lot worse. .

Yeah, could have. It may still be. Check out post traumatic arthritis.

[JavaBrewer]

Many years ago I blacked out in a major department store. My head hit the concrete floor like a melon and I suffered a seizure. I was out of work for a couple months recovering from a major skull fracture. Turns out somebody there knew somebody and we were contacted by a lawyer who pushed us to sue the store for negligence (was the floor slippery at all?) From what I read today maybe I was the sucker for not making something up and cashing in...

Yorkie, you owe it to yourself, and "The Woman", to get checked properly checked out.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Way too many people in this world looking for the easy way, and way too many lawyers willing to help them.
And the rest of us pay for it.

And I think there are way too many irresponsible people out there and way too many lawyers who want to make you pay for their irresponsibility.

I am not of the philosophy that accepting the negligence of others is just a part of life. If someone does something stupid that messes with your life, they should pay for your losses, not you.

[David]

Back when I had a couple of car induced motorcycle accidents, the going rate for a motorcycle accident was 4x medical bills versus 2x medical bills for a car accident.

And even if you think you're all healed up, you'll still feel the consequences later in life. My neck and spine look an S on x-ray from various injuries through the years.

[Rot 911]

A good friend of mine is an attorney in the LA area and specializes in motorcycle accidents. Good guy who rides motorcycles and a good attorney.

You can read up on what you can do here: Motorcycle Accidents - Personal Injury & Family Law Lawyer CaliforniaPersonal Injury & Family Law Lawyer California

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

And I think there are way too many irresponsible people out there and way too many lawyers who want to make you pay for their irresponsibility.

I am not of the philosophy that accepting the negligence of others is just a part of life. If someone does something stupid that messes with your life, they should pay for your losses, not you.

I couldn't agree more. While I think many (most?) of us agree that there are far too many frivolous, baseless lawsuits filed, when someone well and truly harms you through their negligent or incompetent actions, they need to compensate you fully. Most won't do that without a fight.

[Baz]

Late to the thread - but if you know of a good personal injury attorney, it would be worth your time to set up a consult.

They would be the one best to provide the best advice for you given all the circumstances.

Every accident situation is different - one size does not fit all.