If you were recently hurt while riding your motorcycle and are looking into your legal options for recovering compensation, you may have questions about whether paying for private legal counsel is really worth it. Maybe you’ve heard stories about personal injury attorneys being more concerned with their own profit margins than the well-being of their clients. Maybe you don’t like the idea of shelling out some of your settlement money to a lawyer.
However, getting an attorney for a motorcycle accident claim is always worth it. Here are some of the biggest reasons why skilled legal counsel is essential to not just getting the most money from your claim but often to getting any money at all.
Making Sure You Get Paid Fairly for Your Losses
After a motorcycle accident, negligent parties and their insurance companies will often fight to avoid paying the compensation you deserve. It won’t be easy to compel someone through civil litigation to compensate you for your losses.
Support from legal counsel can make a huge difference in your ability to successfully bring a lawsuit or settlement negotiation. An attorney can also accurately estimate the value of your accident-related losses to ensure your claim compensates you fairly. This is especially true if you suffered a “catastrophic” injury that will affect you for the rest of your life. These injuries may cause losses that only manifest years or even decades after your claim begins.
Fighting Allegations of “Comparative Fault”
A motorcycle accident attorney can also help you contest accusations that you’re at fault for your own injuries. Unfortunately, civil juries and judges may be biased by stereotypes about motorcycle riders being “reckless daredevils.” This can make it easier for drivers to argue that they did nothing wrong, and that the motorcyclist caused their own injuries by being negligent.
Under Pennsylvania law, any percentage of fault a court assigns you could be held against you as a deduction from your final damage award. Anyone found more at fault for their own injuries than every person they’re suing combined can’t get paid anything for those injuries, even if those other people were negligent to some extent.
Complying with Other Rules and Restrictions for Motorcycle Crash Claims
“Comparative fault” is one of the many legal roadblocks you may encounter while filing a suit or demanding a settlement after a motorcycle wreck. For instance, Pennsylvania law also puts strict time limits on how long you have after initially getting hurt to file a lawsuit. If you wait longer than two years after your accident to start the litigation process, the court will likely throw out your case for being “time-barred.”
Getting an attorney after a motorcycle accident is the best thing you can do to give yourself a good chance of getting a favorable case result. At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, we know how to fight for and win these cases on behalf of people in your situation. You won’t pay us anything unless and until we recover the compensation you deserve, so don’t hesitate to call us today and set up a free, no-obligation consultation.
