Tips for Making an Injury Claim After an Accident

An evening ride can turn horribly wrong in a matter of seconds. A biker swerves onto the shoulder to avoid getting sideswiped by an SUV and gets ejected off her bike and onto incoming traffic.Her biker buddies drop their bikes to avoid hitting her. They all suffer road rash, broken bones and other serious injuries. It’s a story ripped straight from the headlines and is told more often than we realize.

Motorcycle Laws

The number of people killed in motorcycle crashes in Florida and nationwide is steadily increasing, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association. Florida, Texas and California have the highest rates in crashes due to warm weather year-round. The warm weather draws more bikers on the road which increases the chance of crashes occurring between motorcycles and 4-wheeled vehicles. If you have the misfortune of getting into an accident, you will need to file a personal injury claim. There are a few laws you should know about that can affect your claim.

Helmet Laws

In states like California and Georgia, all motorcyclists must wear a helmet. Riders under the age of 18 must wear one in states like Arizona and Connecticut. In Florida, a person over 21 may operate or ride on a motorcycle without a helmet if the person is covered by an insurance policy providing at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries sustained in a crash.

Once your compliance with this law is established, you’ll need to consider your injuries. If you suffered neck or head injuries, then whether you were wearing a helmet during the time of the accident becomes very important to your claim. For example, if you were wearing a helmet and suffered head and neck injuries, the helmet is important to your claim because it shows that you were not “comparatively negligent,” meaning the injuries you sustained were not caused by being careless about your own safety. It also shows how bad things might have been if you hadn’t worn a helmet, thus bringing scrutiny onto the other driver’s conduct.

On the flip side, if you were not wearing a helmet and you suffered a head or neck injury, you may face opposition with your claim. Even if the state does not require you to wear a helmet, the fact is that helmets save lives by significantly reducing head and neck injuries. Failure to wear a helmet can be viewed as an act of negligence on your part.

Lane Splitting

Lane splitting, where motorcyclists ride between two lanes of traffic typically used to avoid traffic jams, is currently an illegal traffic maneuver in the state of Florida. Breaking this law can result in an infraction. It may also give an officer reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop that can end up with a search of the rider’s bike.

If you get into a motorcycle crash while lane splitting, you may have a difficult time convincing the insurance adjuster that the accident was not completely your fault. You’ll need to demonstrate that you were driving cautiously and not speeding or weaving in and out of lanes or between cars. A police report and witness report can help your argument. Your driving experience may also help you argue that lane splitting was used as a defensive maneuver to avoid collision.

 

Image courtesy of iboy_daniel from flickr