If you were hit by another driver when riding your motorcycle, our lawyers can help you get compensation for your injuries. You may have faced serious injuries that left you unable to ride, unable to work, and with serious medical expenses.
It is vital to get help after a crash, as these damages can pile up quickly and put you and your family in a tight financial spot. If you sue or file an insurance claim, you can potentially get everything paid for, helping you move forward.
For a free case review, call the motorcycle accident lawyers at Rice Law today at (803) 219-4906.
Can I Sue for a Motorcycle Accident?
Under South Carolina’s laws, we have insurance that covers us when we cause a crash. Other states use insurance systems where everyone’s insurance covers their own injuries regardless of fault. Instead, we rely on the other person’s insurance to cover, whether we file an insurance claim or a lawsuit.
While you do not have to file a lawsuit and may just file an insurance claim, a lawsuit might be better. Not only will the insurance company often try to undercut your damages and blame you for your own crash if you were on a motorcycle, they may simply refuse to negotiate with us.
When we take your case to court, we put the decisions about fault in front of a judge and jury – neutral parties – instead of the biased insurance adjusters.
Will They Blame Me for the Crash?
Motorcycle riders often get a completely unfair bias against them when it comes to deciding fault. Of course, most of this bias comes from the insurance companies and defendants, not the jury.
Defendants may attempt to claim truly wild theories, such as saying you were responsible just because you were on a motorcycle. Motorcycles are legal in South Carolina, and our motorcycle lawyers can fight to see that these kinds of anti-motorcycle biases are shut down whenever they arise.
If you did, in fact, do something illegal to contribute to the crash, they may try to blame you for a fair portion of the blame. However, all this does is reduce your damages by your percentage of fault. The only time this actually stops you from winning a case is when your share of fault is higher than 50%.
Can I Be Blamed if I Was Not Wearing a Helmet?
You are required to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle in South Carolina, but whether or not that comes into evidence in your case or can be used against you depends on the specifics of your case.
First off, a lack of a helmet usually does not cause a crash. Unless something like water splashing into your face caused you to swerve, and wearing a helmet with a visor would have actually prevented this, you cannot be blamed for the crash just because you had no helmet.
However, a helmet can prevent injuries. If a helmet would have prevented your injuries, then it might be a reasonable argument that you are partially responsible for the extent of your injuries because you had no helmet.
In any case, this does not stop the defendant from being responsible for causing the crash in the first place.
If your injuries are unrelated to a helmet – e.g., a broken leg or foot – then the helmet actually has no bearing on the case. In these cases, the defense might not even be allowed to mention the missing helmet because it is irrelevant to the case.
Will My Insurance Cover My Injuries?
In South Carolina, we use the at-fault driver’s liability insurance to pay for injuries in an auto accident. This is also how things are done in a motorcycle accident. However, you may have additional coverages to help you.
Motorcycle riders may get coverages like medpay to cover their medical costs if they get hurt in an accident. These would kick in whether you were in a single-bike crash or a crash with another car, and they also kick in regardless of who caused the accident.
These damages can defray the cost of treatment up front while we await payment from the at-fault party. However, your insurance carrier might be able to take back some of the money they paid you if you get reimbursed by the defendant. You cannot get paid twice, essentially.
Can I Get My Motorcycle Repaired?
The good news is that motorcycle accident cases can include compensation for your vehicle damage. The bad news is that motorcycles are often “totaled.”
While our focus is of course on your physical injuries and pain and suffering, we want to make sure you get all of the damages you are entitled to. This also includes the cost of vehicle repairs or replacement.
Insurance companies are often willing to pay for the total value of repairs, but if repairs cost more than the total value of the vehicle, the vehicle is considered “totaled.” When this happens, reimbursement equals the total remaining value of the vehicle, and not the additional cost of undergoing extensive repairs.
You may be able to keep the bike and repair it beyond the total value if it has sentimental value, but additional repair costs usually are not covered.
When Do I Call a Lawyer?
You can call us any time after the crash, but earlier is better. There is no rule about having to wait for your medical care to finish or having to wait until after you call the insurance company. In fact, getting us involved in the case earlier allows us to track your medical care and expenses as they arise, locate evidence and witnesses quickly before they are lost, and start negotiating for damages earlier.
Call Our Motorcycle Accident Attorneys in Hardeeville Right Away
Call (803) 219-4906 for a free case review to get started on your claim with Rice Law’s motorcycle accident attorneys.