Valdosta, GA Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

No one plans to get injured when they take the road on their motorcycle. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common occurrence in Valdosta.

If you have been injured by another person’s negligence while riding your motorcycle, our team will be ready to help you recover compensation in a lawsuit. The scene of a motorcycle accident is often chaotic. Your bike might be in pieces scattered across the road. Before meeting our attorneys, you can collect evidence by using your phone to get pictures. After that, be sure to get the medical care you will need to prove your claim. Once our lawyers review your case and any evidence in your possession, we can obtain additional evidence against the defendants and file your complaint before the statute of limitations passes in your case.

Contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (470) 287-3070 to get your free case assessment with our motorcycle accident lawyers.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Valdosta, GA

Your motorcycle accident claim essentially begins the moment another driver hits you. As such, you will want to be prepared and know what to do when another person negligently injures you. By taking the right steps, you will start building your case immediately.

After you have received medical care, our motorcycle accident lawyers can use the evidence you have gathered and get the rest you need to file your lawsuit. Considering that many motorcycle accidents are serious, these cases are often more complex than your average injury lawsuit. However, you still only have a limited time to file. The following steps will help you start building your case at the scene and get your lawsuit filed quickly:

Get to Safety

The first thing to do after a motorcycle accident is to get yourself to safety if your injuries allow. In some cases, it might be safer to stay where you are until emergency medical services arrive. If you cannot move your bike, do not worry. It is often better to leave the motorcycle where it is so the police can record its resting position and location in their report. Once you are safe, you should call 911 so the police can investigate the crash and make that report.

Call 911

Most car accidents in Valdosta need to be reported to the police. Even if you would rather avoid it, you will want the police to investigate your crash. For starters, most insurance companies require a police report before they will process an accident claim.

Most importantly, though, the police accident report will include vital details about the crash, like where it occurred, the time of day, and the weather. It will also have the other driver’s information, making it easy for our attorneys to identify the defendant and where to serve them your lawsuit. If the police spoke to witnesses after your crash, their contact information should also be included.

Most police reports will include a section with the investigating officer’s observations and opinions. If the officer noticed skid marks on the road or alcohol on the other driver’s breath, those details would be important to proving liability. The officer might ultimately conclude that the accident was the other driver’s. While these opinions and observations cannot usually be admitted as evidence in a trial since they are considered hearsay, they can make all the difference during settlement negotiations with the insurance company, where hearsay is not really an issue.

If you are unsure which law enforcement agency made your report or how to get it, you can obtain a copy of your report from the Georgia Department of Transportation’s website, regardless of which police department in Valdosta investigated your crash.

Gather Information at the Scene

If your injuries are such that they do not prevent you from gathering information at the scene, you should do so. The easiest way to do this is to take pictures of the scene with your phone. Photos can be used as evidence in your insurance claim or in a trial, so take as many as you think helpful.

Start by photographing the location of the accident. If you notice stoplights, traffic signs, on-ramps, and exit ramps, or if the intersection is odd, be sure to photograph it. You should then photograph the vehicles involved. Take many pictures of your motorcycle, making sure to capture the damage done to it and any debris nearby. Also, take photos of the other driver’s car and the damage it has. Where the damage is on each vehicle can tell our team how the accident might have occurred and its severity.

Our attorneys also recommend taking pictures of your injuries if you can. If you are too injured to photograph your injuries, you can ask the police, witnesses, or someone at the hospital for help. The reason for photographing your injuries is that it will preserve their severity for your claim. Motorcycle accident lawsuits are complex, so it could be months or even years before your case goes to trial. Before that, the insurance company might downplay the severity of your injuries during negotiations if you do not appear to be as injured as you claimed when the accident occurred.

Get Medical Care

One of the most critical steps you should not avoid is getting medical attention immediately after your accident. Depending on how serious your accident was, you might have already begun treatment on the scene with emergency medical services. If not, you should go directly to the emergency room, even if you do not believe your injuries are serious. It is not uncommon for doctors to discover medical issues that go unnoticed but could cause serious damage later.

The other reason for getting medical care is that you will need these records to prove many of the factors in your case. Your medical records will typically be the bulk of the compensation you are claiming in a case, so you need a way to substantiate the amount of damages you are demanding. They will also help link the accident that brought you into the hospital with your current losses.

Once you have a treatment plan for your injuries, you must also follow it without deviating. If you miss even one appointment, the defendant can use it to lower your compensation.

Get in Touch with Our Firm

After getting medical treatment, you should reach out to our firm as soon as possible. If your injuries prevent you from visiting our offices, we can still review your claim with you over the phone. By answering some basic questions about your case and where you were treated, we can start drafting your complaint and gathering the medical records we need to file your lawsuit.