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If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident in Florida, you should have two priorities. Your first priority should be to see a doctor for treatment. Your second priority should be to speak with a Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney about your legal rights.

Treatment for injuries from a serious motorcycle accident can be expensive—far more than most people can afford to pay. Accident-related injuries can lead to various other financial and non-financial costs as well.  You will need to work closely with an experienced attorney to make sure you are seeking the full compensation you deserve, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

This Guide to Filing a Claim After a Motorcycle Accident in Florida provides an introduction to what you need to know about protecting your legal rights. If you’ve been injured in an accident, we encourage you to read it carefully and then contact us for a free consultation with Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney Randall L. Spivey. Hiring an experienced attorney is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself, and it costs nothing out of pocket.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Florida

We’ll begin by covering what to do after a motorcycle accident in Florida. While every rider’s situation is unique—and while it is critical that you seek personalized legal advice, there are some basic steps that all riders should try to take as soon as possible:

1. See a Doctor

As we mentioned above, your first priority should be to see a doctor. If you are dealing with pain or any other symptoms and you have not yet seen a doctor, you should do so right away. Not only will this be important for preventing any unnecessary medical complications, but it will also be important for protecting your ability to seek full compensation for your injury-related costs.

2. Take Notes

You should take detailed notes about your motorcycle accident. Which direction were you traveling? Which direction was the driver traveling who hit you or forced you into an evasive maneuver? Did the driver run a red light or stop sign? Did the driver appear to be speeding, impaired, or distracted? The driver’s name and insurance information. What else can you remember about the accident? The more details you can record, the better.

3. Keep Everything

At this point, you should keep everything. Keep your damaged helmet and riding gear. Keep any photos or videos you took with your phone. If you have video of the accident from a camera mounted on your helmet or bike, keep this as well. Keep your copy of the police report and the driver’s insurance information, and keep anything else that you think might be relevant to your claim.

4. Focus on Your Recovery

While you may be anxious to get back to riding or get back to work so you can pay your bills, right now, you are encouraged to focus on your recovery. Every decision you make should take your injuries and your medical needs into account. If your doctor tells you to rest, you should rest. If your doctor says you need physical or occupational therapy, you should schedule your first session as soon as possible.

5. Talk to an Attorney

 Injured riders should not try to handle their motorcycle accident claims on their own. From proving fault in the accident to proving how much you are entitled to recover for your medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other losses, there are many important reasons to put an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney on your side.

What Not to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Florida

So, those are some of the most important things you can do to protect your legal rights after a motorcycle accident in Florida. Now, what do you need to avoid doing? Here are five costly mistakes you need to be careful to avoid:

1. Getting Your Motorcycle Repaired (or Working on It Yourself) Too Soon

You should not get your motorcycle repaired (or start working on it yourself) until your attorney has documented the damage and says it is okay to get started. The damage to your motorcycle will likely be key evidence in your claim for just compensation.

2. Posting About Your Motorcycle Accident on Social Media

Even if you have no question that the driver who hit you was 100% at fault, you should avoid posting about your motorcycle accident on social media. Do not post anything about the accident or your injuries, and if you have footage of the accident, do not upload it to YouTube.

3. Saying the Wrong Thing to an Insurance Adjuster

The reason not to post anything on social media is that the insurance companies will be looking for anything they can use against you. With this in mind, you also need to be very careful to avoid saying the wrong thing to an insurance adjuster. To protect yourself, it is best to have an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney deal with the insurance companies on your behalf.

4. Ignoring Your Doctor’s Advice

As you start moving on from your motorcycle accident, you need to make sure you keep following your doctor’s advice. If you ignore your doctor’s advice, not only could this have adverse consequences for your health, but it could also have adverse consequences for your legal rights.

5. Waiting Too Long to Seek the Financial Compensation You Deserve

If you have a claim after a motorcycle accident in Florida, you do not want to wait any longer than necessary to seek the financial compensation you deserve. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will become to assert your legal rights. Again, the first step is to speak with an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible.

Claims You May Be Able to File

When you hire an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney to represent you, your attorney will evaluate all potential claims based on the circumstances involved in your crash. Depending on the circumstances, your attorney may be able to seek just compensation from:

• The At-Fault Driver’s Auto Insurance Company – If the driver who hit you has liability insurance, then you may be entitled to financial compensation from his or her insurer. Filing a liability insurance claim requires proof of the cause of the crash.
• The Vehicle Owner’s Insurance Company – You may be entitled to compensation from the insurance company for the vehicle owner because they are required to cover the driver’s negligence.
• The At-Fault Driver’s Employer, Rideshare Company, or Delivery Company – If the driver who hit you was working at the time of the accident, his or her employer, rideshare company, or delivery company could be liable. In this scenario, seeking just compensation will typically involve filing a claim with the company’s insurer.
• Your Motorcycle Insurance Company – If you have motorcycle insurance, now may be the time to use it. In particular, if you have a motorcycle insurance policy with uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, your attorney may be able to file a claim under this portion of your policy if seeking full compensation from the at-fault driver is not an option.
• A Government Agency or Contractor – If your motorcycle accident involved an issue with the road, then the government agency or contractor that is responsible for the road could be liable. Potholes, sinkholes, inadequate lane markings or signage, low shoulders, and dangerous construction zones are all issues (among others) that can justify claims for liability.
• A Manufacturer, Bar, or Another Liable Party – If your accident involved a motorcycle defect, vehicle defect, or safety equipment defect, the manufacturer could be liable under Florida’s product liability laws. If the driver who hit you was drunk, Florida’s dram shop law could apply. There are a variety of other possibilities as well, and an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney will be able to help you seek proper compensation by all means available.

What to Expect When You File an Insurance Claim

Regardless of the specific type of claim (or claims) you need to file in order to recover your losses, seeking just compensation will most likely involve dealing with the insurance companies. With this in mind, here are some words of caution about what to expect when you file an insurance claim for your motorcycle accident:

• The Insurance Companies Will Put Their Interests First – The insurance companies are going to put their interests first throughout the process. This means that everything they do will be calculated to try to make sure they pay you as little as possible. As a result, you need to be very careful about relying on any “advice” you receive from an insurance adjuster.
• The Insurance Companies Will Try to Blame You for the Accident – One way the insurance companies try to avoid liability for motorcycle accidents is by blaming riders for their own injuries. No matter what happened, you should not let the insurance companies tell you that you are fully or partially responsible for your injuries from the crash.
• The Insurance Companies Will Not Calculate Your Losses for You – It is a common misconception that accident victims can rely on the insurance companies to accurately calculate the value of their claims. This is not the case. To seek full compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and other losses, you need to be able to prove how much you are entitled to recover.
• If the Insurance Companies Can Deny Coverage for Any Reason, They Will – Throughout your motorcycle accident claim, the insurance companies will be looking for any excuse to deny coverage. This makes it imperative that you avoid the mistakes listed above (among others).
• If You Don’t Hire an Attorney, the Insurance Companies Will Use This to Their Advantage – If you don’t hire an attorney to represent you, the insurance companies will know that you don’t have a clear understanding of the long-term costs of your injuries, and they will know that you aren’t prepared to go to court. They will use both of these facts to their advantage.

Will You Have to Go to Court?

We just mentioned being prepared to go to court. If you have a claim after a motorcycle accident in Florida, will you need to go to court to protect your legal rights?

While this is a possibility, most successful motorcycle accident claims settle without going to trial. When you hire Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney Randall L. Spivey to represent you, he will prioritize seeking a favorable out-of-court settlement. But being prepared to go to court shows that you are serious about protecting your legal rights—and this can play an important role in settlement negotiations. Additionally, while most successful claims are settled, going to court is necessary in a small percentage of cases.

When Should You Accept a Settlement Check from the Insurance Companies?

This brings us to the final topic we will cover in this Guide to Filing a Claim After a Motorcycle Accident in Florida: When should you accept a settlement check from the insurance companies?

Simply put, you should not accept a settlement check until you know how much you are entitled to recover. If you have not calculated just compensation for your financial and non-financial costs, you will have no way of knowing whether a settlement offer is fair. Since you only get one chance to settle, it is imperative that you maximize the value of your recovery, and this means being extremely careful to ensure that you do not settle your claim too soon.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Fort Myers Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today

Were you seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Florida? If you need to seek just compensation for injuries you sustained in a crash, we strongly encourage you to contact us for more information. Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. handles all claims on a contingency fee basis, which means our clients pay nothing unless we win. To speak with Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney Randall L. Spivey about your claim in confidence, please call 239-337-7483 or toll-free 888-477-4839 or contact us to request a free consultation online at SpiveyLaw.com today.