Motorcycle accidents are not your typical accidents. Immediately it happens and after brushing off, you’ll want to take time, calm down, and gather your thoughts because this is a situation that will render you into a state of altered emotions. Some major courses of motorcycle accidents include lane-switching without properly indicating, head-on collisions, driving under the influence, lane splitting, and bad weather, just to name a few. With this in mind, it’s important that after a motorcycle accident, you keep a level head. This means knowing what to do and the steps to take.
But more often than not, after an accident, the motorcyclist may experience a rush of emotions and shock. These, if not checked, could cloud their judgment, most probably making them neglect taking the necessary steps. Failing to take the right steps or making certain mistakes could have several repercussions, both on your health and financial well being. It could make life after the accident much harder for you. According to this guide from the Tate Law Offices, how you handle yourself after a road accident will have a huge impact on your ability to deal with the aftermath. It will determine whether you get compensation for the suffered damages or you end up being the one to blame for the collision.
To help you out though, below are six things you need to do after a motorbike accident.
Ensure your safety
While it might come as a priority to check the safety of others after a motorcycle accident, your safety needs to be your top priority. If you are in pain, check to see if you are in a position to move or if your motorcycle accident injuries are serious. This means reaching your phone and calling 911 for immediate medical checkups. This will help to take care of others who may be involved in the accident. If you are not seriously injured and can move freely, it’s imperative to get yourself out of harm’s way. This means moving your bike out of the road to ensure both your safety and that of other road users as you also further assess the situation. However, this doesn’t mean that you leave the scene of the accident.
Seek immediate medical attention
Even if you think your injuries are minor, checking in with a certified doctor can help relieve you of your worries. In addition to this, you could have sustained internal injuries that are not obvious and a medical examination is the only way to confirm this. You don’t want to wake up days later with aches and pains that you cannot explain. Moreover, a trip to your doctor will help to build your case when filing a motorcycle injury claim.
Keep your cool
In most cases, motorcycle riders are blamed for causing accidents. If this happens to you, it’s important that you remain calm and collected. This means ignoring what the other motorists or road users are saying about you. By all means, you must avoid yelling or causing an unnecessary scene at the crash site. Throwing tantrums or pointing fingers at the at-fault motorists amounts to losing your cool at the scene of the accident, which could jeopardize your motorcycle accident claim or even put your life in more danger.
Document the accident
If you can, it’s important that you secure the scene of the accident before the police get there. This means taking pictures, getting witness information, and exchanging information with the other motorists or road users, including their phone numbers, addresses, insurance information, and plate numbers. After an accident, avoid depending on your memory to remember the details of the accident. Documenting the crash with pictures or videos will carry more weight, especially when it comes to dealing with insurance companies or arguing your claim case in court.
Keep a good record of the most important document
It’s very important that after an accident, whether a car accident or a motorcycle accident, you keep a good record of all the important documents. These documents will come in handy when determining the value of compensation you are entitled to after filing a motorcycle accident claim. Among the documents to include in your files should include:
- The police report
- Medical records
- Proof of loss of income from your employer
- Motorcycle damage estimates
- Motorcycle insurance policy
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney
This is a smart move when facing a major insurance company on an accident claim case. It doesn’t matter whether you are the at-fault motorist or it the other party’s fault. Contacting a personal injury attorney after a motorcycle accident will help to increase your chances of fair compensation. It will also serve to protect your rights when dealing with insurance claims adjusters, some of whom will do anything to deny your claims or keep compensation at the minimum. Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis and you should therefore not be worried about the initial costs of hiring one.
Now, whether or not there were injuries involved, the above tips will not only help to ensure your safety, but will also go a long way in steering you in the right path of a successful settlement. Needless to mention, you need not wait until you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident to invest in motorcycle insurance. This needs to be your priority before taking your bike for a spin. Additionally, ensuring that you have the right motorcycle gear will help to cushion you from some potentially fatal injuries.
