Motorcycle accidents are scary. They happen all the time, and when they do occur, they leave a lasting impact on the riders, their loved ones, motorists involved in the accident, and even bystanders. Living through one of these incidents is difficult enough. Motorcycle accidents often result in serious injuries or death, devastating the victim’s family members, friends, and loved ones. They might have to pay for medical bills or even funeral costs if someone dies. In addition, they may be unable to work and have incurred lost wages because they are incapacitated due to injuries suffered during the accident.
Being a witness to a motorcycle accident is traumatic. Witnessing the tragic aftermath of such an accident is also excruciating. However, you must offer your testimony should the accident generate an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Let’s see why motorcycle accident witnesses are fundamental to a case.
5 Reasons Why Witnesses Are Vital in a Motorcycle Accident
If you witness a motorcycle accident or you are a witness to a victim’s life after the accident, you can accomplish a lot of things.
Help the Victim Receive Proper Medical Care
At the scene of a motorcycle accident, many confusing things happen very fast. But, even if paramedics and first responders can immediately decide on the victim’s treatment, witnesses can provide helpful information. For instance, if the motorcyclist seems to have lost control of their bike seconds before the crash, doctors can tailor the emergency care to focus on a possible stroke or heart attack. Quick diagnoses can save someone’s life, and witnesses can provide details they noticed before or during the accident.
Allow Victims to See Justice Served
Motorcycle accidents are sometimes caused by reckless drivers or motorists who don’t follow traffic laws. When a motorcycle accident is due to negligence, one’s word against the other is insufficient. Witnesses can testify to what happened during the incident and keep reckless or drunk drivers accountable for their actions. In such situations, witnesses come to strengthen the facts mentioned in the police report and the victim’s medical records. In addition, witnesses can provide objective and subjective details regarding the motorcycle accident to help hold the liable parties responsible. The power of testimony can put someone in jail and convince a judge or a jury to award significant damages to the victim or their family.
Keep Insurance Companies from Exploiting and Low-balling Victims
Insurance companies are often out to make as much money as possible. According to a Phoenix motorcycle accident lawyer, insurers try hard to find excuses to pay less than the victim deserves or even blame the accident on the plaintiff to save money. Witnesses can offer evidence serving as an unbiased account of what happened during the motorcycle accident, cornering the insurance company into paying fair, just compensation for victims. Insurance companies usually deny claims by using a loophole known as ‘attribution.’ The loophole enables them to totally or partially blame some accidents on the victims. In a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death, witnesses are instrumental in the case.
Obtain Victims and Their Families the Compensation They Deserve
Hearing about the injuries and disabilities victims suffer after an accident can be extremely difficult. The most important thing that close ones can do is keep their hopes up and offer moral support to the motorcycle accident victim and their family members. Immediate family, friends, or coworkers can act as witnesses to describe and report on the victim’s injuries, changes in health, medical treatments, pain and suffering, incapacity to work and earn an income, etc. Such testimonies are essential in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits when families initiate civil actions against the liable party to obtain compensatory damages.
Comfort the Victim’s Family
For families who have lost loved ones in motorcycle accidents, it can be tough to endure the trauma of such an event. They may be horrified, confused, or upset. Witnesses can aid in providing a sense of closure for victims and their families by describing what occurred during the incident and helping family members to understand that they were unable to help their loved ones. It is always best to know exactly how a loved one lost their life, and many families prefer hearing the hard truths from other people who were there, saw what happened, or lived through that traumatic experience themselves.
Conclusion
Witnessing a motorcycle accident can be traumatic. But sometimes, a victim’s family and friends may be unable to help them recover from their injuries if they do not know what occurred during the motorcycle accident. Also, by providing details for the victims’ attorneys, witnesses can help them, and their families receive fair compensation for injuries and damages sustained during the incident.
