Injuries suffered in motorcycle accidents often lead to significant life-changing personal injuries. Motorcycle accidents should not be taken lightly. A motorcycle accident lawyer in Orange City from Bogin, Munns & Munns in Orange City can stand by your side and offer you powerful legal representation after an accident involving a motorcycle.
Our Orange City personal injury lawyers can handle your case while you focus on getting better. Let us help you hold the negligent party responsible for your current and future losses. Call us today for a free case evaluation. During the evaluation, we can explain how we can help and answer any questions you may have.
Pursuing Compensation and Recoverable Damages After a Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycles do not have the same protective measures found in other vehicles. People driving cars and trucks have airbags, seatbelts, a metal protective barrier surrounding them, and many other safety features to protect them in the event of an accident. Bikers have to rely on their helmet, clothing, and protective boots to minimize damage in an accident. As a result, motorcycle accidents have a much higher likelihood of severe personal injury and even death.
Motorcycle accidents are quite common in the state of Florida. According to 2023 research data from Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), there were 485 motorcycle crashes in Volusia County alone. Among these motorcycle accidents, 29 of them were fatal.
You Deserve Compensation for Your Medical Care
When a motorcycle accident occurs, even if the biker survives, they may face permanent limitations to their mobility. Being thrown from a bike can result in disfigurement and paralysis. Road rash can cause permanent skin damage. Collisions also put bikers at risk of severe burns, brain trauma, spinal cord injury, and disabilities that could require years of physical therapy and rehabilitation.
If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, a Bogin, Munns & Munns motorcycle accident lawyer will fight for your right to fair compensation while you get needed medical treatment. Possible forms of compensation will be the coverage of your medical bills, including emergency transportation services, corrective surgery, physical therapy, and other forms of medical intervention.
Your Losses Are More Than Medical Bills
After an accident, most people stress about the financial burden they now face. Medical care can be incredibly costly as the nature and severity of your injuries will affect the expenses you incur. With physical injuries, you will need to rest to recover and that means missing work, and another stress. But, you should not be responsible for these losses.
If you were injured due to the negligent actions of another, you have a right to pursue compensation from the at-fault party to cover these losses. In fact, you may also be eligible to receive compensation for more than just basic medical care and lost time from work. You may be eligible to claim:
- Medical expenses: This loss includes costs for emergency services, hospitalization, surgery, medication, and any ongoing medical treatments or rehabilitation.
- Lost income: In addition to the income lost due to time taken off work to recover from injuries, you could also claim the loss of earning capacity if your ability to earn a living is permanently impaired.
- Property damage: You can claim compensation for the repair or replacement of the motorcycle and any other personal property damaged in the accident.
- Pain and suffering: This damage covers physical pain and emotional distress suffered due to the accident and subsequent injuries. This can include anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Disability or disfigurement: If the accident results in permanent physical disability or disfigurement, you may claim compensation for this loss.
- Loss of consortium: Your spouse or family members may claim this damage for the loss of companionship and support.
Our motorcycle accident lawyer in Orange City can review the evidence and facts in your case and assess the full extent of your losses. With that knowledge, we can then effectively negotiate for a fair settlement in your motorcycle accident.
You Don’t Have Long to File Your Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit
In Florida, the statute of limitations sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit, per Florida Statutes § 95.11. For personal injury cases, such as those involving motorcycle accidents, the statute of limitations is generally two years from the date of the accident. This statute means victims have up to two years to initiate legal proceedings for damages. It’s crucial to be aware of this timeframe, as failing to file within this period typically results in losing the right to sue.
Insurance companies are aware of this deadline, and if the deadline in your case expires, they may not be as willing to work with us to reach a fair settlement in your case.
To retain this leverage during negotiations, we advise injured parties to contact us as soon as possible to preserve their rights. In addition to retaining your right to sue, early contact would allow us to collect and preserve evidence before it is lost or destroyed.
Determining Liability in a Motorcycle Accident
As with all accidents, the subject of liability warrants close inspection in a motorcycle accident. To determine who was at fault in a motorcycle accident, legal teams and insurance companies will examine several factors. During their investigations, they may gather evidence that includes:
- Photographs from the scene of the incident
- Video footage from nearby surveillance cameras (such as those mounted on some traffic signals at nearby intersections)
- Eyewitness reports to corroborate your statements
- Police reports for an unbiased, third-party perspective and assessment of fault
- Road conditions at the time of the accident, such as debris or disrepair
- Weather conditions that could affect handling
- Cell phone records of the other driver
The investigative process that commences after a motorcycle accident can take considerable time. When you contact a lawyer immediately after an accident, you give them more time to begin gathering and preserving crucial evidence and compiling a case on your behalf.
Proving Negligence in Your Orange City Motorcycle Accident
Once we have gathered evidence, we begin the process of analyzing our findings to establish who caused the accident, how the accident occurred, and the losses you experienced from it. This process is often depicted in four parts. These four parts form a link, building on one another. The four parts of a motorcycle accident claim would be:
- Duty of care: As a motorist, you and the other driver have a responsibility to obey the traffic laws and operate your vehicle by accepted standards, ensuring the safety of all.
- Breach of duty: At some point, either through action or inaction, the other deviated in their responsibility and created an unsafe condition on the road.
- Causation: Due to this breach, there was an accident in which you were injured.
- Damages: The accident has left you with physical injuries, financial hardships, and emotional scars. These losses are legally referred to as damages, and you have a right to receive compensation from the negligent party.
Our lawyers will use the evidence in your case to demonstrate each element of negligence in your motorcycle accident claim.
You Pay Nothing Unless We Win
We understand the hardships you are facing. To help you and your family, we will work on a contingency fee agreement. Under this agreement, you pay nothing up front. We cover the costs in the case and only receive payment when we win a settlement or court award.
If you have suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident in Orange City, you do not have to go through this on your own. Call Bogin, Munns & Munns today for a free case consultation. Our accident attorneys can help you get the recovery you and your family deserve.
To consult with an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer serving Orange City, call 855-780-9986
Prioritize Your Health After a Motorcycle Accident
We can tackle the legal legwork for you while you focus on your recovery. Seeing a doctor and following through with your treatment plan can help you make your maximum medical recovery and provide evidence for your case for compensation.
Following through with your doctor’s appointments and treatment plan is very important. It’s important for your health, but it also carries some legal ramifications. If you miss appointments and skip treatments, the insurance companies could argue that you were not as injured as you claimed, and they could either devalue or deny your claim. So, for your health and your insurance claim, follow your doctor’s orders to completion.
Our Orange City motorcycle accident attorneys can use your medical records to illustrate your accident-related losses. This can help us get an idea of your future medical expenses, as well. The last thing we want is for you to foot the bill for someone else’s negligence down the road.
Orange City Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Near Me 855-780-9986
Common Risk Factors in Motorcycle Accidents
Operating a motor vehicle of any kind comes with some level of risk. The risk of death or injury in a motorcycle accident is many times greater than it is for automobiles. Motorcycles are also more prone to accidents caused by road and weather conditions. A hazard as seemingly small as a minor pothole or grass clippings can lead to devastating injuries. Once a biker has crashed, they also have to worry about being struck by another vehicle. For these reasons, bikers must exercise extreme care when navigating roads in poor weather or roads that are poorly maintained.
Weather Conditions Affecting Rider Safety
Inclement weather conditions present some harrowing risk factors for bikers. Those who operate cars and other motor vehicles benefit from windshield wipers and much more tire traction. However, motorcycle riders are far more vulnerable to the effects of inclement weather. Downpours of rain, hail, and sleet that produce slick roads may lead to spinouts and devastating collisions. Inclement weather conditions, even when mild, can also adversely affect all motorists’ ability to see and be seen, increasing the chances of a life-changing accident.
Other Drivers Need to Check for Motorcyclists
There are many environmental driving conditions that motorcyclists must navigate. They must be mindful, especially of the risks presented by other drivers. When drivers fail to watch for bikers during turns, lane changes, and other maneuvers, they put motorcycle riders at risk of severe injury or even death. As Florida Statute §316.151 states, drivers must make right turns as close as possible to the curb or the edge of the roadway.
When drivers fail to account for a motorcycle rider traveling behind them or beside them, they may perform a turn that ends in a collision. Incorrect driving behaviors such as making wide, improper right turns may only seem like a small error, but the potential consequences are magnified when a biker is involved.
These negligent behaviors represent some of the most common risk factors for motorcycle accidents. Because motorcycles are smaller and less robust than cars and trucks, the consequences of a collision tend to be much more severe. An Orange City motorcycle accident lawyer from Bogin, Munns & Munns can protect your legal interests and pursue many forms of compensation that you may be eligible for after a motorcycle accident.
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Accident Victims Can Share Fault for the Accident
Florida’s modified comparative negligence doctrine can impact your motorcycle accident case. Under this rule, an injured party can still recover damages even if partially at fault, but their compensation is reduced by their percentage of fault. However, if the victim is found to be over 50 percent at fault for their accident, they may not be able to receive anything.
The other party may try to blame you for the accident, saying you were partially or totally responsible for the incident. Our lawyers will work hard to make sure your right to financial compensation is not at risk, as we’ve dealt with these tactics before. We’ll work hard to make sure the liable parties are held responsible for your losses.
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Work With a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer at Bogin, Munns & Munns Today
If you were involved in a motorcycle accident, contact Bogin, Munns & Munns. An Orange City motorcycle accident lawyer from our team will protect your rights and interests while also pursuing many forms of compensation that you may be owed.
To speak with someone in our office, pick up the phone and call us today.
Call or text 855-780-9986 or submit our Consultation Request form today
