The state of California is the most populous city for motorcycle riders in the US because of its desert landscape, plain roads, and good weather conditions. At the same time, it also suffers from the country’s second most severe and fatal motorcycle crashes. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2020, the state lost 539 motorcyclists to fatal motorcycle accidents.
Lemon Grove reported 42 motorcycle accidents involving 21 severe injuries and 21 fatalities in 4 years, per the California Highway Patrol (CHP) data. Lemon Grove 21 street is marked as the most dangerous street for riders due to its history of accidents in the city. Motorcycle accident victims are prone to severe injuries as there is no extra protection between the rider and the forceful impact made upon them or during a forceful collapse. The rider is more likely to be thrown off the motorcycle when it is hit or crashes.
If you are injured in a similar accident, we understand how overwhelming it can be to recover from such harsh injuries while having financial pressure from all the expenses to cover. Our Motorcycle accident lawyers at Lemon Grove are here to help.
Why do I Need a Lawyer for a Motorcycle Accident Claim in Lemon Grove?
From what we have observed in most accident cases at Lemon Grove, insurance companies look at victims as inexperienced and naive. They seek an opportunity to offer a minimum compensation to favor the defendant. They are professionals with strategic rhetorics to make you believe that the offered amount is more than enough for you. Many companies have lawyers on their side to back their statements. It may be extremely difficult to identify their wrongdoings and unfair argument, and oftentimes, victims are gaslighted into admitting their non-existent faults and accepting the offered amount.
That is when a Lemon Grove motorcycle accident lawyer can help you. Having legal representation eliminates the possibility of being misused by the insurance company. We recommend you sign up for a consultation appointment with an experienced lawyer, who will review your case and help you determine the settlement amount. They will analyze the circumstances and help you decide whether you need to hire a lawyer to represent you or you can independently proceed with it under their guidance.
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Why Choose Shamon Law As Your Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers?
An injury can leave you with mounting medical expenses, lost income, and an inability to participate in your life fully. No accident victim should be left to fend for themselves.
Shamon law understands how important these cases are for our clients. Our experience includes going up against the big insurance companies and winning. We use our expertise to develop powerful cases, negotiate the best possible settlements, and win cases at trial.
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With no fees until you win, you won’t owe us a dime unless we win your case.
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Multi millions in recoveries for our clients. Recognized as Top 40 Law Firm by The National Trial Lawyers
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Our company has worked with thousand of happy clients over the years and we are proud to have helped them achieve their goals.
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How Can A Motorcycle Accident Attorney In Lemon Grove Help?
To help you understand how an accident injury attorney can benefit you, here is a list of their roles and responsibilities in a personal injury claim process.
1. Review Your Case
As mentioned, an injury attorney will take your word for the accident and review your case. They will help you categorize it and guide you through all possibilities of what may happen next.
2. Educate You
A lawyer will help you understand your legal rights in the situation and the insurance policies. Even if you are just receiving consultation from them, with their guidance, you will be able to identify the insurance company’s statements better and stand up when you believe they are violating your rights.
3. Do all the Paperwork
One small mistake in the forms or documentation work with the insurance company is another opportunity for them to take advantage of it to hold it against you. A lawyer will do all the paperwork for you to ensure no mistakes are made on your end.
4. Gather Evidence and Investigate
Your motorcycle accident lawyer has the expertise and resources to gather maximum evidence that is solid and can back your injury or the accident. They will investigate and help you determine the amount you deserve as your injury compensation.
5. Negotiate with the Insurance Company
When you hire a personal injury attorney, they will do all the talking with the defendant’s insurance company, from phone calls to meetings. That way, you won’t have to worry about saying anything wrong or anything that can be questioned. There will be no opportunity for the insurance company to take advantage of the situation. They will handle the negotiation and confidently stand up for your compensation.
6. Court Representation
If the settlement meeting fails, your lawyer will help you file a lawsuit and represent you in court. They will undergo all the required procedures before the trial. Your case will be presented before a judge or jury, where your lawyer will place your statement and help you win with a concrete argument.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
In its 2020 Traffic Safety Data: Motorcycles, NHTSA reported that 40% of motorcycle accidents were single-vehicle crashes, while 60% involved multiple vehicles across the US. 2020 experienced a total of 5,579 fatalities from motorcycle accidents, which was 11 times more than the 2019 report.
Some of the most common causes of motorcycle accidents are:
1. Inexperienced Riders
Motorcycles require more skills, control, and practice to balance and ride through difficult road and traffic situations properly. Many riders in Lemon Grove fall into accidents because of their inexperience and inability to take control of a dangerous situation.
2. Drunk and Intoxicated Riding
The Traffic Safety Data also recorded that, in 27% of fatal motorcycle accidents, the riders were found with more than 0.08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). As riding requires balance, drinking alcohol or intoxication by harmful substances before riding is extremely dangerous and a primary cause of accidents.
3. Aggressive Speeding
It is a trend among riders to speed excessively, especially on freeway roads. Aggressively riding at high speed can cause a loss of control or complication when suddenly hitting the brake when needed. It is another major cause of motorcycle accidents.
4. Poor Road or Weather Conditions
As a motorcycle balances on two wheels, one small interruption in the road can cause the tire to slip, causing an accident. The riders may not notice any destruction or presence of external items on the road. Riding is also difficult when the weather is stormy or rainy, as it may cause the rider to lose their balance and slip.
5. Fatigue and Tiredness
Our mind isn’t fully active and alert to handle dangerous situations when it is tired, dizzy, or lacks rest. For an action that requires a hundred percent of one’s attention, like riding or driving, tiredness can cause severe accidents.
6. Unnoticed on the Road
In many cases, drivers of four-wheeler automobile vehicles are more concerned with looking after vehicles similar or bigger in size than them and not noticing the motorcycles. Accidents happen when motorcycles pass or overtake larger vehicles, especially on left turns or turning roads.
Common Injuries due to Motorcycle Accidents
Based on majority of the reports, motorcycle accident injuries are more on the severe end. Some of the most common injuries in Lemon Grove are:
- Head and brain injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)
- Internal Bleeding
- Bone or rib fractures
- Amputation of limbs
- Spinal cord injuries
- Muscle Injuries
- Lacerations
- Organ damage
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What to do after you get into a Motorcycle Accident in Lemon Grove?
Before thinking of anything else, getting help for your injuries or someone else’s should be your primary focus. If you are suffering through pain and can visibly see your injuries, ask someone to call the paramedics. If you are a witness, or an uninjured or mildly injured party, help the injured one and call for help. If you can, help them get out of the accident scene, as there may still be more threats like a fire or explosions. When all parties are under the care of paramedics or are in safe surroundings, and if you are physically able to, there are certain things you must do.
Document the Accident
When it is safe, take pictures of the accident and the damage to your vehicles. If there was a road condition problem, take a picture of that too. These photo or video documentation will help later when gathering evidence. At this point, if it is possible, you may also exchange contact and insurance information with the opposing party. Gather the contact information of the witnesses present at the scene of the accidents as well. You may need to reach out to them later for their testimony.
Seek Medical Attention
If you don’t need emergency care but are hurt or injured, have someone drive you to the hospital immediately. In most cases, as the adrenaline in your body is high during an accident, the pain only eventually kicks in. No matter the severity of the injury, it is important to get checked. If you do not feel any pain or injuries at all, still visit your doctor for a check-up to identify any invisible wounds or possible future injuries on time. Your medical report and doctor’s note are also important evidence when your lawyer investigates the case.
Report the Accident to Authorities
It may have already been officially reported if 911 had been called at the accident scene. If you are physically able to make the call at the scene, whether as an involved party or a witness, do it immediately. If you were severely injured and taken to emergency treatment, we suggest calling them after your injuries are cared for to ensure that the report has been made.
The CVC § 20008 states that every motorcycle accident must be reported to the police or the California Highway Patrol (CHP) within 24 hours. Similarly, the CVC § 16000 states that if the accident causes a loss of more than $1000, it must be reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) within 5 days of the accident.
Talk to a Lemon Grove Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
After your treatment has been started or done and the accident has been reported, at one point or the other, you have to contact the insurance company to file a personal injury claim to cover all your financial losses after the accident. We recommend consulting with a lawyer before that.
The primary reason to reach out to your lawyer is to understand what you are dealing with. Going with the flow of everything the defendant’s insurance company asks you to do will be a mistake. You will have to take a stand to question their offerings and suggestions, and for that, you need to know your legal rights and insurance policies. When you are severely injured or are facing a large financial loss for the treatment of the injury, hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer is a must.
With a lawyer, your case will be moving forward to gather all the necessary evidence, investigate them, and put them forward to the insurance company for negotiation to make a fair settlement. If the settlement is not agreed upon, you may file a lawsuit against the insurance company.
Compensation for your Motorcycle Accident Claim in Lemon Grove
Your compensations are divided into three types based on the category of losses.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensations are for direct expenses that resulted from the accident, and you initially had to cover them out of your personal expenses or insurance. Medical bills, medication costs, therapy, lost wages from your lost days at work, cost of repair of property damage, etc., are counted as such damages.
Non-Economic Damages
In a motorcycle accident, you may have suffered from immense pain, the injuries may have temporarily or permanently degraded your quality of life, or you may have had to give up things you enjoyed doing. These losses are called non-economic damages and are not replaceable by a certain price as they may not restore the loss. Instead, non-economic damage compensation intends to add a form of ease to the victim’s life by balancing it out with a certain amount of money. It is calculated by multiplying the amount of economic damage compensation by a number between 1.5 to 5, depending on the level of damage.
Punitive Damages
Some Lemon Grove motorcycle accidents may be caused by the negligence or intentional tort of the rider or the occupant of the other vehicle. If the defendant had a choice to make a decision that could prevent the accident, but they still chose to disregard others’ safety in their action, they are charged with punitive damage compensation by the court.
Contact a Top-Rated Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
It can be physically and emotionally straining to go through all the procedures of filing a personal injury claim and negotiating with clever insurance companies on your own. No matter the scenario, no one deserves to suffer out of someone else’s fault. Additionally, motorcycle accidents often deal with severe consequences that may be out of hand.
Consult a top-rated motorcycle accident lawyer today to discuss how you can proceed with your case. Shamon Law has a team of expert lawyers working with motorcycle accident victims in Lemon Grove to help them win fair compensation. We have worked with experts and resources from different fields to help you gather solid evidence, and our lawyers are expert negotiators. You will be reassured to win maximum benefits after a devastating accident once your case becomes ours.
Final Thoughts
The state of California allows anyone to independently proceed with and represent themselves while filing a personal injury claim and when filing a lawsuit. But that may be a mistake on your end. You must reach out to a Motorcycle accident lawyer and keep them in the loop while you undergo all the procedures, or hire one to represent you throughout. Dealing with the consequences of another individual’s fault is never easy, but having someone you can rely upon and trust to win a fair and satisfying settlement helps. Contact us today to book a free consultation about your motorcycle accident situation.
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FAQs about Lemon Grove Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
The statute of limitation in California states that the deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is 2 years, and property damage is 3 years from the date of the motorcycle accident. While if the injury was discovered later, the deadline is 1 year from the discovery date.
It may take approximately six months to file a claim, investigate and negotiate with the insurance company. After the settlement, you will receive the amount within 2 to 4 weeks of signing the release. If the case goes to court, it may take six months to 2 years for the trial to happen, further elongating the case.
You can consult with a lawyer for free, and they will review your accident case to analyze and determine whether you need to hire a lawyer or not. If there are multiple parties involved, complicated division of fault among the parties, severe injuries, or weak evidence in your case, hiring a lawyer may be best.
Most personal injury lawyers in Lemon Grove follow a ‘Contingency fees’ basis, where they do not charge you any amount but are liable to 33% or one-third of the insurance money itself. You will not have to pay them out of your pocket at any point in the case.
If you lost your loved one in a motorcycle accident that was the other party’s fault or negligence or an intentional tort of the other party, you can file a wrongful death claim against them.
Yes, you can file a personal injury claim if you don’t have insurance, but you will only be eligible for economic damage compensation. If you had a share in the fault of the accident, you will also have to pay a certain amount of compensation to the other party. If you do not have insurance, you may have to do it out of pocket, which can be a financial burden. However, every driver must have insurance, as driving without one is considered a traffic offense.
To prove your motorcycle accident claim, you will need
- A medical report and a doctor’s not defining and describing your injury and pains
- Police or CHP report, or DMV report
- Photo/Video documentation of the accident scene
- CCTV footage of the street
- Witness testimony
- Picture or report of road damage, if any
- Documented proof of the defendant is negligent.
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