Motorcycle accidents are incredibly difficult for victims to overcome. Although any type of motor vehicle crash is serious, motorcyclists tend to suffer longer-lasting injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, etc., which make it difficult to return to normal life. Fortunately, injured motorcycle accident victims have critical rights to compensation, but you’ll need to act fast. Call Ponton Law today to speak with a Dunwoody motorcycle accident lawyer in a free, no-obligation consultation. Below, we look at how our firm can protect your rights during your motorcycle accident injury lawsuit.
Protecting Your Right to Sue
If you were injured by someone’s negligent conduct, you can sue for compensation in court. However, Georgia has a statute of limitations which provides the maximum amount of time you get to file the lawsuit. In most personal injury cases, the deadline is two years after the accident. (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.)
The statute of limitations exists to victims to sue while memories are fresh. It’s unfair to expect someone to defend themselves after the passage of too much time. Imagine if 20 years had passed before a motorcycle accident victim sued. At that point, many witnesses would have died and the motorcycle would have turned into scrap. Georgia has settled on two years as a fair amount of time for victims to get organized to sue.
Our Georgia motorcycle accident lawyer from our firm will protect your rights by filing a lawsuit and personal injury claim against the appropriate defendant before the statute of limitations runs out. That protects motorcycle riders’ ability to sue if negotiations falter from the accident scene from serious injuries.
Going past the deadline is a disaster. A defendant can point out the violation to the judge and ask them to dismiss the case. Judges will comply, and you will not be able to re-file your lawsuit.
Vindicating Your Right to Fair Compensation
Under Georgia negligence law, a defendant who fails to use reasonable care must pay compensation for all damages they proximately cause. Consequently, you have a right to demand compensation for:
- Damage to your motorcycle and other property;
- Medical care and other treatment, such as rehabilitation or prescription drugs;
- Lost wages or income if you could not work while injured.
You also have a right to general damages for harder-to-define losses, like bodily pain, anxiety, or loss of enjoyment of life. Without the experience of our Dunwoody motorcycle accident lawyers, you might only receive an offer for a small motorcycle accident settlement.
Demanding Fair Treatment from Insurance Companies
In a motorcycle accident, we typically sue a negligent driver for striking you or running you off the road. Every driver in Georgia should have liability insurance, which covers motorcycle accidents. We can negotiate with the other driver’s liability insurer for fair compensation.
An insurance company should agree to settle when liability is clear. For example, you might have been idling at a stop sign when a drunk driver came up behind you at high speed and ran into you. The liability is clear because you were not doing anything and didn’t contribute to your accident.
We can protect your right to a settlement by reminding the insurance of their obligation to settle a claim when it’s obvious that their insured was liable. We gather all the evidence necessary for this task and use it to prove the full extent of your damages.
Insurers must treat our clients fairly. Once they agree to a settlement, they should pay it promptly, and our personal injury lawyer will hold their feet to the fire when they unnecessarily delay.
Protecting Your Access to Evidence
Motorcycle accident cases rest on the quality and strength of the evidence. We use various types of evidence to establish fault and make sure that you receive full compensation.
For example, we might request:
- Phone records from the driver who hit you. These records could provide solid proof the other driver was on the phone or texting at the time of the crash.
- Breath or urine test results. The driver might have been impaired, and we will seek access to any test results performed by the police.
- Access to inspect the car involved. There might be critical evidence on the vehicle which helps us establish liability.
Sometimes accessing this evidence isn’t difficult. But in other situations, our personal injury attorneys might have to involve a judge to ensure that we get the proof we need to make a strong legal claim for your personal injury lawsuit.
Protecting Your Privacy
Just as our law firm can demand evidence from the defendant, they can demand that you turn over certain pieces of evidence. For example, the other driver will want to see any insurance policy that you have.
Some evidence requests are more controversial. For example, the other side might want to see your entire medical history to check if you have a pre-existing injury. Or they want access to your computer or smartphone or access to social media accounts. These requests are intrusive, and you probably want to keep your information private.
We protect your right to privacy by objecting to overly broad, intrusive, or harassing document requests. We will lodge a complaint with the court if we feel the other side is trying to get evidence they aren’t entitled to.
Providing Ethical Representation
All clients are entitled to be treated honestly. This means your lawyer should:
- Keep your confidences;
- Fully explain how they charge for their legal services;
- Remain in regular contact with clients about the status of their case;
- Avoid self-dealing or taking advantage of a client in any way;
- Leave critical choices about legal strategy or settlement to the client to make.
Our personal injury law firm upholds the highest ethical standards in Georgia. We know our ethical obligations to our clients, and you can be sure that we will always have your best interests at heart.
Our Dunwoody Motorcycle Accident Attorney Fights for You Rights
Call Ponton Law if you were hurt in a motorcycle accident and have any questions about what steps to take. Our firm is well-positioned to negotiate for a settlement or even file a lawsuit in court if necessary. We have won millions for people hurt in all types of motorcycle collisions, whether at intersections or on the open highway. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Dunwoody, Georgia motorcycle accident attorney for your motorcycle accident claim.