If you were injured in a motorcycle accident caused by the negligence of one or more drivers, you have the right to file a claim. It would be unjust for you to bear the cost of your injuries when someone else caused them. The purpose of filing a claim is to hold the responsible drivers and their insurance company accountable for their actions and to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
If you have other questions or concerns about what to do after an accident, you should seek legal counsel. It’s highly recommended to speak with a motorcycle accident attorney instead of just a general lawyer. You want to speak with a law firm with experience and past success handling motorcycle claims because they know how to fight for you.
Negligence
In order to receive compensation for your injuries from a motorcycle accident, your legal team must demonstrate that another driver was negligent in the accident. Negligence is made up of four elements:
- Duty – Every driver has a duty to drive in a reasonably safe manner to protect other drivers and motorcyclists.
- Breach – A driver breaches their duty of care when they fail to exercise reasonable care while driving. Evidence such as an accident report, eyewitness testimony, and your own account of the accident can be used to prove a breach. For example, if a driver turns left without properly checking for oncoming traffic and causes an accident with a motorcycle, they have breached their duty of care.
- Damage – To pursue legal compensation, you must have suffered some sort of damage. This includes injuries and associated costs.
- Causation – The breach of duty must directly cause the damage. Causation involves showing that the negligent act was both a cause-in-fact and a proximate cause of the injury. Cause-in-fact means the negligent act was a part of the sequence of events leading to the injury. Proximate cause means that the injury was a foreseeable result of the negligent act. In most cases, causation is clear. For example, a driver turning in front of a motorcycle and causing the rider to swerve would be the proximate cause of any injuries suffered in the resulting crash.
Contributory Negligence
In Florida, you can recover compensation even if you are partially to blame for the accident. Under a doctrine called “contributory negligence,” your damages will be reduced by your share of the fault. But Florida law does not bar you from recovering compensation simply because you contributed to an accident.
For example, if you bear 10% of the fault for an accident, you can still recover 90% of your damages.
What Happens If The Other Driver is Uninsured?
The necessity of Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage depends on the specifics of your insurance policy. Although it’s not required by Florida law, it’s highly recommended that you add this coverage to your policy if you don’t already have it.
UM coverage helps you make a claim against your own policy if you’re hit by an uninsured driver or someone who has the minimum insurance required by law. This coverage can pay for your medical bills, disability, pain and suffering, and other expenses.
If you don’t have UM coverage and an uninsured driver hits you, it’s challenging for you or an attorney to obtain financial recovery, and you may be responsible for paying your medical bills out of pocket.
UM coverage is incredibly important to consider, as we receive calls regularly from people who were hit by uninsured or underinsured drivers without UM coverage and unable to cover the expenses for treatment and lost wages. Therefore, it’s essential to protect yourself from the worst drivers in the country and ensure that you’re well covered.
