Arizona offers great year-round motorcycle riding opportunities. However, motorcycle riding is not without significant risk. The Arizona Department of Transportation recently released its annual Motor Vehicle Crash Facts. Almost 2,600 motorcycle crashes occurred in 2021, resulting in 160 fatalities and 2,206 injuries.
When you or a loved one suffers injuries in a motorcycle accident, you need an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer who can advocate for your rights and seek damages for your injuries. Call our offices at 623-887-5689 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation today.
If you are involved in an Arizona motorcycle accident, here are five steps that you should take as soon as possible after the accident occurs:
Call 911 and get all the emergency medical care necessary to treat your injuries and follow any treatment recommendations.
In many cases, injuries in motorcycle accidents are catastrophic or serious enough that you must depend on other motorists or bystanders to call 911. Regardless of the circumstances, your priority after an Arizona motorcycle accident should always be to get all the emergency medical care necessary to treat your injuries. Once you have received medical treatment and your injuries are stabilized, you should follow up with your primary care physician or other medical specialists as your emergency care team recommends. You must keep all appointments and follow the recommendations of your medical providers to maximize your chances of a full recovery. Furthermore, following your treatment plan is important to show that you have done nothing to worsen your condition, which can be an issue in personal injury claims.
Report the accident to the police and your insurance company.
Texas law requires you to report the accident to the police within ten days of the date that the accident occurred. As a practical matter, the report already may have occurred at the time of your accident. However, if you are unsure if a report was filed or have yet to speak to the police, be sure to contact them and ensure that a report was filed. You should also get a copy of the police report for your records.
You generally have 30 days to report an accident to your insurance company. Reporting an accident is different than filing an insurance claim, but your insurance carrier may deny coverage if you fail to report the accident within the appropriate timeframe. If another person or entity is responsible for causing your accident, you may need to file a claim with their insurance company. However, even if that is the case, you may be entitled to additional coverage through your insurance company, so you still must notify them about the accident as soon as possible after the accident occurs.
Do not admit fault for the accident.
Whether you are speaking to the police, an insurance adjuster for your insurance company, the other party’s insurance company, or anyone else, you should never admit to causing the accident. All too often, individuals inadvertently admit some blame for causing accidents. These admissions can make it difficult or even impossible to recover any compensation for their injuries. As a result, you should answer the questions by giving the facts surrounding the accident as you remember them and not volunteer additional information. Having a lawyer to handle these communications is likely in your best interest to avoid any inadvertent admissions of guilt.
Create a file documenting your accident, injuries, and changes to your life following the motorcycle accident.
To support your injuries, you will need to document your accident, your injuries, and how your life has changed because of those injuries. Therefore, you should start a file containing information about your accident, including the police report, medical records, and medical bills. You should include documentation from your employer if your injuries require you to take off work, take short or long-term disability benefits, perform light-duty work, or even resign. Your file also should contain any documents you receive from your insurance company about coverage for your medical bills.
You also should keep a detailed journal after the accident related to your injuries. You should note the symptoms of your injuries, including your physical, emotional, and mental health symptoms. You should note your daily pain levels, any changes to those levels over the course of a day, how treatment helps or fails to help those symptoms, and the impact of your injuries on your family, work, personal relationships, and leisure activities.
Contact a motorcycle accident lawyer for assistance.
Most motorcycle accidents result in serious injuries. Therefore, resulting personal injury claims can be quite complex and time intensive. Reaching out to a personal injury lawyer from the outset of your case can be highly beneficial, as you can ensure that you will have proper guidance through every step of your case. Having an experienced Arizona motorcycle accident attorney on your side can be critical to reaching a positive outcome in your case.
Contact Garrison Law Firm Today
You can rely on a motorcycle accident attorney at Garrison Law Firm to provide the legal advice and representation you need if you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident or another type of motor vehicle accident. We are here to represent your interests and handle your legal issues so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries. Call our offices at 623-887-5689 or contact us online to speak with a top-rated Peoria motorcycle accident lawyer and learn more about how we can assist you.