The experienced St. Petersburg motorcycle accident attorneys at Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner understand that being involved in a motorcycle accident is a terrifying situation. These accidents can be brutal and in many cases, deadly. If you were lucky enough to survive your accident, you still may feel anxious, frustrated, and confused. Your life is probably flipped on its head right now and you may not know what you need to do next.
Our St. Petersburg motorcycle accident attorneys are here to help you through every step of the process. You have every right to contact our firm and hire our services to get you the compensation you deserve. Give us a call to set up a free consultation.
Motorcycle accidents tend to be quite different from most other vehicular accidents. The small size of motorcycles and the exposure of riders produce different physics in an accident, and an attorney who undertakes a motorcycle accident case must understand the science involved. The attorney should also be familiar with factors such as prejudice against motorcyclists, the value of custom motorcycle parts, driver behavior and more.
Due to the lack of protection during impact, the potential for serious injury in a motorcycle accident is high. You do not have the metal frame or airbags to take some of the impact like you would in a car accident. Some of the most common types of motorcycle accident injuries include:
What you need to remember is that your health is the most important thing. It’s important to make sure your injuries are looked at right away. You can visit an urgent care center, see your primary doctor, or go to the emergency room if needed. Do not delay this step, because you run the risk of making your injuries worse if you wait. Without getting evidence of your injuries, you also run the risk of the other party’s insurance company trying to throw out your case or reduce your compensation. They might say that your injuries were not bad enough to seek immediate medical care, or that you got these injuries elsewhere.
If you are injured in a St. Petersburg, FL motorcycle accident, you have the right to recover compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit. While Florida is a no-fault insurance state, the no-fault system does not apply to motorcycles.
Generally, you can recover two types of damages in Florida: economic and non-economic. Economic damages involve your tangible financial losses, and non-economic damages refer to your physical and emotional pain and suffering. Common damages available in Florida motorcycle accident claims include the following.
If you are not physically able to stay on the scene to collect evidence, you can have a friend, family member, or your attorney get on the scene to do it for you. If you are too injured to be there, get in the ambulance and let someone else take care of this for you. The evidence that needs to be collected includes photos of all vehicles involved, photos of the scene around the motorcycle, contact information from any and all witnesses, as well as the insurance information from the driver or drivers who were involved in the accident. It is important to have all of this so that your attorney can build you a strong case.
You have four years from the date of your accident to file your St. Petersburg motorcycle accident claim. If you wait longer than four years, you will be blocked from receiving any compensation. Your best bet is to speak with an attorney early on so that you don’t have to worry about the time limit. Another benefit is that evidence is less likely to disappear or deteriorate the sooner you file a claim. Giving your attorney enough time to build you a strong case makes it more likely that you will get the compensation you need.
Florida is a pure comparative negligence state. That means you can receive compensation even if the insurance company were to blame part of the accident on you. Florida is more lenient with their cutoff for compensation. You will be barred from receiving an award if you are deemed 100% at fault. For any other percentage, you will be able to get an award, but it will be reduced. For example, if you are deemed 10% at fault for your accident because you were speeding, and you were awarded $100,000 for your damages, it will be reduced to $80,000 to account for your role in causing the accident. Our lawyers work very hard to keep you from getting blamed for any of the accident so that you get full and fair compensation.
Throughout your case, our top priority is providing you with the care you need. Whether your case goes to trial or not, we are determined to obtain compensation such as:
The most detrimental mistake you can make is giving a recorded statement to the liable party’s insurance company. It is almost guaranteed that you will be receiving a phone call from them in which they will claim to be helpful if you give them a statement. It is not wise to do so, as they are trained to ask you questions that put you in a position to say the wrong thing and potentially ruin your case. We recommend telling them that your attorney will be taking over all communication moving forward.
If you are filing a St. Petersburg motorcycle accident lawsuit or insurance claim, you need an attorney who can advocate for your best interests. Motorcyclists are often subject to unfair scrutiny during the claims process, and stereotypes often lead insurance companies to assume that motorcyclists are at fault for their accidents. By hiring a St. Petersburg motorcycle accident lawyer to represent your case, you will have someone who can defend you against accusations of liability and fight for your best interests during each stage of your case.
Hiring an attorney from Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner to represent your case can provide additional benefits to your claim, including the following.
If you are seeking compensation for your injuries, please do not hesitate to call our experienced St. Petersburg motorcycle accident attorneys to set up a free consultation. We will go over the details of your case and let you know what your legal options are. At Salter, Healy, Rivera & Heptner, we will work hard to make sure you have the best chance at full compensation.
