If you own a motorcycle, you want to be prepared in case you’re ever involved in a motorcycle accident.
Motorcycles provide an exciting way to travel and see the great outdoors. But motorcycle accidents are common.
Read on to learn what steps you need to take should you ever be involved in a motorcycle accident.
Check Yourself for Any Injuries
Immediately following a motorcycle accident, you should check yourself for any injuries. You should also check with others involved in the accident to see if they’re ok.
Call 911 right away whether you have been hurt, any of your passengers have been hurt, or other drivers have been hurt.
Don’t worry about being held responsible for the accident just because you were the one to call 911 first. Making an emergency call will not factor into determining the fault of the accident.
Take Photos of the Motorcycle Accident Scene
It’s important to document the scene if you’re able. Make sure the scene is safe enough for taking any pictures so you don’t cause additional injury to yourself or others or damage to vehicles.
Use your cell phone or a camera if you have one on hand to take several pictures of the scene from various angles. Get plenty of pictures of your motorcycle, of the other vehicles involved in the accident, of your injuries if possible, and of the surrounding environment.
These pictures will likely be very useful for proving damages to the insurance company and should your case go to court.
Move Your Motorcycle off the Road
Once you’ve either taken pictures or determined you can’t safely do so, you’ll want to get your bike off the road as soon as you can. Leaving your motorcycle or cars on the road after an accident can be a hazard to other drivers in oncoming traffic. Drivers approaching the scene aren’t aware of the accident or of any debris or people in the road.
If the accident occurred at night, this is especially hazardous, so do what you can to get your bike out of the way. Should any additional accidents occur, you might be held responsible if you didn’t do what you could to move out of the way.
Gather All the Necessary Information
If you don’t call 911 for any injuries that occurred as a result of the accident, make sure you at least call the local police department in the area. You’ll have to wait for a police officer to arrive at the scene so an official police report can be made.
The police report will be important to have when you attempt to prove any details of your case. Every piece of important information that you can gather will assist you later if you try to collect compensation for damages and as you try to protect your legal rights.
Get information from any witnesses, your passengers, the other drivers, and the police officer that makes the official report. The information you want to be sure and collect includes the following:
- Get all contact information from any witnesses including their names, phone numbers, and possibly their email addresses.
- Get the name and badge number of the officer that shows up to make the report.
- Take down the vehicle information of all the vehicles involved in the accident whether it’s just one car or many, and make sure to get the make and model of each car and their license plate numbers.
- Obtain the police report number.
- Get all the contact information for any and all other drivers including their names, addresses, phone numbers, and possibly their email addresses.
- Get all the vehicle identification numbers for the vehicles involved in the accident.
- Get the contact information for the insurance companies of each person involved in the accident including the name of the insurance company and their phone numbers.
Contact Your Own Insurance Agent
As soon as you’re able, call your insurance agent about your motorcycle accident. Be ready to give them all the information that you’ve gathered from each party involved.
Do not admit any fault, or attribute fault to anyone else at this time. Should your insurance agent ask for details about your injuries and the extent of the motorcycle damage, tell them you want to wait until you’ve seen a doctor and had your motorcycle looked at by a professional mechanic before you’re willing to estimate how much damage took place.
Your insurance agent is not there to help you claim as much in damages as you can—that’s something your accident lawyer will assist you with. If you underestimate your damages and injuries with your agent, you might risk reducing your total compensation.
Get in Touch with an Accident Attorney
The last thing you want to do after a motorcycle accident is to consider getting an accident attorney involved to represent you, especially if the insurance company denies your claim or if your injuries are severe. A good attorney can represent you in court and make sure you get the money you deserve to cover damages.
To learn more about finding a good accident attorney, read more here.
Find Useful Legal Forms
Whether you need forms related to a motorcycle accident or any other legal related matter, you can find them on our website.
We also have all manner of form templates for running your business successfully as well, so be sure to check back any time you need any kind of free, legal form templates.
