Jacksonville and the surrounding areas in Florida are ideal for motorcyclists: great weather with average highs of 65º in January and 92º in July, beaches and other great views from the passenger seat, and more. It’s no wonder that Florida has the second-highest number of registered motorcycles (587k in 2018) of any state in the country, only behind California (822k in 2018). There are over 8 million motorcycles registered in the U.S., meaning roughly 7.3% of them are in Florida.
Unfortunately, Florida is also ranked as the most dangerous state in the country for motorcycle riders, which is why it is so important to know about how you can find legal help if or when you need it. Florida accounted for over 11% of all motorcycle fatalities in the United States in 2016, with 600 out of the 5,280 reported that year. If you drive a motorcycle in Florida, you need to know that there is a Jacksonville personal injury lawyer out there who can help you if you are hurt.
Work With a Team That Cares
The award-winning team of personal injury lawyers at Fasig | Brooks is available to help you through your personal injury claim after a motorcycle accident, and we will help you get the money that you deserve if someone else is responsible for the crash. Your injuries and the financial impacts that an accident have on your life should not be your burden to bear if someone else acted negligently or recklessly on the road. We will help you get financial justice.
Read more below to learn about motorcycle accident personal injury claims in Jacksonville, as well as some of the reasons why it is so important to hire a competent, aggressive, and proven law firm to get through this.
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What To Do After A Motorcycle Accident
After an accident, you will be overcome with adrenaline as you begin to make sense of what just happened. There are a lot of different details that you will need to address, and steps that you will need to go through in order to get this all resolved, but the most important thing to keep in mind right off the bat is that your health and safety from first. Luckily, you can prioritize these things will still making sure that you are not doing anything that will negatively impact your upcoming insurance claim.
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Focus on Safety
The first thing to do once you have been in an accident is to make sure that you are safe from any additional injuries, which could mean getting off of a road or out of oncoming traffic. However, if your injuries are serious enough that you either should not move or are unable to move, then remain where you are and wait for the authorities.
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Call 911
The sooner the Jacksonville Police Department, Fire Department, and area EMTs are alerted about your accident, the sooner you will be able to get immediate attention. The police will be able to secure the scene and begin making an accident report while the fire department is able to address any hazards and the EMTs are able to administer emergency medicine.
Get Medical Care
If you have been injured, you need to get medical attention from the EMTs so that they can examine your injuries and make a determination about whether you need to go to the Emergency Room or not. Whether you take an ambulance to a hospital or you are able to leave the scene of the crash on your own, you must see a doctor as soon as possible. When you are examined by a doctor, your injuries are recorded into an official document that will help to support your upcoming injury claim.
Hire a Lawyer
Many people think that the next step is to file a claim with the insurance company or start contacting eyewitnesses, police, and the other driver to get started. This needs to happen very shortly, but the first thing to do once you are focusing on administrative work is to partner with an experienced Jacksonville motorcycle accident lawyer. Every statement you make will be scrutinized throughout the claims investigation as the insurance adjuster searches for reasons to reduce your settlement, and an attorney can help combat this goal.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jacksonville Motorcycle Accidents
The only way to get an exact answer about your own situation is to begin working with our Jacksonville motorcycle accident lawyers today. Some of the following questions may take days, or even weeks or months, to reach a conclusive answer on, but these are intended to provide you with a general idea of how we will reach the specific answers once we begin working together. In fact, we will be able to discuss these in greater detail during your initial consultation as soon as you contact us.
How Much Will I Get for My Motorcycle Accident in Jacksonville?
In order to determine how much a victim is entitled to after any type of personal injury case, there are a few different types of damages that we will work to prove: economic and non-economic damages. In rare instances, a judge or jury may award additional punitive damages, but these are not considered during settlement negotiations, and can not be requested by a victim.
Economic damages are the basis of your case and seek compensation for the measurable financial damages that you have suffered like medical bills, impacts your earning and income, and other actual costs and expenses. We will compile these damages by going through your financial statements, invoices, bills, and more. Non-economic damages are more abstract and unclear and include things like the actual pain and suffering that comes with an injury. There are many different ways to quantify these amounts, and our Jacksonville motorcycle accident lawyers will begin work on yours immediately.
Will My Jacksonville Motorcycle Injury Claim Need to Go to Trial?
Motorcycle accident personal injury trials are rare, but this does not mean that you will avoid the Florida courts before getting the money that you deserve. We will sit and analyze your case early on, and identify a range of possible outcomes that consider the costs and benefits of a trial, and the amounts that make sense to accept in settlement or to continue negotiations for.
In certain instances, taking your case to court may offer benefits to your specific situation, but again, we will need to analyze the entire case before determining our target outcomes. In fact, we will need to continuously monitor the appropriate response and adjust according to any new information as we receive it.
Do I Need a Motorcycle Accident Attorney to File an Insurance Claim?
The reality is that, after a motorcycle accident, you are not required to hire an attorney at any point, but you will greatly benefit from professional legal support from day one. When you have an Jacksonville motorcycle accident lawyer representing your case from the start, you can be confident that there is someone who is taking every necessary step to maximize your possibilities of a favorable outcome. Each statement and communication with the insurance company, each trip to the doctor, and each receipt or invoice that you receive will be considered through the lens of seasoned legal experience and will give you the confidence that you need to prioritize your personal recovery.
Contact Fasig | Brooks to schedule your free consultation with our motorcycle accident lawyer team today!
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