Motorists often do a poor job of safely sharing the roads with motorcyclists, leading to dangerous situations and accidents. If another driver caused your motorcycle accident, you may be able to pursue legal action to hold the at-fault driver accountable and recover compensation.
Our Montgomery motorcycle accident lawyer can sit down with you and tell you what the next steps are after your accident. Our lawyers have years of experience helping motorcycle accident victims.
Motorcycle Accidents Can Cause Serious Physical and Financial Damages
Motorcyclists are at an increased risk for injury in an accident because motorcycles lack many of the safety features of cars. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency publishes a motorcycle operator manual that covers safe driving and crash avoidance techniques.
Sometimes, though, it is impossible to avoid an accident. A motorist does not see you or breaks a traffic law, and you are immediately injured through no fault of your own. The injuries a motorcyclist can sustain vary from relatively mild or moderate to severe and even life-altering. Some types of motorcycle injuries our Montgomery personal injury lawyer has seen include:
- Head and facial injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck and back injuries
- Broken bones
- Internal injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Burns and road rash
Medical care costs alone can drain a family’s savings and cause financial stress. This is especially true when the accident victim cannot earn a living to help support their family. In some cases, motorcycle accident victims might miss months of work or cannot ever return to their previous job.
For a free legal consultation with a Motorcycle Accident lawyer serving Montgomery, call 800-537-8185
Can I File a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit?
In Alabama, if you were in an accident caused by another driver’s negligence, you may be able to sue them for financial compensation. A driver is negligent when they are not upholding their duty of care while operating their vehicle, meaning they aren’t following laws and regulations.
If a driver is speeding, driving while distracted or under the influence, or breaking any other traffic law, they are being negligent. Since a motorcyclist is harder to see than the average driver, any amount of negligent driving has a higher chance of injury. A Montgomery County lawyer can help you prove that your motorcycle crash was caused by a reckless driver.
How a Montgomery County Accident Attorney Can Help
A Montgomery personal injury lawyer can take on the legal aspects of your case while you focus on undergoing treatment and healing from your injuries. We will represent your best interests by seeking to secure a fair settlement or taking your case to trial. Some of the tasks that we can handle on your behalf include:
- Communicating with all other parties in your case for you
- Determining your legal options
- Explaining which state laws apply to your case in Montgomery
- Determining which damages you could recover, such as medical expenses and pain and suffering
- Fighting your case while you heal from severe injuries
- Calculating the total value of your case to ensure you do not accept a settlement offer that is too low
- Completing all case paperwork on your behalf
When you work with our personal injury attorneys, you will not need to face any part of the legal process by yourself.
Our Firm Aims to Make Legal Guidance Accessible to Motorcycle Accident Victims
If you suffered a motorcycle accident injury, you are likely dealing with expensive medical treatment or even permanent disabilities. We know how overwhelming it is to deal with a motorcycle accident case. To make the legal process stress-free, we work on a contingency-fee basis.
With this payment structure, you owe us nothing until your case is won or settled. We take a percentage of your compensation as our attorney’s fee. We will discuss your case and agree upon a percentage before we settle your case.
Click to contact our Montgomery Personal Injury Attorney today
Evidence Your Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Can Collect
Our lawyers know how to build a strong case and pursue damages based on your accident and injuries. We will gather evidence to support your claim, which may include:
- The police report about the accident
- Eyewitness statements
- Physical evidence
- Video of the accident
- Photographs or a survey of the scene
- Accident reconstruction data
- Expert witnesses as needed
- Documentation of your related damages
When possible, we will prove the at-fault driver caused your accident and injuries and is legally responsible for your expenses and losses. You can count on a Montgomery motorcycle accident lawyer to fight for the compensation you deserve based on the facts of your case.
Damages Available in a Montgomery Motorcycle Accident Settlement
We can sometimes reach a fair settlement agreement with the at-fault driver’s auto liability insurance provider in motorcycle accident cases, avoiding filing a lawsuit, and going to court. However, our trial attorneys will not hesitate to go to court and represent you if necessary.
Whether we reach a settlement or receive a court award on your behalf, if we recover compensation in your Montgomery motorcycle accident case, it may cover damages that include:
- Current and future medical care and any further treatment related to the accident
- Ongoing care costs if permanent injuries occur
- Current and future lost wages related to the accident
- Reduced earning capacity if you cannot return to your previous job
- Replacement of your motorcycle, or repairs when possible
- Property damages that occurred in addition to your motorcycle
- Pain and suffering
- Other non-economic damages
Our team can also pursue wrongful death damages on behalf of surviving family members who lost a loved one in a Montgomery motorcycle accident.
Alabama Laws that May Affect Your Compensation
Even if you’re the victim of an accident, there are certain rules in place in Alabama that may reduce or negate your compensation. You should talk to an experienced motorcycle accident attorney to learn more about what factors may affect your settlement.
Alabama’s Contributory Negligence Law
In Alabama, motor vehicle accident cases are decided based on the contributory negligence rule. Under contributory negligence, if a jury finds that you are even partially responsible for your crash, you stand to lose all of your compensation.
The factors that determine your contributory negligence are very similar to the ones that decide the at-fault party’s negligence. If, at the time of the accident, you were not observing the laws and regulations of the road, then you were contributorily negligent.
Motorcycle Riders Should Follow These Laws to Get Compensation
If you are on the road in Montgomery County, you should obey traffic laws to avoid a potentially tragic accident. Traffic laws for motorcyclists include:
- Wearing a helmet
- Not passing a vehicle in the same lane
- Not riding between lanes of traffic or rows of vehicles (i.e., lane splitting)
- Not riding more than two abreast in a single lane
If the other driver’s lawyer or insurance company proves that you were even slightly negligent during your accident because you were not following the law, you stand to have your personal injury claim denied.
Statute of Limitations for Motorcycle Accidents in Alabama
Alabama civil codes include a two-year statute of limitations on most personal injury civil lawsuits found at Ala. Code § 6-2-38. This code prevents motorcycle accident victims from waiting more than 24 months to take legal action in their case.
If you sustained injuries in a Montgomery motorcycle accident, you should discuss your case with a member of our team as soon as your injuries are stable.
Speak to a Member of the Morris Bart & Associates, LLC Montgomery Motorcycle Accident Team Today
If you suffered injuries in a Montgomery motorcycle accident and want to hold the at-fault motorist liable, the Morris Bart law firm may be able to help. In addition to our Montgomery office, we also have 15 fully staffed law offices. We serve personal injury clients in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas.
We offer free case reviews and handle motorcycle accident cases on a contingency basis. Contact the Montgomery office of the Morris Bart law firm for your free consultation.
Questions?Call 800-537-8185
to find a Morris Bart office near you.
