Motorcycle personal injury cases are always difficult. Motorcycle riders are always worse off in an accident than cars and car drivers. A former motorcycle rider myself, I became a personal injury attorney to help regular folks have a fighting chance at recovering fair compensation for big insurance companies. However, we are not a large firm and we must limit the number of cases we can take on. Because we value providing high quality representation, we have to set guidelines for the kinds of motorcycle accident injury cases we accept. This ensures that we are devoting the most time and attention to each client that we can, in order to get the best results.
To help you better understand some of the reasons to may not be represented, I’ve compiled a list of some of the common reasons we won’t take on a motorcycle personal injury case. If your case shows signs of any of the following, it is likely that we will be unable to represent you.
The Six Reasons We May Not Take Your Motorcycle Personal Injury Case
• Motorcycle accidents where the statute of limitations is about to run. To build a quality case, we need time. If the case is not built well, and if it is not done precisely, it can be gone forever. That is why we will not take on your case if it has been more than two years since your motorcycle accident. We will simply not have enough time to handle it correctly.
• Cases where the motorcyclist is not carrying a valid motorcycle endorsement. It is illegal to ride without an endorsement and this will almost singlehandedly destroy your case. Juries, arbitrators and judges do not look favorably on a rider who is not endorsed. They see an uncertified rider as being unskilled and therefore more likely to have been at fault for the crash.
• Accidents where you were partially at fault. If I carefully analyze the facts and information surrounding your accident, and I determine that I do not think we can win on liability, I will not take on your case.
• Cases where the body parts injured in the accident were previously injured. The risks are simply much too high. Juries are much less willing to award money to a person who has had a long standing injury in the area claimed to be hurt in the accident.
• Situations where you have had many other claims or consecutive accidents. The insurance industry tracks these statistics. They are able to see if you’ve had multiple claims and this makes settlements extremely difficult. Again, juries are not known to show sympathy to a person who makes multiple insurance claims.
• Cases where the motorcyclist has a criminal history of dishonesty, deceit or fraud. Some types of criminal cases are admissible at trial and will undermine a person’s credibility with the jury. Getting a settlement will be terribly difficult, and getting a favorable jury award will be even harder.
I have set these standards for a reason, and that is to offer my clients the best legal services possible. Motorcycle accidents and injuries are unpredictable, and each case demands its own special care and attention to provide the client with the best and most valuable service. If you would like to talk about your injury, or find out more about staying safe on your motorcycle, please contact me.