California
Motorcycle Injury Accident Attorneys
LEGAL
QUESTIONS ABOUT MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT CASES
"Motorcycle
accident cases are more emotional than automobile accident cases.
I try to separate the elements of the case that are the same as
other cases from those elements that are specific to motorcycles.
A motorcyclist has different options than a motorist when faced
with a hazard. A jury will look at the motorcyclist more critically
and with an air of skepticism."
-Attorney Mike Padway
Below
we've addressed some common questions that injured motorcycle accident
clients have when they are contemplating hiring an attorney
for a motorcycle accident:
1) How do I choose the motorcycle accident lawyer
that is right for me?
2) What happens if I choose the wrong lawyer?
3) Why is it important to choose a "comprehensive"
law firm?
4) Why should I choose an attorney who has experience
with serious motorcycle injury cases?
5) Do juries tend to side with the motorcyclist or
the automobile?
6) What is the statute of limitations in my case?
7) How do I pay for legal assistance?
8) What if I don't have enough medical coverage?
9) How is negligence proven?
10) What compensation am I entitled to for my injuries?
11) What are compensatory damages?
12) What are punitive damages?
13) Should I sue?
1. How do I choose the California motorcycle
accident lawyer that is right for me?
Support groups, advocacy organizations, medical, and rehabilitation
professionals can often recommend experienced attorneys. Community
resources and referrals can help you find the perfect attorney.
First and foremost, look for an attorney who has experience litigating
serious motorcycle accident cases.
Click Here to contact Michael Padway
& Associates for your motorcycle accident.
2. What happens if I choose the wrong motorcycle
lawyer?
The key requirements for the successful San Francisco, California
motorcycle injury accident attorney are understanding of what
is needed and what is being presented, the ability to know what
experts and what testimony is needed to explain all the facets of
the injury, and the ability to work with the client to put this
all together in a way that is complete, straightforward and easily
understandable.
Motorcycle injury cases settle with an eye toward providing
the needed care afterattorney's fees. If successful, you live as
normal and full a life as your motorcycle injury allows.
If not, you do without for the rest of their your life, because
the attorney failed, the liability wouldn't support a large enough
settlement to meet your needs, or the defendant didn't have enough
coverage or resources. You only have one chance to get it right.
An injury lawyer may be able to get you what seems like a big settlement.
However, they may have overlooked future expenses. What may seem
like a fair settlement may actually be way too small for your present
and future financial needs. The best settlement may be a "structured
settlement" providing payments over a lifetime, with tax planning
and other advantages. These can be difficult to negotiate and evaluate,
especially if your attorney does not have adequate experience with
serious injury cases. The strength of the insurance carrier making
these payments is a factor that, must be evaluated by a professional
who understands insurance. The inflation factor built into a structured
settlement must be understood, because the payments are made over
a lifetime, and inflation can chew up your settlement.
3. Why is it important to choose a "comprehensive"
law firm?
Litigating a major motorcycle injury accident case
in California involves far more responsiveness and understanding
of the client's needs than other cases. It involves far more understanding
of your life and medical care. The level of commitment is much higher.
More trust is required, and many hours are spent assessing your
present and future needs. Michael Padway & Associates
has handled thousands of injury cases (including many motorcycle
accident cases), and we know what it takes to get you the money
you need and provide you with community and medical resources to
help you plan your future. Most injury law firms focus primarily
on the bottom line alone - how much money they can get their clients.
We understand that all you can get from your lawsuit is money, but
at Michael Padway & Associates, we know there's more
to an injury case than just money. You also need guidance and support,
and understanding of every area of your life affected by the unexpected
injury. Click Here to read about the Michael
Padway & Associates Life Care Plan.
4. What is different about attorneys who have
experience with serious motorcycle injury cases?
Attorneys
who have experience litigating serious injury cases associated
with motorcycle accident cases are far better prepared to
deal with all the aspects of your case then attorneys who have handled
few. If you choose an experienced attorney, chances are you will
get better results.
5. Do juries tend to side with the motorcyclist
or the automobile?
There is, on the part of many prospective jurors, a serious lack
of understanding of the motorcyclist. Many people actively dislike
the existence of motorcycles. Police investigators often don't understand
the mechanics of a motorcycle accident. Witnesses often overestimate
the speed of the motorcycle. Witnesses and defendants often believe
that the motorcycle "came out of nowhere". It is critical
in a motorcycle case to combat this bias. To do so, an attorney
must understand at a gut level what the motorcyclist was confronted
with, what the choices were available, and why the choices were
made. The attorney must be able to objectively and based on principles
of physics and mechanics review the available evidence and correct
mistakes in the police report, if necessary. The attorney must be
able to find the flaws in the analysis of the opposing expert. Motorcycles
don't stop like cars, don't swerve like cars, have different controls
than cars, and slide on their sides, which cars rarely do. To the
extent that a jury can be successfully educated in all of these
areas, the anti-motorcycle bias of jurors can be mitigated. Remember
also, that the number of motorcyclists (and their friends and relatives)
is large, and it is possible that the defense will fail to identify
or challenge a motorcyclist or pro-motorcyclist juror.
6. What is the statute of limitations in
my case?
The statute of limitations is the specified time period that the
law permits a claim to be filed against a responsible party. The
statute of limitations varies for cases involving children and adults,
and also differs from state to state. It is important that when
a serious and catastrophic injury, such as a burn injury occurs
while at work, that an attorney and trained investigators be retained
as quickly as possible after the accident or injury so that any
potential third parties, other than the employer, can be identified
and any evidence be preserved. This site is deliberately kept general,
and is not to be used for specific advice in any particular case.
However, if you fail to start your case before a statute of limitations
runs, or to make a claim within the time required by a specific
claims statute, you could forever lose your right to pursue your
case.
7. How do I pay for legal assistance?
Attorneys who handle Personal Injury claims are usually paid by
contingency fee - this is a percentage of the amount that is successfully
recovered for the client. If there is no recovery, the attorney
does not get paid.
The Financial Planning Association
may be able to help you organize your finance: http://www.fpanet.org/
8. What if I don't have enough medical
coverage?
There are many different ways to help fund your hospital, therapy
and medical bills. Michael Padway & Associates will do everything
they can to make sure you have the money you need to get the necessary
medical care you need. We'll deal with insurance companies and your
defendant's attorneys to get you the money you need when you need
it. Most sources for paying medical bills, whether insurance, use
of a government-run hospital, or an HMO will require some kind of
repayment from your settlement or verdict. Your attorney can help
you deal with these complex issues.
9. How is negligence proven?
Motorcycle accidents are usually caused by someone's carelessness
or failure to act. Often times it is a combination of negligent
acts or a failure to act by one or more persons or entities that
cause an accident to occur. The law requires that each person owes
every other person a duty to act as a reasonably prudent person
would act under the same or similar circumstances. When a person
does not act reasonably, then they have violated that duty and will
be held responsible for any injury or damage that results. This
duty is created from statutory laws and rules in prior cases that
have evolved over time.
It is important that the qualities of the motorcycle be analyzed
for their role in causing or responding to the accident. There are
accident reconstruction experts available with specific expertise
in motorcycle accidents. Usually, there are photographs of the vehicles,
and possibly other physical evidence. The physical evidence is used
in conjunction with the testimony of the parties and eyewitnesses
to determine what happened. Generally, each side points to those
pieces of evidence, and those statements of witnesses that are favorable.
The jury or the insurance company for the defendant will weigh all
of the evidence developed by each side, and determine who is at
fault, and in what percentage.
10. What compensation am I entitled to for my
injuries?
Your legal rights to compensation may include:
· Payment of medical bills
You may be entitled to have your medical expenses, past and future,
paid:
Hospitalization
Surgical procedures
Ongoing medical care
Counseling
Scar revision/Cosmetic surgery
Physical therapy
Occupational therapy
· Compensation for loss
of income and loss of the ability to earn income in the future
You may be entitled to have your lost wages, past and future, paid.
· Vocational rehabilitation
(job retraining)
You may be entitled to compensation for the costs of being re-trained
into a new job or occupation.
· Compensation for pain
and suffering
You may be entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering you
have endured and may continue to endure as a result of your injury.
In a death case, the heirs are NOT entitled to pain and suffering,
and in many states they cannot recover for pre-death pain and suffering.
However, they DO recover instead for "loss of aid, comfort
and society" of the deceased loved one, and for diminution
of the estate (a factor of the deceased's future earnings).
· Loss of consortium
The spouse of a burn survivor may be entitled to compensation when
an injury is so severe that it interferes with the injured party's
spousal relations. The effected family member may suffer a very
real detriment. Many courts recognize the right of the injured party's
spouse to recover in an appropriate case for a loss of support,
services, love, companionship, society, affection, sexual relations
and solace in the form of a loss of consortium action. Loss of consortium
is a claim separate from the injury victim's claim. It is unique
to the injured party's spouse and is compensable by a separate damages
recovery.
· Disfigurement and disability
Any physical or mental impairment or disability
11. What are compensatory damages?
Compensatory damages "compensate" the injured person for
various kinds of losses or damages. The courts do not allow attorneys
to argue that the award should be what a juror would want to undergo
a similar injury, but the instructions call for "reasonable"
compensation.
12. What are punitive damages?
Punitive damages may be recoverable in certain circumstances. Punitive
damages exist to punish or make example of the wrongdoer for conduct
that is intentional, or when the wrongdoer acts in a reckless manner
in disregard for the rights of others. The actual payment of punitive
damages is rare, and appellate courts frequently cut punitive damage
awards down, or simply throw them out. However, the threat of punitive
damages can often induce the defense to make an increased settlement.
13. Should I sue?
This is a decision that only you can make. However, the greater
the injury, the more incentive the defense has to fight, and fight
hard, because more money is involved. Civil law exists to compensate
an individual for injuries and losses, which were caused by someone's
negligence; a defective product; or some other form of misconduct
or failure to act. Persons who are injured in accidents and their
family members are often hesitant about contacting an attorney because
they believe the accident or injury was in some way caused by the
injured individual. This may not be the case and even if the injured
individual is partially at fault, it is still possible that more
than one person or may have contributed to causing that accident
or injury and a substantial monetary recovery is still possible.
Talk to a Michael Padway & Associates motorcycle injury
lawyer in San Francisco, California. We'll give you the advice
you need to make an informed decision. "Personal injury"
is personal to each of us. We will do what we can so that you can
make the decision that meets your personal goals and beliefs.
If
you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident,
call Michael Padway & Associates, California motorcycle
injury accident attorneys serving Oakland, San Francisco
and San Jose, at 415-777-1511, or fill out this online
contact form. Meet with us and find out how we can help you
start rebuilding your life and get you a fair settlement for your
injury.
Michael Padway & Associates
595 Market Street, Ste 2520
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-777-1511
800-928-1511
Contact Michael Padway & Associates
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