Personal Injury Lawyer Referrals

The likelihood that you have a friend who has gone through a significant personal injury case is low. So if you do get injured in a car accident or motorcycle accident, you may not know where to turn. Personal referrals are often the best. However even with personal referrals you still need to weigh your options and choose the lawyer you work with best, not just the one someone recommended. If you do know a lawyer or someone who had the misfortune to be involved in a Denver motorcycle crash, then ask that person for advice first.

If you do not really know where to go for a lawyer be cautious. All lawyers are looking to get their name out there with some sort of advertising, whether it be internet marketing, yellow pages, TV ads, or state Bar directories. You must understand that not all of these sources have quality Denver personal injury lawyers. In fact some injury lawyers are downright predatory. One style of lawyer that is considered predatory and not sanctioned by the Bar are ambulance chasers.

Ambulance chasers are injury lawyers that are just looking to use looser civil law to sue anytime anyone gets a serious injury. They often work as an unspoken scam between the plaintiff and lawyer. The plaintiff is basically indirectly told that if they get injured by say, slipping on someone's property that can afford to pay, the lawyer has a good chance of getting a settlement and a check for the both of them.

Physically going to the accident or the hospital to solicit business is against Bar regulations everywhere in Colorado and the rest of the United States. The Colorado Bar does a good job of distinguishing between trustworthy Denver injury attorneys and ambulance chasers.

If you do know a lawyer you trust, they usually have a network of referrals just like doctors and specialists. Every lawyer knows an injury attorney because large injuries can be lucrative. Companies often have insurance which pays settlements before such cases go to court. When selecting a lawyer it is important that they match your wishes in personality, service and goals. Do you want the lawyer to be aggressive as possible? Do you want them to walk you through the process like a coach? Do you just need a settlement as quickly as possible? Have a list of your wants and needs and talk to the accident attorney about them before you decide on who to hire.

Motorcycle-Bicycle Collisions

Both motorcycles and bicycles offer their drivers little protection in a collision. Bicycles are especially at risk at intersections for two reasons: bicyclists often ignore traffic laws at intersections, and drivers often ignore cyclists. Almost all motorcycle accidents with bikes occur at intersections, although both types of riders commonly lose control in other areas. For cyclists, the best protection from car and motorcycle accidents is to follow road rules and maximize visibility.

They must understand that intersections are exceedingly dangerous. The rules of road liability can be discussed with a Denver accident attorney, but this article aims to give a brief overview. Although cyclists have little protection, they can still be held liable for accidents if they get hit by a motorcycle while violating a traffic rule. As many Denver personal injury lawyers will attest, the actual facts and sequence of events in an accident can get skewed, and a biker who was injured by another driver who violated the law may still be blamed for the crash.

In order to keep safe from a motorcycle accident lawsuit, riders need to learn the law of liability and traffic. Motorcycles and bicycles are just harder to see. A Denver motorcycle lawyer told me a story of a motorcycle taking a left turn into a large Denver HVAC company truck. Trucks cannot see cyclists because of reduced visibility and the fact that they are simply not looking. Bikers need to keep this in mind when approaching an intersection. Keep front and rear lights on and slow down even if you have a right of way. Any rider who presumes to ride on busy streets needs to have enough command of his bike to make emergency maneuvers without losing control.

When it comes to strict liability, bikes and motorcycles are treated like any other vehicle. So liability depends on who had a right of way, or who was driving recklessly. Consider reviewing the rules of right of way at intersections with no signals, as many drivers make mistakes there. New high-tech traffic signals have sensors to detect cars at intersections. If a cyclist is not picked up by the sensor, the light may not change, so the biker or cyclist will have to wait until it is safe or cross at a crosswalk. Just be ready to explain your decision to an officer. If you do not follow these guidelines, you may have to explain your decision to the doctors at the medical center and your motorcycle lawyer

Insurance Adjusters in Motorcycle Accident Claims

In any injury claim - whether it be negligence, car accident or workplace related - dealing with the insurance company is the most critical step you have to take before going to court. All injury cases are serious, but the high speeds at which motorcyclists ride often cause crashes and injuries that cannot be paid for without insurance help.

It is the insurance company's job to make money and therefore they are loath to pay most claims. They are required by law to pay for any of their insuree's accidents if they were deemed negligent in a Denver motorcycle crash. The expenses that must be paid are: all medical expenses, lost work and income, physical rehabilitation or permanent disabilities, property damage, and the social and emotional losses from the accident.

The last two - social and emotional effects are not as easy to add up as simple property damage and medical bills. So insurance companies use a kind of formula where they multiply the normal damages by a factor to get the number that includes pain and emotional trauma. The usual range is around 1.5x to 5x the normal damages depending on the type of injury. So one of the most important jobs for a Denver injury lawyer is to get that multiplier up as high as possible.

The insurance adjuster takes the formula - general expenses times a multiplier plus lost income to get a starting number. This is the number your Denver motorcycle attorney must show is as much the other person's fault as possible. The process is not over because this number is often negotiated. Then the number is reduced by comparative liability to whatever amount the negligent person was liable for.

Road Debris

Road hazards are especially dangerous for motorcycles. Someything that has little effect on a car can send a motorcycle careening out of control. Debris, wet pavement, even a rabbit can cause a motorcycle crash. Understanding what is a motorcycle hazard takes training and experience. Take precautions to avoid a Denver motorcycle crash, as the cost of injuries and possibly hiring a Colorado personal injury lawyer is not something you want to deal with. If you are injured by a road hazard, whether or not you can make a Colorado motorcycle personal injury claim is determined by negligence law.

Some of the most common hazards for motorcycles can be surprising. Things like leaves may not effect a car but can send a motorcycle rider spinning out of control. A simple rough road can cause a crash even with experienced bikers. A motorcycle accident that causes an injury in Denver can cost a lot in injuries and legal fees.

Gravel is tricky because it can cause a motorcycle to lose traction when cornering. Winding roads often have gravel, which becomes a Colorado bike injury magnet because bikers like to travel these windy roads. Cornering accidents can usually be prevented by simply slowing down through turns.

Edge breaks cause problems for motorcyclists. An edge break is when two lanes of traffic have different heights. This can cause a classic Denver motorcycle injury to an unaware cyclist.

Expansion joints connect sections of road. Like edge breaks, the uneven surface can lead to a motorcycle crash, especially at freeway speeds. Bridge joints can also be so wide that the short wheelbase motorcycle has trouble navigating.

The varied types of road hazards cause varied problnems when defining liability in a Colorado injury lawsuit. The main factor to keep in mind for success of a bike injury lawsuit is if someone should have eliminated the hazard. If someone was careless and had a duty to remove an obstacle(ie negligent), you may have a Colorado personal injury case. Public entities that maintain roadways may have behaves negligently if they knew about the hazard and did nothing. A simple warning sign might be enough to defend the entity in a Denver injury court.

Some more common hazards that cause motorcycle crashes in Denver and Colorado are:

Slick Surfaces like leaves, tracks, painted surfaces and oil,

Standing water and hydroplaning,

Snow and Ice, and

Loose debris

You can avoid a lawsuit and winding up in a Colorado bike injury court by recognizing these hazards.

Private individuals or businesses would be liable for things like a tree falling out of a landscape truck. Motorcyclist behavior is always important to consider though. If the cyclist was weaving in and out of traffic or speeding, it will be harder for a Denver motorcycle injury lawyer to reach a settlement.

The value of a Motorcycle injury claim

Insurance adjusters are working for the insurance company, not for you. For small claims insurance is often benevolent. But if you had a major motorcycle accident on a Denver expressway, the adjuster might not be so understanding. His job is to figure out how much the insurance company owes you in "Special Damages," or in Colorado personal injury law, the medical bills, lost wages and recovery. If you had an accident, you want a Colorado personal injury attorney to take up your position.

There are several factors of Special Damages and Pain and Suffering you have to add to determine the value of your claim in a Denver motorcycle accident.

Liability is whether or not someone is at fault in an accident. Most Colorado motorcycle accidents do not have any question of who is liable. If liability is questionable, the case probably does not have much settlement value. If you really need the money, try hiring a Colorado personal injury attorney to try an obtain a settlement. Some Denver personal injury attorneys will try to make you pay more than the normal fee plus a cut of the award. Do not put up with this kind of behavior.

The type of injury sustained in a Colorado motorcycle accident is also an important consideration. Smaller injuries usually do not need a accident lawyer. You also need to evaluate what kind of person you are, and what kind person the was involved with you in the accident. If you have been in a jam with the cops or the other person in the accident was a minister, it is bad for you. If you have previously used a Denver injury attorney, this cannot be held against you at trial, but it may look suspicious on a character record.

There are two types of Special Damages: Medical and Non-Medical. You will have to consult your Colorado personal injury lawyer, but remember to chronicle everything because the pain and suffering may be a multiple of the medical damages. Non medical is things like lost wages, vacation time, sick leave and travel expenses. A good motorcycle attorney would remind you that you can be paid for lost time at work even if you are still being paid by salary or the company's insurance. Self employed injured bikers have it worse off because they have to assemble and produce documents showing what money you make and how you make it.

Property damage expenses can also be collected for motorcycle repairs, broken glasses and the like sustained in an motorcycle in Colorado. Your age is an important factor. The elderly often receive higher settlements in Colorado bike injuries.