Ways to reduce your risk of becoming an injury lawsuit plaintiff
A question for all motorcyclists in Florida is, "Can you afford to become a plaintiff after a motorcycle accident with another vehicle?" For many, the answer is probably in the negative.
Consider the medical expenses that you can incur from a non-fatal accident: your bill could easily run into tens of thousands of dollars. Does your health insurance cover all of that? Bear in mind that even as recently as 2011, almost half of such treatments were not covered by private health insurance.
You can be in an accident that is not your fault, but that of the other driver. But even then you need to remember that Florida is a comparative fault state when it comes to legal recovery: the other motorist involved in an accident with you will quite possibly try to claim that you were to blame for what happened in an attempt to reduce the damages he or she may have to pay.
So what can you do to improve your odds or recovery in an accident lawsuit? Here are two things you can do that will not only make you less likely to get into an accident, but will also reduce the risk of your being found to be at fault if you do get into one:
- Wear a helmet. Only about half of motorcyclists in Florida wear helmets; it is no coincidence that in almost one-third of fatal accidents the rider suffered a traumatic brain injury. You cannot recover damages if you are not alive, and on top of that the other driver may try to claim that you were at least partly at fault for not wearing a helmet when the crash occurred.
- Don't drink and ride. If you have any alcohol in your system at all you are five times more likely to get into an accident; if your BAC is .05 or more that goes up to 40 times more likely. And alcohol use would definitely give the other motorist a comparative negligence claim against you.
Nobody wants to become a motorcycle accident statistic. But sometimes accidents do happen no matter how you try to avoid them. If you have been in a motorcycle accident with another vehicle and the other driver was at least partly at fault, working with a personal injury attorney will help you to secure the best possible recovery.
