First Steps After a Motorcycle Accident

One minute you’re enjoying your drive, and the next you’re off your bike trying to make sense of your injury. Unlike truck or car accidents that offer protection, those who are injured in motorcycle accidents often suffer significant personal injuries, as well as damage to their bike. Because of this, it’s important to know what you should do after a motorcycle accident to recover compensation for your bike, as well as your injuries (and how a motorcycle accident Macon GA lawyer can help).

Steps to Take After a Macon Motorcycle Accident

After a motorcycle accident in Macon, GA, motorists should take the following steps to protect themselves and their ability to file a personal injury claim. Here’s what you should do immediately following a motorcycle accident: 

1. Call the Police

After a motorcycle accident, your first call should be to law enforcement so they can file a police report. This report will document evidence collected at the scene, including contact information for all the parties involved in the crash. Furthermore, law enforcement can get you or any other injured parties medical attention quickly. 

2. Collect the Other Driver’s Insurance Information

After a crash, it’s important to collect the other driver’s contact and insurance information. While the police report will provide some of what you need, collecting this information yourself is vital. Obtain the other driver’s name, phone number, insurance carrier, policy number, license plate number, and make and model of their vehicle. 

Motorcycle accidents are often caused by passenger vehicles that failed to yield at an intersection or failed to see a motorcyclist in their blind spot when changing lanes. However, if you’re injured by a truck driver or other motorcyclist, the process will remain the same. 

3. Take Photos of the Accident Scene

Another thing you should do, if you can, is take photos and/or videos of the accident scene. When you’re doing this, don’t be afraid to get more than what you need. While the cause of a motorcycle accident may seem apparent on the surface, there are often other factors that contributed to it that you may not have known, such as a defective auto part, incorrect road sign, poor road maintenance and repair, or driver negligence. 

As such, take pictures of everything you think might be relevant to your claim. This includes photos of your motorcycle damage, physical injuries, the road, tire/skid marks, lights at intersections, road signs, and weather conditions such as rain, snow, or ice. 

4. Seek Medical Attention

Photo by ERIC ZHU on Unsplash

Seek immediate medical attention if you’re severely injured. However, even if you feel fine, you still need to go to the doctor. First, there are many different motorcycle injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, that may not reveal themselves until a few days after the accident. Often, the adrenaline one feels after a motorcycle accident masks the severity of their injuries. This causes motorcyclists to deny medical attention at the scene, falsely believing that they sustained no injuries. Unfortunately, if you do this but seek medical attention later on, you could be facing an uphill battle trying to obtain compensation as the insurance company can use this as a justification that you weren’t seriously hurt. 

By seeking medical attention right after the accident, you’ll be ruling out any ailments that could hurt you later on. Medical receipts and records help support your compensation claim. 

5. Avoid Admitting Fault

After an accident, it’s human nature to say, “I’m sorry, are you okay?” While it seems like an innocent enough statement on the surface, insurance companies will use anything they can against you – including an unintentional admittance of fault. As mentioned above, the other driver’s brakes could have malfunctioned, causing them to hit you. It’s impossible to determine who was at fault without conducting a thorough investigation. 

6. Call Your Insurance Company

Call your insurance carrier right away. Try to do this sooner rather than later, as the longer you go without notifying your insurance carrier, the more likely they’ll be to diminish the severity of your claims. 

It’s important to keep in mind that insurance companies are not in the business of protecting you; they’re in the business of protecting their bottom line. So, any delay in reporting your accident can negatively impact your ability to collect the compensation you deserve. 

7. Call a Personal Injury Lawyer

The scenario mentioned above with the insurance carrier is just one of the many reasons you should contact a Macon, GA personal injury lawyer after a motorcycle accident. Personal injury lawyers are familiar with the tactics insurance companies use to minimize their payouts to injured victims. They will negotiate with these insurance companies on your behalf to make sure you’re getting the payout that you deserve. 

Furthermore, a personal injury lawyer can investigate the nature of your claim, hire expert witnesses, and guide you through the process from start to finish. Because of how severe the injuries after a motorcycle accident can be, hiring a personal injury lawyer is critical to getting the money you need to cover your medical bills and lost wages from being unable to work. 

Contact Reynolds, Horne & Survant to Get Started on Your Georgia Motorcycle Accident Claim

At Reynolds, Horne & Survant, we have over 40 years of experience representing motorcycle accident victims with their personal injury claims. 

We will fight to protect your rights at every step of the motorcycle accident claims process. Call us today at (478) 217-2582 to schedule an injury consultation with a member of our team. 

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