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Utah Motorcycle Accident Attorney

The experienced Utah motorcycle accident attorneys at Swenson & Shelley understand that motorcycle accidents can be completely devastating and can change your life forever. It is a terrifying experience to go through and we want to express how truly sad we are for you to have to deal with this. Our skilled and knowledgeable Utah motorcycle accident attorney is ready to take your call to get your case started. You deserve to have every right for compensation protected and we want to dedicate ourselves to getting a successful outcome for you. Please call our office today after you read about your motorcycle case and set up a free initial case evaluation. We are ready for your call.

First Steps for a Successful Claim

After the accident, there is a lot of evidence that needs to be collected. Have a friend, family member, or attorney come to the scene to do this if you are unable. What needs to happen is you have to get photos and possibly videos of the scene of the accident. You can record the tire marks, any vehicles involved, and your injuries. Anything that you think is important needs to be documented. You should also get contact information from all witnesses and every driver involved in the accident. All of this is highly important when trying to create a successful and strong case.

What is more important than evidence collection is your health. As mentioned, you might not be able to stay on the scene if you are too injured. You may have been whisked away on an ambulance. That’s when you rely on others to help with evidence. But you should prioritize yourself in these scenarios. You need to make your health more important than the accident scene. Get to a doctor when you need to and don’t risk worsening your condition by trying to shake off your injuries as they may be severe and life-altering.

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Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries

Motorcycle accidents can be particularly damaging because of the lack of protection from the impact when you’re on a bike. You don’t have a metal frame that will take most of the impact for you. You might have had your helmet on and may have been wearing clothes that protect you somewhat, but generally a motorcycle accident will cause more severe injuries. These injuries frequently include:

Car accidents unfortunately happen all the time and affect so many people in Utah every year. Sometimes people can brush off their injuries, get some ice on it, and be okay the next day. Other times, people aren’t so lucky. If you came to our page, it’s likely you were not so lucky. The most common car accident injuries include:

In the worst of the cases for surviving victims of car accidents, these injuries can permanently affect your health and your life. When we come up with a number to ask the other driver’s insurance company for compensation, we take all of this into consideration. The worst your injuries are, the more compensation we will ask for. That’s what we mean by full and fair compensation. You deserve to have all of your damages covered and we will dedicate ourselves to making sure that happens.

Frequently Asked Motorcycle Accident Questions

How do I pick the best attorney for my motorcycle accident claim?

If you’ve been injured in a crash in the state of Utah on a motorcycle and you have serious injuries, it’s important that you select the right attorney. One of the things you want to look at is that the attorney you hire has experience handling motorcycle crashes. They’re different than other types of accidents, so you want to make sure that you have somebody who’s experienced with the rules of motorcycle riding, and has the experience in dealing with the adjusters for the insurance company on that type of a case.

One of the other things that I think is very important is that you hire somebody who’s a trial attorney, somebody who will be prepared and will take your case to trial if that’s what’s necessary to make sure that you get a fair resolution of your case.

What should I do after being injured in a motorcycle accident?

If you’ve been seriously injured in a motorcycle crash in the state of Utah, there are a few things you want to make sure that you’re doing. You want to get good medical care. Your job is to get yourself back to as healthy as you can, as quickly as you can. Go see a good doctor and do what your doctors say. It’s very important that you talk to an attorney as well. You want to make sure that you select an attorney who knows how to handle a motorcycle crash and can protect your interests in s a case.

Should I speak with insurance companies after a motorcycle accident?

If you’re involved in a motorcycle crash in the state of Utah, you’ll probably get a call from the insurance company for the driver of the other vehicle, and they’ll want to take a recorded statement. What the insurance adjusters want to do in that case is get you to talk about what you were doing that was unsafe. They’ll try to talk about speed and other issues. They’ll talk about your injuries, which, at this point, you probably won’t know much about, and they’ll want you to say they’re not as significant as they really are. For these reasons, we recommend that you contact an attorney before you ever give a recorded statement to the insurance company.

What’s the differences between a motorcycle and a car accident claim?

If you have been injured in the state of Utah in a motorcycle accident, there are a number of differences that you need to understand. First, the insurance policies carried by motorcycle riders is different from the insurance policies carried by those who are driving in passenger vehicles. Second, the injuries are typically more severe in a motorcycle crash, so there’s more on the line, and you need an attorney who can understand how to present those damages and how to get full and fair compensation for the injuries that you sustained. Third, you need a trial lawyer who understands that there is a public perception out there that the motorcycle rider is always at fault. A trial attorney can step in, do a thorough investigation right in the beginning, and gather the evidence that we need to prove your case and help a jury understand that you were not at fault in this crash.

Can I recover compensation if I was partially at fault for a motorcycle accident?

In the state of Utah, if you’ve been in a motorcycle crash, it’s not uncommon for motorcycles to be blamed for part of the responsibility for the crash. If you are partially at fault in a motorcycle crash, you can still collect from the other party, as long as you are less than 50% at fault. Those types of cases are very fact-specific, depending on what you did, what the other driver did, and how the crash occurred.

Can I recover compensation if I was injured in a scooter accident?

If you’ve been injured on a scooter, you might wonder if you have a claim. If you were struck by a car and the other driver is at fault, you do have a claim. Even if you were partially at fault, you still could have a claim. It’s important that you come in and consult with an attorney, preferably a trial attorney that can explain to you your rights and whether or not you have a claim.

What happens if I was forced off the road by another driver?

If you’re on a motorcycle and somebody forces you off the road or puts you into a situation where they don’t actually hit you, but you still crash, you have a claim against their car. In the state of Utah, you’re required to have something more than just your word that says they forced you off; you need to have an eyewitness. You need to have some kind of proof that is more than just he said/she said. If you have that, you’re entitled to make a claim.

Can I recover compensation if I was injured in a motorcycle accident caused by bad roads?

If you’ve been injured in the state of Utah in a motorcycle crash due to bad roads or poor maintenance of the roads, you may have a claim. They’re not easy claims. It’s hard to sue the government, but that can be done in the right case. There has to be fault on the government entity that’s responsible for that road, and it has to be brought in a much shorter period of time than a normal claim in the state of Utah. If you think that your injury was caused by bad roads or improper maintenance, talk to somebody about that relatively quickly.

Can I recover compensation as a passenger in a motorcycle crash?

If you were injured as a passenger on a motorcycle in the state of Utah, you do have a claim. You could potentially have a claim against the motorcycle driver, and you could also have a claim against the other vehicle involved, if there is another vehicle involved. If you were involved in an accident as a passenger, we recommend that you go and seek medical care and get an understanding of what your injuries are and what you need to do to make a full and physical recover, and then seek the help of an attorney to get full and fair compensation from the insurance company.

Is no-fault insurance coverage available for motorcycles in Utah?

In the state of Utah, motorcycles are treated a little bit differently than cars in insurance, no-fault or personal protection. That part of the insurance is not required for a motorcycle in the state of Utah, but it is available. Also, there’s a similar provision called MedPay that pays medical bills that’s available for a motorcycle. If you’re a motorcycle owner, you want to talk to your insurance agent and make sure that you have personal injury protection or medical pay on your policy. If you’ve been in crash and you don’t know if you have that type of coverage, you will want to check that out because it may or may not exist.

How much is my motorcycle accident case worth?

If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle crash, some of those injuries can be extremely severe. You have very little protection on the motorcycle. To answer a question about what the value of the case is early on is very difficult. You need to see what the treatment is, how you respond to the treatment, and how much work will be missed. How much time is missed from doing the thing you just love doing? It’s very hard to figure out the value of a motorcycle crash early on, but as the case progresses, you can do that.

Timeline for a Successful Claim

In Utah, you have four years from the date of your motorcycle accident to bring a claim. That is called your statute of limitations. It may seem like it’s a long time, but you should not use that as an excuse to delay getting the ball rolling on your case. You should be talking to an attorney right away so that your evidence does not disappear and your witnesses don’t forget the fine details about the accident. Moving quickly is so important. If you wait longer than these four years to file a claim, you will be barred from receiving any compensation.

Avoiding Making Big Mistakes

Another big risk for being barred from compensation is if you talk to the other driver’s insurance company. They will be reaching out to you very shortly after you are injured and they will be looking to get a recorded statement from you about the accident. You should know that you are under no legal obligation to give them a statement and if they need to talk to someone, they can talk to your attorney. They have a way about asking questions that make it seem like you were to blame for the accident and if they can pin you for enough blame, they can bar you from receiving compensation. Utah follows shared fault negligence rules for compensation and when you are found to be 50% or more at fault, you lose your right to compensation. We want to avoid making the mistake of talking to the insurance company so that they cannot throw away your claim. It just is not fair to you when you are hurt because their insured did something that put you in danger.

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Contact a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation

As you probably already know, motorcycle accidents can change everything. Your health might be compromised for the rest of your life, your finances might be tight because of your medical bills, and your daily life could be different. We are here for you through all of this. We will work hard to get you the compensation you deserve and we will protect you from the bullying tactics that the insurance company will try to use against you. Do no hesitate to give our Utah motorcycle accident lawyers a call today for a free initial consultation.