If you’ve had a motorcycle accident, no doubt you’ve already taken the worst of it in your encounter with the car or truck. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported last year that motorcyclists were far more likely to be killed or injured in a traffic accident than passenger car occupants.
Unfortunately, literally adding insult to your injury, you can almost expect to be blamed for the accident and your injuries even if you were not at fault. It’s that old lifestyle stereotype of motorcyclists living and riding recklessly. This bias is the reason that obtaining a fair settlement for motorcycle accident victims is so difficult and why the settlement process can be so tricky.
Motorcycle accident victims can expect to confront a bigger burden of proof to document their:
Innocence in the accident
Physical injuries
Pain, suffering and loss of quality of life
Attorneys for the defendant (the driver at fault, let’s assume it’s the auto driver) know about the bias against bikers and will exploit it whenever possible. They are well aware that jurors will not be as sympathetic or generous to a motorcyclist as they would be to a motorist. Similarly, and equally deplorable, is the tendency of a jury to not value the loss of quality of life for a biker as high as they would for an auto driver. All of this will cause a defendant’s attorney and the insurance company to “low ball” the settlement offer, challenge medical claims, or only offer compensation for injuries and not for other damages.
The plaintiff’s attorney (representing you, the accident victim) must fight this bias with facts. That’s why documentation of the accident scene, credible witness statements, thorough medical records, and justifiable claims for non-medical damages are critical. The defendant’s attorney will challenge and try to downplay these facts, while subtly introducing lifestyle issues in order to minimize your compensation. Your attorney must be familiar with these tactics and understand how to counter them in the course of settlement discussions or even at trial.
Finally, motorcycle accident victims shouldn’t be sidetracked by online “personal injury calculators” or assume that all they need is a strongly written “demand letter” from an attorney to the insurance company. You need a plaintiff’s attorney who knows how the system works, with all of its flaws and biases. Because if you’re a motorcyclist, the deck is not stacked in your favor, even if you are the victim.
