Every time we hear about another motorcycle accident in the Dunedin area that seriously injures or kills a motorcyclist, it makes us angry. Time and again, these accidents happen under all-too-familiar circumstances. Often, a news report of an accident describes how the driver of a passenger vehicle or truck turned into the path of an oncoming motorcycle, too late for the biker to avoid a collision. Or sometimes the driver crowded the motorcyclist off the road, or rear-ended the bike. One thing the majority of these accidents have in common: they’re rarely the motorcyclist’s fault.
Florida law gives motorcycles the same rights to use the roads as any other vehicle, with a few limited exceptions. But just because motorcycles have relatively equal treatment under the law doesn’t mean they get the same respect or consideration on Florida roads. Too often, drivers take less care around motorcycles than they do around other vehicles.
At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we just can’t accept the lack of concern for motorcyclists on the road. If a Dunedin-area motorcycle accident left you injured or grieving the loss of a loved one, then you may have the right to significant compensation. Contact the experienced motorcycle accident injury attorneys at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, and Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA to find out if we can help you recover that compensation.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA: Lawyers for Motorcycle Accident Victims
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA only work on behalf of people injured in accidents and incidents that weren’t their fault. We believe everyone has a right to experienced legal representation, especially when life deals them the shocking blow of an unexpected injury or tragedy.
Over our collective decades of law practice, we have recovered millions of dollars for our injured clients. We have the know-how and experience to help in most cases, and the compassion and respect to treat you like a member of our family. It’s that combination of legal sophistication and personal attention that causes our clients to sing our praises time and again.
How We Help Those Harmed by Dunedin-area Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents cause terrible, life-changing injuries and fatalities, but insurance companies and other defendants fight hard to avoid paying compensation to motorcyclists and their families. At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we fight hard right back. Here are some of the ways we do for our clients.
We Thoroughly Investigate and Prepare Our Clients’ Cases
New clients who come through our doors at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA after a devastating motorcycle accident know they need help, but often aren’t sure what kind of help they need. Fortunately, we’ve been handling motorcycle accident cases for years, and we know the ropes. When we take on a new case we:
- Gather and analyze evidence to help us understand and prove how the accident happened. We can’t achieve maximum results for a motorcycle accident victim if we can’t clearly explain how the accident happened. We dig into the details, collecting witness statements, police reports, video camera footage, and any other evidence we can find about the accident. Sometimes we’ll even work with accident reconstruction experts to help us visualize the accident scene and how the accident unfolded second-to-second.
- Investigate parties and their financial resources to figure out not just who might have legal liability to our clients, but also who among them has the ability to pay our client’s damages. We try to leave no stone unturned in our search for parties with an obligation to compensate our clients. That starts with identifying everyone involved in the accident itself (usually our client and the driver of the other vehicle), then widening the circle to include anyone with a legal interest in the accident, such as the other driver’s employer, and then widening the circle again to people whose actions may have led to the accident, such as road design and maintenance entities, restaurants that served the other driver alcohol, or the manufacturers of the vehicles involved. Any combination of parties could have liability in an accident, but we also want to make sure that the parties we pursue for damages actually have the resources to pay our client, either through insurance or with their own assets.
- Compile and calculate injuries and losses suffered by our client, so that we know how much money to demand for our client’s recovery and pain. Motorcycle accidents can cause devastating injuries, from spinal cord damage that leaves bikers partially or totally paralyzed, to traumatic brain injury that causes long-lasting cognitive and motor impairments, to all kinds of bone and soft-tissue injuries that leave a biker with a lifetime of chronic pain. As lawyers for injured motorcyclists, our mission is to make sure we have rock-solid calculations and supporting evidence for every dollar of compensation we claim on our clients’ behalf from insurance companies and other liable parties. Oftentimes, we work with medical and financial experts to help us solidify these calculations. Our mission: to make sure we are able to justify asking for the amount of money necessary to get our clients the best possible recovery.
We Negotiate With Insurance Companies and Opposing Parties
Building a case for our clients’ damages is the beginning of our journey. We then must turn to actually trying to recover those damages from the parties and insurance companies who might actually write the check. Motorcycle accidents are different from other types of motor vehicle accidents in Florida because motorcyclists are not required to carry personal injury protection insurance. So, while the typical car accident victim first turns to his or her own auto insurance for compensation, motorcyclists usually must seek compensation from other sources, including their health insurance, the party with legal liability’s insurance, the other party’s assets, or even our client’s own uninsured motorist insurance policy.
We pursue damages for our client by making a “demand” on the party or parties with legal liability and/or their insurance companies. That usually kicks off one or more rounds of negotiation in which we need to be ready to show the other side why our calculation of damages is fair, reasonable, and necessary. At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we consider ourselves strong negotiators for two reasons: we are often better-prepared than our opponents, and we’re always willing to walk away from a negotiation if the other side won’t be reasonable and fair to our client.
We Go to Trial When Necessary
When the other side won’t be reasonable, we often ask our clients to allow us to take their claims to court and, if necessary, all the way to a trial in front of a judge or jury. Some personal injury lawyers shy away from going to trial. Not the team at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA. We are a group of fearless, diligent trial attorneys who have the skill to argue complicated legal issues to judges and the personal touch to communicate with juries in language they understand. Often when we make it clear we are willing to go to trial, the other side backs down and agrees to reasonable compensation for our client. That’s okay with us—the important thing is that the injured motorcyclists and families we represent get the money they need to move forward with their lives.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA are willing to take on challenging cases that might intimidate less-skilled and resourced lawyers. Some attorneys avoid motorcycle accident cases because of the bias other drivers have against motorcyclists. Not us. Injured motorcyclists and their families deserve respect and consideration from their fellow Floridians, and we can help them get it.
What Next After a Dunedin Motorcycle Accident
A Dunedin motorcycle accident can cause total chaos in the injured biker and their family’s lives. No one wakes up one morning and expects their day to end in a hospital bed or operating room. No one expects to have to take months off from work to recover, to have medical bills pile up, or to worry day-in and day-out about whether life will ever return to normal.
The team at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA may be able to help during this terribly difficult time. Here is some general advice we’d give to anyone sent reeling by a motorcycle accident:
- First, look after yourself physically and emotionally by getting the healthcare (including mental healthcare) you need to help you through this difficult time. It’s critically important not to miss out on getting care because your health must be as stable as possible in order to make good decisions and to follow the advice lawyers and other professionals may give you. The records created when you get medical and mental health care become evidence that can prove very useful later on, if necessary, in showing the costs of your injury and what support you need to recover.
- Second, be careful when dealing with insurance companies, and avoid dealing with them on your own if you can. Of course, you might have to report your accident to your motorcycle insurance and health insurance companies. But be careful if an insurance adjuster tries to schedule a time to interview you about the accident: this could be a sign the insurance company is thinking of contesting some portion of your claim. BE VERY CAREFUL if you get a call from someone working for an insurance company that covers another party involved in the accident. BEFORE you agree to a settlement or sign anything, you should consider speaking with an experienced motorcycle accident attorney.
- Third, speak with a qualified Dunedin motorcycle accident injury attorney as soon as you are able. Of course, we want you to take care of your immediate personal and medical needs first, but the sooner you talk to an attorney, the better your chances are of recovering every dollar of compensation you deserve. An experienced attorney can take over communication with insurance companies, get started investigating your accident, and give you the breathing room in your life that you need to focus on making a full recovery.
Experienced, Committed Dunedin Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys
Have you suffered serious injury or a tragic loss in a motorcycle accident in the Dunedin, Florida area? If so, then contact the fearless, compassionate lawyers at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA without delay. Your initial case consultation is always free and confidential. If you decide to hire us, we usually take our cases on a contingent fee basis in which our client pays us nothing up front, and we only receive fees if our client gets paid damages. With offices across both Florida coasts, you can easily reach Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA at 833-552-7274 (833-55-CRASH).