Sacramento Motorcycle Accident Attorney

If you are struggling with injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash, an experienced Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney is an invaluable resource who can help determine your options for recovery. If someone else is at fault for injuring you, you have the right to seek accountability for their negligence or misconduct behind the wheel. You may have more options than you initially realize for holding them responsible for their actions and obtaining the compensation you need to recover.

Ewing Law Group, PC can provide the comprehensive and compassionate legal representation you need for a motorcycle crash claim. Our team has decades of professional legal experience handling all types of personal injury claims in Sacramento that we can leverage on your behalf. Time is a crucial consideration for anyone seeking compensation for a personal injury, and the sooner you connect with our team, the sooner we can start helping you secure the compensation you legally deserve.

You are not legally obligated to hire an attorney to help you recover from a motorcycle crash. However, you are more likely to obtain the fullest recovery possible when you have legal counsel you can trust advising you. The right attorney can handle all the proceedings and allow you to focus on your recovery with peace of mind, but they can also uncover every type of compensation you can seek from the defendant. Our team is often able to exceed clients’ initial expectations in terms of the compensation we can secure on their behalf.

When you have a Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney representing you, you will have access to a reliable legal advocate who can answer your most pressing questions as they arise. If you have any concerns about your case’s developments, Ewing Law Group, PC will be readily available to address your concerns and provide the guidance and support you need to approach these difficult proceedings with confidence. As your legal representative, Ewing Law Group, PC will seek maximum compensation for the damages and aim to secure this compensation in the most efficient manner possible under California law.

Even the most experienced motorcyclists face risks when they ride. Accidents can happen with little to no warning on virtually any road, and it is impossible for any rider to predict how other motorists around them will act. Not only do motorcyclists face the same risks as all other drivers, but they face an even greater risk of serious injury or death due to the inherent safety issues their vehicles present. Motorcycles are inherently more dangerous than standard passenger vehicles for several reasons:

• Motorcycles do not have the same safety features that enclosed vehicles have, such as crash-resistant frames, airbags, or seatbelts.
• Motorcycles are much smaller than most other vehicles, leaving them susceptible to slipping into other drivers’ blind spots.
• Motorcycles are very fast and maneuverable, which, unfortunately, encourages some riders to engage in risky behaviors.
• When a motorcycle crash happens, the rider not only faces the risk of injury from the impact of the other vehicle, but also the secondary impact of hitting the ground.

It’s possible for motorcycle crashes to happen for many of the same reasons that all other vehicle accidents occur. However, motorcycle crashes tend to be far more damaging. Even the highest-quality helmets and safety gear can only mitigate injuries in a motorcycle crash, not prevent them entirely.

Most motorcycle crashes reported in the Sacramento area are the results of negligence, a term used to describe a failure to act with reasonable care in a given situation. Common examples of negligence that can cause a motorcycle crash include moving violations, distracted driving, and speeding. Excessive speeding could lead to a reckless driving charge for the driver at fault, especially if their speeding caused a serious accident. Motorcycle crashes may also occur from intentional misconduct behind the wheel, driving under the influence (DUI) being the most common example of this.

Whether your motorcycle crash resulted from negligence or illegal action, you must be prepared to prove who caused the accident because you cannot recover any compensation before doing that. The state upholds the fault rule for vehicle accidents, meaning the driver at fault for causing the accident is liable for the damages they inflict on others. Your Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney can assist you in proving fault and identifying all parties liable for the damages.

Your case may require eyewitness testimony from other parties who saw the motorcycle crash happen, and your attorney can assist you with gathering physical evidence and securing expert witness testimony to support your case. Accident reconstruction experts and engineers commonly participate in vehicle accident cases, explaining exactly how these incidents happened and providing valuable professional insights to help victims recover. In addition, it’s possible for expert witnesses to testify in support of a plaintiff’s claim for damages, helping them justify the amount of pain and suffering compensation they are seeking and/or proving that the damages they claim directly resulted from the defendant’s actions.

Your Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney can assist you in meeting the legal prerequisites of your case, identifying the party or parties responsible for the damages you suffered, and helping you secure as much compensation as the law allows. Your recovery from the accident is likely to begin with a claim against the liable driver’s auto insurance policy, followed by a personal injury claim if they do not have enough insurance coverage to fully repay your damages.

Every driver must have car insurance meeting the basic coverage requirements for property damage and bodily injury. At a minimum, a driver’s insurance policy must provide at least $15,000 of bodily injury liability coverage for a single person, $30,000 or more in total accident liability coverage for bodily injuries to multiple victims, and no less than $5,000 to cover property damage.

These coverage amounts may be enough to compensate the victim of a minor accident, but motorcycle crashes are often tremendously damaging. If the driver who was at fault does not have enough insurance coverage to compensate you for your losses, or if they do not have auto insurance at all, you will need to file a personal injury suit against them to recover your losses.

The state has a very high rate of uninsured drivers, and while not required, it is strongly recommended that drivers purchase uninsured motorist coverage with their auto insurance policies. This optional coverage allows you to file a claim for compensation against your own policy after an uninsured driver has caused an accident with you. This can be a valuable lifeline when it comes to recovering your losses caused by an uninsured driver.

Whatever your insurance situation may be after a motorcycle crash, dealing with insurance companies can be incredibly stressful. The average person may unintentionally agree to a lowball settlement offer, or they may lose their chance to secure compensation through the claim at all due to the insurance company’s bad faith handling of their claim. Hiring a Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney to assist you with the insurance claim filing process helps eliminate these risks.

Many motorcycle crashes cause severe physical injuries that lead to expensive medical bills. These injuries can also prevent victims from working, further exacerbating their difficult financial situations and often leaving them wondering how they can recover. Once you secure as much compensation as possible through the auto insurance claim process, you can take the next step and proceed with a personal injury claim against the driver at fault to recover your remaining damages.

California law allows the plaintiff in a personal injury case to seek full repayment for all the economic damages the defendant caused, which will likely include:

• Medical treatment costs, both immediate and future. The defendant who injured you is legally responsible for paying for all medical care you need to achieve maximum medical recovery from your injuries. If you need long-term rehabilitation, they are responsible for all associated costs as well as your immediate healthcare expenses like hospital bills.
  
  
• Lost wages. When your accident means you can’t earn income, the defendant can be held accountable for the income you could have earned if they had not injured you. Your attorney can help calculate these losses, including the value of paid time off or vacation time you needed to use in the aftermath of your accident.
  
  
• Lost earning power. Unfortunately, motorcycle crashes can easily cause life-changing injuries that prevent victims from working in the future. If this applies to your case and you cannot work at all or cannot earn as much due to the defendant’s actions, your Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney can help hold them accountable for the income you otherwise would have been able to earn in the future.
  
  
• Property damage. The insurance claim against the driver who is liable should yield compensation for the cost of repairing or replacing your bike, but any property losses that you cannot recover through insurance can be included as economic damages in your civil suit against the driver responsible for the accident.

After your legal team has helped you accurately calculate your economic damages, you might learn that your claim is worth more than you initially expected, but your recovery does not end there. State law also allows the plaintiff in a personal injury case to make the defendant pay for the non-economic damages they caused.

There is no limit to pain and suffering compensation in a motorcycle crash claim in the state, so this could amount to more than the total of all your other claimed damages, depending on the severity of your accident. You have the right to hold the defendant accountable for the physical pain, emotional distress, and trauma you experienced.

If it sounds difficult to assign monetary value to things like pain and mental distress, your attorney can provide guidance for this aspect of your claim. If you suffered injuries causing permanent damage, your attorney is more likely to seek a large lump sum using the multiplier method. This entails multiplying the total amount of your economic losses by a factor that represents the severity of your condition after the accident, usually one to five. Alternatively, if you are expected to make a full recovery in the near future, they may aim for a per diem settlement that awards compensation based on how long it will take you to fully recover.

The majority of civil claims filed in Sacramento are not resolved in litigation. Most personal injury claims are settled, meaning the parties involved in the case meet privately outside of court to discuss terms for resolving the case. This allows both parties to avoid public attention and to have more influence over the final outcome. As long as the defendant is clearly liable and they accept responsibility for their actions, a good attorney should be able to settle their client’s case in a matter of weeks.

Unfortunately for some injured plaintiffs, settlement is not always possible. If the defendant denies liability for the damages, refuses to settle for any reason, or disputes the damages you are claiming, your case may need to go to court. Litigation takes much longer than settlement, and the judge handling the case has the final say when it comes to the plaintiff’s recovery. It is generally in the interests of both parties to seek a swift settlement, avoiding the stress, expense, and time investment that litigation requires.

Most personal injury attorneys offer representation on a contingency fee basis, eliminating the financial risk of hiring legal representation when an injured plaintiff is already struggling with the financial effects of their injury. The Ewing Law Group, PC offers several payment options to our clients, and our goal in every case we accept is to help our clients recover as fully as possible. We’ll carefully explain our billing policy so there are no surprises when it comes to the cost of your representation.

You have a very limited time in which to file an insurance claim after an accident, and the state upholds a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. It’s advisable to secure legal counsel before attempting to negotiate with any insurance company, and the sooner you connect with an attorney you can trust, the sooner they can start helping you build your personal injury claim.

The right Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney is an invaluable asset for your impending case in several ways. From the outset of your recovery efforts, they can help gather the evidence and testimony needed to firmly establish liability for the damages. When it comes to proving fault and meeting the other prerequisites of your case in civil court, you will have a legal advocate readily available to provide the guidance and support you need for your case.

Dealing with any insurance company on your own can be intimidating and stressful, and you are unlikely to reach optimal results in any insurance claim without an attorney’s assistance. When you have the Ewing Law Group, PC representing you, we can help draft your demand letter to the responsible driver’s insurance carrier and verify that they handle your claim in good faith. If any issues arise with the insurance company’s handling of your claim, we can address these problems on your behalf and resolve them as effectively as possible.

When you must file a personal injury suit against the driver who injured you, our firm is committed to building the most comprehensive case possible, uncovering all the evidence you need to firmly prove fault and highlighting every one of your claimable losses. We can assist you in building a compelling case that encourages the defendant to seek the swiftest settlement possible, and we can look for all the ways we can find to streamline your proceedings and shorten the time it takes you to recover your losses.

Ultimately, every motorcycle crash case is unique, and every plaintiff will face different challenges and have different opportunities available to them in their recovery efforts. If you are unsure how you will recover from a motorcycle crash that another party recently caused, the Ewing Law Group, PC is ready to provide the legal counsel you need to move forward with your recovery efforts with peace of mind. Contact us today and schedule a consultation with a Sacramento motorcycle crash attorney to learn more about the legal services we can provide after a motorcycle crash.