If you were in a motorcycle accident, chances are good that you’re injured. Possibly severely. A Henderson Motorcycle Accident Lawyer can help you determine which type and how much compensation you are entitled to. And then fight for it on your behalf. Your injuries may affect your ability to work, interact with your family like you once did, or enjoy your favorite leisure activities. Then there’s the cost – those you receive a bill for like medical bills and can easily calculate like lost wages and then those that are much harder to quantify such as pain and suffering and emotional distress.
How Does All This Work?
You’ve been injured. Now what? You should contact a Henderson motorcycle lawyer as soon as you can. Under Nevada law, you have two years from the date of your accident to file your lawsuit. The sooner you contact an skilled Henderson personal injury attorney, the sooner they can begin preparing your case. Your lawyer needs time to understand the facts of your case, evaluate the possible damages you may be entitled to, ensure there is a proper legal basis for your claims, and determine the proper defendant or defendants. It’s exceedingly rare in motorcycle accident cases that only the other driver is a party. It’s almost guaranteed that insurance companies will be involved – yours and/or theirs. And suing the wrong person can get your case thrown out entirely, leaving you to start over and possibly running up against the two-year deadline.
Once you and your attorney have gone over your case in detail, he or she will begin to prepare your suit. Your suit has to allege specific wrongs and state the legal basis behind each. By signing his or her name to your lawsuit, that person is certifying to the court that the claims are valid and that there is evidence against the other party, either that is currently in hand or that can be obtained through an investigation, to support them.
Negotiation
Joseph L. Benson II, and Ben J. Bingham, Henderson Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
Ultimately, your case may proceed to a jury at trial. Most often, though, motorcycle accident cases never get that far because the parties reach an out of court settlement. Soon after filing your case, your attorney will reach out to the defendants to begin settlement talks. It’s a virtual certainty that any offer received immediately after you file your suit will be a low-ball offer to simply get you out of their hair so they can move on. And while it is unfair to characterize insurance companies as inherently evil, they do have a vested interest in paying you the very least amount they can get away with. A competent attorney knows this and will stand up for you and try to get the best settlement.
Negotiations are usually ongoing endeavors. As more evidence comes to light in your case, your argument for a greater settlement amount may very well get stronger and your attorney should be able to use evidence as it’s discovered to return to negotiations with the defendants. In fact, negotiations can continue all the way up until that time a jury is given your case to deliberate, so it is generally a bad idea to ever just walk away from the negotiating table.
In the end, though, you are the captain of your the ship of your case and that decision lies with you. Your attorney’s job is to advise you about the sufficiency of any offers received (they have to tell you about all offers received) and provide an opinion regarding your chances in front of a jury, but you and you alone get to make the final decision.
Investigation and Expert Witnesses
Critical to the ultimate success of any motorcycle accident suit is the quality of the investigation done on your behalf. A good attorney will have on his team at least one investigator, and possibly several, assigned to your case. As with settlement negotiations, investigation usually begins soon after you file. Investigators will talk to witnesses, review your medical records and police reports, and coordinate with your attorney to ensure that no stone is left unturned.
Depending on the facts of your case, it may also be necessary for your lawyer to bring in expert witnesses. This might include a doctor or psychiatrist who provided your diagnosis to discuss it and offer his or her opinion on your long term prognosis for returning to your pre-accident life. It may be that your case would benefit from an accident reconstruction specialist. If your accident has limited your ability to work in the same profession you previously, did, thereby requiring you to take a lower paying job, an actuary might be called in to calculate the amount of your loss of future wages. Determining which experts are necessary to your case requires a detailed analysis of your situation and varies from case to case.
Jury Trial
If, after all the negotiations that have taken place in your case are unsuccessful and you choose not to accept a settlement offer, your case will proceed to a jury trial. Litigation requires a specific set of skills not all attorneys possess. A competent litigator understands how to select and talk to jurors, has an expert understanding of law and the rules of evidence and procedure, and understands when to push and when to back off of witnesses, depending on how they are responding to her.
In selecting your attorney, ask about their trial background. Do your own research and make sure you choose someone competent and willing to handle your case through the entire process, from choosing the proper defendants to fighting for a jury verdict, if necessary.
Contact a Henderson Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Motorcycle accident cases are complicated and full of moving parts. At Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC, we understand the gravity of your situation and have the experience and expertise to zealously fight for your rights and every dollar of compensation you are entitled to. While no two cases are alike and there are no guarantees about any particular result in your case, our attorneys have a proven track record of recovery for our clients (with more than $500 million recovered) and will bring to bear the totality of our experience, expertise, and compassion to your case.
Contact Benson & Bingham online or at (702) 382-9797 for your free consultation and case evaluation today. Let us fight your legal battle so you can fight to regain your life.
