Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Recently Injured in A Motorcycle Accident?

Posted by: Denver Attorneys

Obviously, if you have had a motorcycle accident and you are reading this advice, it may have been a few hours if not a few days since the accident. Here are a few things to consider when being in a motorcycle accident.

First, take a look around and determine if you or anyone involved with the accident are hurt. If so, make sure someone has called the police (911 in US). If there are not neck injuries, try and prevent blood loss by applying pressure. Even if some other driver caused you to be injured, it’s just good manners to help the other driver if they are hurt. They may even be so thankful that they admit their fault to you. The worst thing you can do from a legal position is admit any fault at the accident. You should make sure to consult with your Denver motorcycle injury attorney before talking with others about the accident. At this point you just want to help anyone who may be injured.

Second, make sure everyone is safe from being further injured. If you are in the middle of traffic and you are dizzy, make sure to sit down away from traffic. If your vehicle is a traffic hazard and you have accident warning devices like flares or triangles, put them out on the road to warn other drivers and get away from the car. Let the police or other emergency personnel investigate the scene with the vehicles in place and move them more safely at a later point.

Third, it is important to get the other driver’s information including their name, address, driver’s license number, make and model of their vehicles, license plate numbers, and their insurance company name and policy number. If there are witnesses, get their names and phone number too. If the other driver makes any admissions of fault, write those down as well.

Forth, if you have a camera on your cell phone or in the car and you aren’t too injured, take some photos of the vehicles and the scene. If you cannot do it right away, do it after you are released from the hospital or have someone else assist you.

Lastly, call a good Denver motorcycle injury lawyer as soon as you have had your initial treatment, so the lawyer can gather other important evidence and prevent the insurance company from taking advantage of you and obtaining such things as recorded statements that you feel fine, when many of your symptoms have yet to manifest themselves. A good motorcycle accident attorney can save you from making a great deal of mistakes and can shoulder much of the hassle of knowing what to do about car repairs, car rentals, medical treatment, witness statements and the like. If you think you will save money by not having an attorney, think again.

A good Colorado personal injury lawyer can almost always obtain much higher settlements, obtain reductions of medical bills and insurance liens and prevent you from making costly mistakes. Also, most motorcycle accident attorneys advance costs of obtaining police reports, medical records and the like and are paid and reimbursed for these costs only out of any settlement.

Can you collect on your suit?


The cardinal rule to all civil lawsuits: Don't sue unless you can collect the award. Unlike criminal law where the government can take your freedom or even your life, in civil law the only thing you can collect is property or cash, and the courts need to be able to access those tangible goods. So even if you win a million dollars in a damage liability suit with a homeless man, you will not see anything except his smiling face. People and business who are broke or can hide their assets are essentially impossible to collect from.

Good signs that you can collect your judgement from someone are a job, money in the bank, and real estate property. Wages can be garnished, so the employer pays a percentage to you before the employee. In most states, you can garnish up to a quarter of a person's wages. Government payments, pensions and disability are exempt, so the person must make money on some non-exempt way for you to collect. Most people in the united states do not have significant assets in the form of property or cash. So in most Denver motorcycle injury cases, this is where you would be receiving your payment.

Collecting from a legitimate business is usually relatively easy. If the company refuses to pay but is still collecting income, you can have the sheriff or other court agent go to the bank and physically take out the money owed. If the business is cash only, or doesn't have any real location you may be out of luck.

The next thing that can be seized by the court is property. In many Denver personal injury cases you may be able to claim some of the defendant's property. However some possessions are exempt, especially those that the defendant uses for his business. A defendant in bankruptcy is also exempt from any claims. Denver accident attorneys are therefore more leery of suing someone without extra property outside the home.

So the key factors that indicate a person will be able to pay that you should check before suing are: Personal or future income and business income. Licensed professionals may lose their license if they do not pay, and recent bankruptcies cannot file for bankruptcy again for a long time, so people in both these situations may be compelled to pay.

Did Your Attorney Tell You About Alternative Dispute Resolution?

If you are going through a divorce, chances are you have already hired a Denver family law attorney to help get you through the difficult process. If you have done this you are already headed in the right direction. If you have not, I would seriously consider doing so especially if there is children and assets involved. A Divorce is not necessarily the kind of case you want to represent yourself in. Denver divorce attorneys can help significantly help your chances of winning or get what you deserve from your spouse and the courts.

One thing you need to understand is there are two types of divorce attorneys out there; those who genuinely care about you and your life and those who could care less after your case is over. Obviously the attorneys that do not care are in it for the money and the attorneys who care would like to help benefit your future. If you do not have an idea of what type of family law attorney you hired, ask them to explain the different ways to settle the contested issues in your case.

There are 3 types of Alternative Dispute Resolutions:
(1) Mediation: both parties attend sessions with a neutral third party who will help them resolve the issues in your case. Both parties have the option to have their lawyer present during mediation. During the process, each party presents their side of the case and the mediator will then assist them in making decisions. It is not out of the norm for a mediator to give advice along the way to help move the process along.

(2) Settlement Negotiations: Most attorneys will and should encourage their clients to negotiate a settlement. In most courts, settlement is allowed up until a judge has declared a decision on a case. If a settlement has been agreed on, the case is over and the judge will not rule. Usually the attorneys involved will negotiate the entire case or at least narrow down some decisions for their client.

(3) Binding or non-binding Arbitration: In an arbitration, just like a mediation, the parties present their side of the case to a third party who then makes the decision based on their opinion on the issues. Arbitration is more formal than mediation but less formal than a trial. The difference between binding and non-binding is the parties have to follow the third parties decision in a binding arbitration. In a non-binding arbitration, the parties do not have to agree with the decision made by the third party. The family law attorneys will decide what type of arbitration would be used for the case ahead of time.

Divorce laws are completely different in all of the 50 states. If you are looking at filing for divorce in Colorado, look for the help of Denver divorce attorneys in your area.
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