Protecting You & Your Familyi From A Motorcycle Accident

In the last ten years, the fatality rate of motorcycle riders has nearly doubled. In 1999, there were 22.75 fatalities per 100,000,000 miles traveled by motorcycles in the United States. In a recent study in 2009 the numbers are around 40 per 1 million miles traveled by riders!

Not only have the number of deaths gone up in the US, the number of motorcycles on the road has gone up too, which makes sense. The increase in motorcycle sales has alarmed some people as the more motorcycles on the road, the more accidents that will occur involving motorcycles. This is a scary thought as a motorcyclist is 35 times more likely to be killed than automobile drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, if you ride a motorcycle you have nearly a 50% chance of being involved in a motorcycle accident in your lifetime. Given this information all motorcycle drivers need to make sure they do the following:

1.) Make sure to get motorcycle insurance that will cover your medical bills should you get in an accident. Most state laws only require drivers to carry only $20,000 in insurance coverage for injuries and medical bills. If you think about how much medical bills has increased over the past few years, this number is not nearly enough to cover a motorcycle accident.

2.) It is always a good idea to have a Denver motorcycle injury lawyer in your contact list. If you happen to get in a motorcycle accident, you do not want to have to worry about finding a motorcycle attorney when you are dealing with police, insurance companies and doctors. If you contact a motorcycle injury lawyer when you start riding you will always have someone to call if something happens to you while you ride.

With the increase in motorcycles on the road today and the number of accidents makes riding motorcycles very dangerous. Not only do you need the proper insurance, but you also need to have a Denver motorcycle injury lawyer who you can count on if you happen to get in a motorcycle accident.

When a Lawyer Can Help With a Personal Injury Case

There are many legal cases that can be handled by citizens without the help of a lawyer. For small claims in civil court, the cost of hiring a lawyer is often higher than the cost of the claim. If you are lucky and the other party behaved maliciously, you might get the court to pay for all your legal costs. If you have been sued however, the only way to recover any court costs is to sue them back, which leads to a drawn out legal process. Personal injury cases complicate the matter, especially if your health is in a state where it would be hard to represent yourself.

If you were severely injured, it is best to hire a Denver injury attorney because the cost of your medical bills will probably be significant. Not to mention that you want to spend your time recuperating and not talking to witnesses and dealing with the insurance company.

The first thing the injury lawyer will do after talking to witnesses is start recording all your losses from the accident. These may be medical bills, lost work or personal distress. The higher the possible compensation, the larger the possible range and things like negotiating with the insurance company start to kick in. The insurance company's job is to pay as little as possible, so it is better to have a Denver personal injury lawyer to represent your interests.

If you were sued for an injury someone is claiming you are responsible for, it is also a good idea to have legal representation. If the charge is ridiculous you can move to have it dropped, but it is important to not ignore any lawsuit or the other party can ask the judge to rule for a default judgement. This means if you never respond to the lawsuit, the plaintiff automatically gets whatever they asked for.

Other cases where having a Denver personal injury attorney represent you is important are ones where the other side is sure to have an insurance company and a high power legal team on their side. This may be a doctor or hospital in medical malpractice cases or a corporation in negligence cases that led to injury. Injuries from toxic products are also hard to get paid because these conglomerate corporations have both the best legal teams and defenses set up through their legislative lobbying. Proving a toxic chemical injured you often requires expert scientific witnesses.

The last case where it would be prudent to hire a lawyer is if the insurance company for the defendant refuses to pay. Insurance company lawyers are even more well versed than the average corporation at dodging their legal responsibilities. You may have to hire a lawyer to get anything at all, although you will have to pay the cost of hiring. For large cases that the law firm judges could be quite lucrative, the firm may offer to take the cost of their services out of the settlement if they win.

Motorcycle - Car Collisions

Bikers like to spend most of their time cruising on the open road or winding through canyons. Only a small portion of motorcycle riding time is spent at intersections, but fully half of all Denver motorcycle accidents occur at intersections, according to the traffic safety commission. Of course almost the other half of accidents occur because drivers think they have more control than they really do and crash trying to do something stupid.

One reason that motorcycles are so vulnerable at intersections is because drivers simply do not see them. Drivers are usually looking out for other cars and may not notice something much smaller like a motorcyclist or bicycle rider. The best way to counteract this is to maximize visibility and follow the rules of a road. Many Denver motorcycle crashes are caused by riders who think they do not have to follow traffic laws. Weaving between lanes and making illegal turns are especially dangerous for riders because they have no protection. Getting into an accident on a motorcycle almost guarantees an injury. The car driver might not even have to call his insurance company, while you will need a Denver personal injury attorney just to pay your medical bills.

If you were injured on a motorcycle and were breaking the law, then you will probably be liable for the accident. At the very least, you will not be able to sue the other driver in a Denver injury lawsuit, unless your state has comparative negligence laws. Because of biker's bad reputation in driving, even if the crash was not their fault, police or insurance may blame you anyways. This is the case where you may need witnesses or a specialized traffic attorney. Motorcycle attorneys specialize in this kind of case.

If who is at fault is questionable, the easiest way to determine what the court will believe is to review the traffic and other pertinent laws. Right-of-way is an important law that many people violate. Sometimes traffic sensors have trouble detecting motorcycles at intersections, so this may be a defense if the light never turned. Remember that as a motorcyclist you have to yield to bicycles and cars just like anyone else. Always come to a complete stop at an intersection.

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.

Services A Denver Family Lawyer Can Provide

When you are dealing with such important things such as child custody or division of your property and assets, things that both will effect the rest of your life you are going to make certain you have a great Denver Family law Attorney. Great representation in the courtroom is critical in a favorable outcome of a nasty divorce. You will want to find a family law attorney with a caring attitude, a great staff and certainly a lot of experience in family law. If you thinking about filing for divorce and do not understand how important a good Denver lawyer is to your case, here are some areas a family law attorney can help you with:

• Collaborative Family Law


• Domestic Violence Restraining Orders


• Modification of Orders


• Child Custody


• Child Support


• Contempt of Court


• Dissolution of Marriage


• Enforcement of Orders


• Mediation


• Parenting Plans


• Payment of Child Support


• Payment of Spousal Support


• Pre Nuptial Agreements


• Ex-Parte Hearings


• Legal Forms

If you are looking for a Denver family law attorney you can trust, I strongly recommend Rob Cohen or the Denver Law Firm: Cohen & Cohen P.C. Rob has a great knowledge of all of the Colorado divorce laws and has helped families in the Denver area for the past 7 years. Check out Rob Cohen's website: Denver Family Law for more information.