It is summertime in Iowa and that means a lot more motorcyclists on the rode enjoying one of America’s growing past times – motorcycle riding. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of households owning a motorcycle has been steadily increasing over the last 10 years.
Additionally, more older Iowans are riding motorcycles and, as a result, there has been an increased focus on safety among motorcycle riders. This has included motorcycle training courses and the Share the Road movement, which is “intended to reduce accidents between drivers and motorcyclist by seeing, respecting and understanding a motorcyclist’s needs and rights on the highway.”
Despite the increased focus on safety, unfortunately, motorcyclists are still at a higher risk for injuries and fatalities from an accident than other drivers. If you have been injured in a motorcycle crash or have lost a loved one in a motorcycle crash, there can be a lot of complicated legal issues and a motorcycle injury attorney may be able to help you so that you can focus only on healing and recovering from a crash. Here are three things that a motorcycle injury attorney may be able to help you with:
Determining the Insurance Available to Compensate You: When you have been injured because of the negligence of another it can be overwhelming to determine which insurance company should be paying your medical bills and should compensate you for your injuries. This can be complicated in motorcycle injury cases because many motorcycle insurance policies do not include uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or medical payments coverage; however, Iowa has specific laws about this type of coverage. This can mean that it is important to determine the type of insurance that the negligent driver has and also to review your own insurance policy to determine what kind of coverage you have and if you may have additional coverage available because of Iowa’s insurance laws. In addition to these considerations, you also need to determine if your health insurance carrier should be paying your medical bills for treatment as you receive it and if they will be entitled to be paid back if you recover from the other driver. These issues are complicated but are very important to make sure that you recover as much as possible to help you with everything that you have to deal with when you have been unexpectedly injured. A motorcycle injury attorney can help you sort through these issues.
Proving Who Caused the Crash: Motorcycle crashes can raise additional issues about who is at fault for a crash. Oftentimes the other driver will claim that they didn’t see the motorcycle and may assume that the motorcyclist did something wrong to cause the crash. It is important to get copies of the police investigative file and talk with all witnesses in order to prove who was at fault for the crash. It may also be necessary to hire an accident reconstructionist if it is not clear how the crash occurred. If the other driver caused the crash, a motorcycle injury attorney can help prove that and therefore help protect your rights.
Overcoming Jury Biases: People can feel very strongly about motorcycles and motorcyclists. Some people feel motorcycles are inherently dangerous. Other people believe motorcyclists are dangerous drivers. But motorcyclists have the same rights as all drivers on the road and when they are injured, they have the same right to recover. If it becomes necessary to try your case in front of a jury (meaning it does not settle) a motorcycle injury attorney can try to help the jury understand motorcyclists’ rights.
If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident or if you have lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident, please call us at (319) 826-2250, or fill out our contact form, to discuss what you are going through and determine if we can help.
