Category Archives: Motorcycle Accidents

How To Deal With Insurance Adjusters After Accidents

This article provides several tips and important information for dealing with insurance adjusters after you have been involved in an accident.

Serious Car Accident Picture

Serious Car Accident Picture

Being involved in a car accident, bus accident, trucking accident, motorcycle accident, or any other accident with serious injuries can be devastating. In addition to the ever-rising medical bills, you are left to struggle to meet the costs demanded of daily living: paying the rent, buying food, and taking care of your family and children. When you are facing serious accident injuries and tremendous medical bills, you may be tempted to accept the first personal injury settlement offer presented to you by an insurance company or insurance adjuster. This article will hopefully provide you with valuable information about how to deal with insurance adjusters after accidents.

The First Offers From Insurance Companies Are Usually Low

The first accident injury settlement offer an insurance adjuster makes is usually on the low end, even if it sounds like a lot of money to you. Remember, insurance adjusters work for the insurance company and are trained to settle claims for the least amount of money possible. This is their business. Hiring an experienced Florida accident injury attorney can help level the playing field for you and your family. Our firm’s aggressive Florida accident injury attorney team consists of strong advocates fighting for your best interests in obtaining you maximum compensation for your insurance settlement.

Insurance Adjusters Think Accident Injury Victims Don’t Know The Value Of Their Claim

Serious Bus Accident Picture

Serious Bus Accident Picture

Many accident injury victims are not aware of the value of their claim and jump at the first offer from the insurance company. This is where an experienced accident injury attorney can help you deal with the insurance companies. Our experienced accident injury attorneys can help you calculate both immediate and future damages of your accident injuries. Some examples of serious damages from accident injuries include the following:

  • medical bills,
  • time missed from work (both now and in the future),
  • loss of earning potential,
  • impact of injury on lifestyle,
  • pain and suffering and
  • any other out-of-pocket expenses you may have incurred as a result of being involved in an accident.

What You Say To An Insurance Company Can Minimize The Value Of Your Claim

When an insurance adjustor contacts you to “help you settle your claim,” remember that he or she may try to get you to say things that will minimize the value of your claim. For this reason, it is important to have an experienced Florida accident injury attorney that knows how to deal with insurance adjusters after accidents and either negotiate a settlement or file an accident injury lawsuit on your behalf. Even if you try to cooperate with the at-fault party’s insurance company, your statements may be used against you and misconstrued to diminish the amount of money that you are legally entitled to receive for your accident injuries.

Early Contact By The Insurance Company Is A Strategy To Minimize Your Claim

Insurance Adjuster Waiver of Damage Form

Insurance adjusters also commonly try to contact accident victims soon after an accident before the victims are able to fully assess their injuries and/or damages. Often times, injuries take time to show up and are not discovered immediately after an accident. Some injuries even require significant treatment into the foreseeable future. By executing a waiver or any documents proposed by the insurance company before you are unaware of the full extent of your injuries and how they may impact your future, you may waive your right to receive compensation that could help get you back on your feet and back to work. It is best to refuse to speak to an insurance adjuster until you consult a qualified Florida accident injury attorney about how to deal with insurance adjusters after accidents.

After reaching a fair settlement with an insurance company, you may be asked to sign a “Release and Waiver” form. This form prevents you from filing additional claims or additional lawsuits in the future and asks you to give up certain rights that you may otherwise be entitled to. It is a good idea to have an experienced Florida accident injury attorney look over a “Release and Waiver” form before you sign it to make sure your best interests are protected.

A sound practice is to hire an attorney to handle all communication with an insurance company or insurance adjuster. Our experienced accident injury attorneys are generally able to settle accident injury claims for more money than accident victims who try to settle claims on their own. Remember, if you have been injured in a car accident, bus accident, trucking accident, motorcycle accident, or any other type of accident resulting in serious injuries, please call our experienced Florida accident injury attorneys toll free at (888) 252-0048 to receive a free consultation for your accident.

Motorcycle Accidents

The Florida Motorcycle Accident Attorneys of Gilman Law LLP are Here to Help You.

Accidents: Car Accidents | Truck Accidents | Motorcycle Accidents | Bus Accidents | Bicycle Injuries |Pedestrian Accidents

Motorcycles have seen a surge in popularity in recent years and there are favored routes for Florida enthusiasts, from the Daytona Beach loop to a Gulf Coast cruise to a trip to the Keys. However, because motorcycles are relatively small in size, they are less visible to other drivers on the road. As a consequence, even motorcyclists who carefully follow the traffic laws are more vulnerable to accidents than people traveling in cars and trucks — and each year, thousands of Florida motorcyclists are injured in collisions.

If you’ve been injured by the carelessness of another motorist, Gilman Law LLP can help. We are a Florida personal injury law firm with a team of experienced motorcycle accident lawyers, and we are committed to obtaining the best possible financial results for the victims of motorcycle crashes. We have achieved notable successes in winning large settlements to ensure our clients can fully recover after a serious personal injury. Fill out our online form or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) for your free case evaluation. Our motorcycle accident attorneys serve clients across Florida, including Naples, Fort Myers, Marco  Island, Cape Coral, Lee County, Collier County, Everglades City, Golden Gate, Immokalee, Bonita Springs and Sanibel.

The number of people injured and killed in motorcycle accidents in Florida has increased dramatically in the last decade.  Motorcycle crashes in Florida have more than doubled since 1999–and the number of motorcycle fatalities has tripled.

More than 8,500 people were injured and 540 people died in motorcycle accidents in Florida in 2008, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The number of fatalities represents an increase of more than 400 percent in 10 years. Nearly one in five traffic fatalities in Florida in 2008 was a motorcycle crash victim.

Motorcyclists obeying traffic laws and wearing protective helmets are still at a big disadvantage in a collision with a car or truck, and the injuries can be catastrophic. They can include brain damage, head injuries, broken bones and burns.

Even a seemingly small leg and foot injury can costs thousands of dollars in medical bills. Motorcyclists’ legs and feet are vulnerable in a wreck, and those injuries can be extremely costly. An August 2008 federal study found that motorcyclists with a single leg or foot injury had a median hospital charge of $20,745.  Motorcyclists who had a lower-extremity injury and other injuries had median hospital charges of $56,288.

Can you cover those kinds of hospital bills on your own? Gilman Law LLP represents injury victims in Ft. Myers, Naples and throughout the State of Florida. Our Florida lawyers focus on the needs of motorcycle accident victims and are skilled at analyzing the factors that contributed to an accident to ensure that justice is served on behalf of our clients.

While motorcyclists can be at fault in accidents, many times other drivers cause accidents involving motorcycles. Half of all motorcycle crashes are caused by the failure of other motorists to detect the motorcyclist. Federal studies show that in 50 percent of all motorcycle crashes, the primary contributing factor to the accident was human error on the part of the driver of the other vehicle.

There are multiple explanations for these accidents. Many drivers of passenger cars and trucks involved in crashes with motorcycles do not see motorcyclists because of the motorcycle’s relatively small size. Even if motorists check their mirrors before changing lanes or turning, they may not see a motorcycle in the car’s blind spot, and an accident may occur. Drivers often pull out in front of a motorcyclists simply because they not see them. Many accidents occur at intersections or when cars pull out from side roads.

The number of people injured in motorcycle accidents increased by 4 percent in 2008 in Florida, claiming 8,519 injury victims. About 60 percent of those injured were between the ages of 25 and 54, and more than 90 percent were males. Motorcycle accidents more than doubled from 4,451 in 1999 to 9,618 accidents in 2008.

Of the 540 motorcyclists and their passengers who died in Florida in 2008, a third were not wearing helmets. Head injury is a leading cause of deaths in motorcycle accidents.

Nationally, the number of people injured in motorcycle accidents has increased by 110 percent in the last decade, even as injuries in motor vehicle crashes has declined since 1999, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While injuries increased in every age category, the largest number of motorcyclists injured each year were ages 20-29.

Two-thirds of the motorcyclists injured were involved in crashes in daytime and about a third were injured during nighttime accidents. More than two-thirds of the motorcycle accidents causing injuries occurred from April through September, which is the high riding season for motorcyclists.

Motorcyclists have the same rights as any other person on the road, and they deserve an aggressive lawyer to fight for those rights.

While the Florida motorcycle accident lawyers in our firm recognize that no amount of money can compensate for the pain and suffering from a serious accident or loss of a loved one, a fair settlement will allow an accident victim and their family to have the financial security to maintain a good quality of life.

If you or someone you love has been injured on a motorcycle through the fault of others, we urge you to contact one of our Florida motorcycle accident lawyers to protect your rights. Gilman Law LLP is a Florida personal injury law firm here to help. Please fill out our online form, or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case with one of our experienced motorcycle accident attorneys.