motorcycle accident

Protect Yourself from Insurance Company Unfair Settlements After a Motorcycle Accident

By Personal Injury Lawyer on January 14, 2010

One way an insurance company may deny compensation to someone who is owed payment on a personal injury claim is to not share the uninsured and underinsured motorist laws when it comes to motorcycle accidents in Arizona.

Even if you have not purchased uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for your bike, the policy for any vehicle you own or any vehicle owned by a family member with whom you reside may be adequate to cover your motorcycle accident. This fact gains significant importance as soon as the medical bills following a motorcycle accident are too expensive for the other at-fault driver’s insurance company to pay. In this way, hiring an experienced Peoria, Arizona motorcycle accident attorney who understands Arizona insurance laws will increase the possibility of gaining a greater amount of money to resolve medical bills and compensate for wage loss and other out-of-pocket expenses.

If you want honest answers and an expert opinion on how best to pursue a motorcycle accident claim, please feel free to phone us at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. We call it as we see it. We will not tell you only what you want to hear or tell you how great your case is even if there are problems with it. For honest answers to help you decide whether or not you have a credible motorcycle accident claim, give our Arizona personal injury lawyers a call. For a realistic picture of the kind of compensation you can expect to win, give us a call.

How to Handle the Challenge of Dealing with Insurance Companies

By Personal Injury Lawyer on November 24, 2009

Dealing with insurance companies can seem like trying to navigate a minefield. But when you have an experienced attorney on your side, you don’t have to worry. A skilled attorney knows how to develop a strong case on your behalf and can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

So if you do receive any paperwork after you’ve been in an auto accident, then please don’t sign it. Again, the insurance company is not looking out for you – regardless of what they might say over the phone. Therefore, if you were involved in a serious accident, then it’s important to contact a Glendale personal injury attorney. A skilled lawyer has dealt with many of the insurance companies in the past in similar situations and knows exactly which documents might hurt your case simply by signing them.

If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident in Glendale – or somewhere else in Arizona – and you have questions about dealing with the insurance company, please contact the personal injury lawyers at Breyer Law Offices today. We offer a free, no obligation initial consultation to discuss your case, review your options, and answer any questions you may have. Please call us today at 602-978-6400 to schedule a free case review or visit our main website at www.BreyerLaw.com for more information.

Do Insurance Companies Really Try to Deny a Fair Settlement for Victims of Motorcycle Accidents? (Part Two)

By Personal Injury Lawyer on November 19, 2009

In Part Two of our discussion regarding how insurance companies may try to deny a fair settlement for victims of motorcycle crashes, we start by addressing that there is a way to fight the law that allows insurance companies to deny fair payment to a victim who was not wearing a helmet. An insurance company may imply that you simply cannot argue this law and that it’s set in stone, but the truth of the matter is that the burden of proof rests with the at fault driver, not with the injured victim. Therefore, the at fault driver and their insurance company have a higher standard to meet. By hiring a skilled attorney – one with experience in dealing with motorcycle accidents in Glendale – you may still be able to receive full compensation for your injuries. A top notch attorney will be able to hire expert witnesses, evaluate the facts and the law, and develop strong legal arguments on your behalf.

Another way in which an insurance company will sometimes try to deny compensation is to not share information about the uninsured and underinsured motorist laws. You might not have this kind of coverage in your current motorcycle accident policy, but you may have it if you own a car with insurance or if one of your family member’s who lives with you owns a car with this type of coverage. If that’s the case, then you can actually use this portion of your car insurance policy to help you pay for things like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

If you’ve been in a motorcycle accident and the insurance company is trying to deny your claim for compensation, call the motorcycle accident attorneys in Glendale at Breyer Law Offices. We’ll give you honest answers and information about all of your legal options. We offer a free, no obligation initial consultation to review your case. So there’s no reason to wait. Give us a call today.

Do Insurance Companies Really Try to Deny a Fair Settlement for Victims of Motorcycle Accidents? (Part One)

By Personal Injury Lawyer on November 18, 2009

In the first of two blog posts addressing whether insurance companies really try to deny a fair settlement for victims of motorcycle accidents, we begin by saying that, yes, it’s true. The at fault driver and the insurance company will most likely do anything possible in order to try and deny your fair compensation for your Glendale motorcycle accident.

Many times, insurance companies will try and play games with the victims of a motorcycle accident or an auto accident. However, there are certain things that an insurance company will try to pull strictly on motorcyclists in an attempt to deny a personal injury claim. For that reason, it’s critically important to retain a skilled Glendale motorcycle accident attorney – one who knows the law pertaining to motorcycles inside and out.

So, how exactly will an insurance company try and deny your claim? Well, there are really a number of ways – and in fact, the ways are really too long to list here. That said, there are some things we’ve seen insurance companies do time and again in order to try and deny your claim for injuries and damages.

First of all, you’re probably already aware that under Arizona law, you don’t have to wear a helmet while driving a motorcycle as long as you are over the age of 18. So for most riders, it’s completely legal to ride a motorcycle and not wear a helmet. But there’s also a law on the Arizona books giving an insurance company the right to deny fair payment to the injured victim just because the victim was not wearing a helmet. So in a way, the law tricks motorcycle drivers who don’t know any better when it comes to wearing a helmet. Motorcyclists are allowed by law to not wear a helmet, and yet if they are involved and injured in a car accident, then they can be penalized for following the law – and their personal injury claim could be denied. This argument is allowed even if all the parties involved agree that the motorcyclist was not at fault in any way.

For more information on how some insurance companies will try to deny a fair settlement for victims of motorcycle collisions, please read Part Two of our series tomorrow.

Accidents Caused by Cars Turning Left in Front of Motorcycles and Bicycles

By Personal Injury Lawyer on October 13, 2009

As personal injury attorneys in Mesa who have handled hundreds of car accidents, we’ve seen many kinds of accidents repeat themselves. One common accident we’ve seen time and again is when a car turns left directly in front of a bike or motorcycle, cutting them off and causing an accident. In fact, we’ve even seen documentation in motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson’s owner’s manual about this occurrence. In the manual, it mentions that this is one of the most common types of accidents for motorcyclists and that the driver of the car usually doesn’t even notice the motorcycle rider. For some strange reason, many drivers forget that they should not only be looking for other oncoming cars and trucks, but also bikes and motorcycles, too.

In many of these cases, the driver of the car will typically claim that the motorcyclist was speeding or that a bicyclist came out of nowhere and should have been paying more attention. They will try to blame the victim of the accident simply because, in their mind, they were following the law and it must have been the other motorcycle or bike rider who was at fault.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a similar train of thought with many people, including those who sit on juries. There is an undeniable bias when it comes to personal injury cases involving motorcycles or bicycles. Why? We don’t really know for sure. As you know, driving a motorcycle or riding a bike are perfectly legal activities – and someone should not be punished for engaging in a perfectly legal activity, especially when they are injured due to someone else’s negligence. So, we can only guess that many people probably don’t ride a motorcycle or haven’t ridden a bike since childhood. They may view motorcycle drivers and bicycle riders less favorably than the driver of a car or truck.

As a result of this bias, it is critically important that victims don’t just assume justice will be done simply because they are the victim. Insurance companies are especially aggressive when it comes to defending motorcycle and bicycle accident cases. That’s why in these kinds of personal injury claims, every “i” must be dotted and every “t” must be crossed. Personal injury cases involving bikes and motorcycles must be properly worked up and vital evidence must be gathered efficiently and correctly. In short, everything must be done to prevent the at fault driver from getting away with the injuries and damages they caused. Here at Breyer Law Offices, we work hard to ensure that drivers are held accountable for not paying attention or breaking the law and causing injuries to an innocent motorcyclist or bicycle rider.

If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle or bicycle accident in Mesa and you’re looking for answers, please contact us today. We are always available to answer your questions about a possible personal injury claim. We’ve represented thousands of clients and we understand that dealing with a lawyer and a possible lawsuit can seem intimidating and daunting. But rest assured that we will do everything possible to answer your questions and provide the guidance and advice you need so you can make the best decision for you and your family. Contact us today for more information and to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation.

How Motorcycle Collision Attorneys in Arizona Can Help

By Personal Injury Lawyer on October 1, 2009

Police often do not take injuries suffered by motorcyclists seriously enough when they respond to motorcycle accidents in which a larger motor vehicle caused the accident.

There is a definite prejudice that seems to exist against people who ride motorcycles. Often, the motorcyclist is initially blamed for the accident, even if the biker did nothing wrong. More often than not it is the four wheeled motor vehicles who are at fault in accidents involving motorcycles.

A key first step in any motorcycle accident case is to find how to overcome this prejudice against motorcyclists. Very often it will be only the most experienced injury trial lawyers who understand this bias many juries have against motorcycles. A knowledgeable Arizona motorcycle accident attorney will make sure this bias does not affect the case, or at least minimize the damage this prejudice often does in such cases so that a motorcycle rider has the best chance to receive fair and full compensation for their injuries.

Should you or someone that you know need the services of an experienced Maricopa County injury attorney after a serious motorcycle collision, please do not wait too long before you contact us. We will be happy to discuss an injured motorcyclist’s options and give the best advice as to what can be done to get compensation after a motorcycle crash that was due to the negligence of another.

Personal Injury Resulting from a Defective Motorcycle Part

By Personal Injury Lawyer on September 17, 2009

In Tucson and throughout Arizona, there are three types of motorcycle product liability cases: flawed design cases, manufacturing defect cases, and “failure to warn” cases.

Flawed Design Cases
Flaws in the design happen in the conceptual and engineering phases of motorcycle production. For example, a design for a new muffler may not have been tested carefully enough and, as a result, a muffler defect that went undetected could result in a serious injury to a motorcycle rider.

Manufacturing Defect Cases
A product defect, on the other hand, may come from a problem in the machining and/or manufacturing process. A well-designed combustion engine, for instance, may not be put together correctly during manufacturing. This part may then be unable to perform up to par under certain road conditions, or the wrong conditions, which may lead to an injury for a rider.

“Failure to Warn” Cases
The last kind of motorcycle product liability case is a failure to warn case. In such instances, the responsible party failed to guard or warn against hazards, leading to damage or injuries to a motorcycle rider.

If a defective motorcycle part, such as a helmet, muffler, handlebar, brake system, tire, or engine, hurt you or caused damage to your property, you may be able to hold the manufacturer of the product liable. Please contact the Tucson motorcycle accident attorneys at Breyer Law Offices at 602-978-6400 for a free consultation.

An Overview of Arizona Motorcycle Law

By Personal Injury Lawyer on September 16, 2009

Due to the lack of any substantial protective barriers between the motorcycle and the road, motorcycle riders are much more prone to injuries in the event of an accident. For that reason, it is critically important for riders to follow the laws pertaining to Arizona motorcycle operation.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the main motorcycle laws in Arizona:

• Motorcycle riders under the age of 18 must wear a helmet.
• If a bike doesn’t come with a windscreen to protect from glare and debris, then the driver must wear eye protection at all times.
• To carry a passenger, bikers must provide both a seat and a footrest for him or her. There are no restrictions on the passenger’s age.
• All drivers are required to have their motorcycle inspected for safety regularly.
• All motorcycle drivers are required to have liability insurance and keep handlebars at a standard height (as defined by Section 28-964c of Arizona law).
• Motorcycle law in Arizona requires that bikes have both left and right mirrors and a muffler.
• The State of Arizona allows for modulating headlights, as well as radar detectors and helmet-speakers.
• In certain circumstances, two motorcycles can operate in the same lane abreast of one another (according to 13 AAC 02.427).
• Arizona statutes provide Lemon Law protection for motorcycle drivers.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to negligence in a motorcycle accident, contact the Phoenix motorcycle accident attorneys at Breyer Law Offices at 602-978-6400, or e-mail us through MotorcycleAccidentLawyersArizona.com.

Negligent Drivers Contribute to Increasing Motorcycle Fatalities

By Personal Injury Lawyer on August 31, 2009

Negligent drivers commonly cause severe injury motorcycle accidents in Arizona and throughout the nation and often are the cause of motorcyclists’ wrongful deaths. According to a report by Christensen Law Firm, whose attorneys are experienced and respected Utah motorcycle accident lawyers, motorcycle crashes that killed the motorcycle rider increased in 2008. Many of these were caused by the inattentiveness of the vehicles around it rather than through any fault of the motorcyclist.

A motorcycle accident in Utah or Arizona puts victims in a challenging situation that includes finding quality legal counsel and representation after being wronged by the carelessness of another driver. We know that Mr. Christenson utilizes the utmost care when helping Utah motorcycle accident victims and their families.

Whether it be a serious motorcycle accident in Utah or Arizona, it is important to get the best personal injury lawyer possible. Exceptional local representation is imperative in such cases, and we believe Christensen Law Firm provides this to its clientele.

A motorcycle accident lawyer should never be just “good enough” but should be in contact with the client, answer tough questions, provide the bad as well as the good news, and ensure their potential clients have the right information to make the best choice for them. The loss of a loved one or of a family’s primary income in the case of a motorcycle accident devastates a family. This is why we at Breyer Law Offices feel comfortable in recommending Christensen Law Firm to represent citizens of Utah after a serious motorcycle accident cases.

Source report:http://www.utahpersonalinjurylawfirmblog.com/2008/10/fatal_motorcycle_accidents_in.html

Chandler Arizona Motorcycle Crash Kills Woman

By Personal Injury Lawyer on July 21, 2009

A 30-year-old woman from Eloy died after a motorcycle accident in Arizona on Interstate 10, when the driver on the Harley Davidson on which she was riding struck a tarp that, according to reports, then became ensnared in the rear wheel of the motorcycle. Motorcycle accidents and car accidents are too often caused by the negligence of those who dump trash or other debris on the freeway.

We have no idea from where the tarp came or how it ended up on the freeway, but to the family of the woman who died in this motorcycle crash it makes no difference.

Financial considerations after the loss of a loved one may not seem so important to some people, yet often the loss of a family member brings on dire economic hardships for the surviving family members. Too often we find as experienced personal injury attorneys that the family depended on the income the lost family member provided.

From what has been said in the news, we cannot determine if the tarp was left on the freeway negligently, but we do know that it should be investigated. Debris on roadways causes unnecessary deaths to motorcyclists in Arizona every year.

Not every motorcycle or other motor vehicle accident requires a lawsuit, but an honest and skilled Chandler motorcycle accident attorney will answer questions that will allow people to make the best decision for their families. It is not so much about whether a lawsuit should be filed in response to a motorcycle crash in Arizona like this, but so that the survivors of such tragedies can go on with their lives with as little additional hardship as possible.

An experienced personal injury lawyer can answer questions for someone who has been in a motorcycle accident such as this one. This is why we encourage people to contact us if they have been in any kind of a motor vehicle accident.