When Should I Call a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in New York?

You should contact a lawyer immediately after a New York motorcycle accident. When you retain someone’s legal services, they can start building your case while you focus on treatment.

If you don’t hire an attorney early on, it’s not too late. You can seek representation from a skilled New York City motorcycle accident lawyer regardless of where you are in the process of pursuing compensation.

It’s Never Too Soon to Consult a Personal Injury Attorney After a New York Motorcycle Accident

Although hiring a lawyer before pursuing your case is beneficial, you can contact a law firm at any point in your claim, from before you sign a settlement agreement until you go to court. A motorcycle accident attorney represents accident victims in multiple stages of injury claims. They can guide their client from day one or step in weeks or months after the crash.

Typically, people injured in motorcycle collisions hire lawyers under specific circumstances, such as:

• The insurance carrier uses unfair, aggressive, or intimidating tactics
• Someone else is at fault but denies liability or blames the victim for what happened
• The insurer analyzes the claim slowly or unnecessarily delays the process
• The initial settlement doesn’t adequately cover all losses
• The insurance adjuster reduces the value of the claim 

You can encounter numerous challenges after an accident. Although the insurance company is supposed to help, the primary goal is to save money. Insurance adjusters conduct independent investigations to uncover the evidence they can use against accident victims to justify denying claims or offering lowball settlements. That is why promptly hiring a lawyer is crucial.

The New York Statute of Limitations Can Complicate the Case

The statute of limitations is the period allowed for filing a lawsuit after an accident. It restricts a person’s time to pursue legal action against someone else. If the statutory period passes before the accident victim files suit, they can lose their right to pursue compensation in court for their injury.

In New York, the statute of limitations allows a three-year timeframe to initiate a lawsuit after a motorcycle crash. When you hire an attorney in the immediate aftermath of an accident, they can work on your case and ensure that your lawsuit is filed before the statutory period expires.

Why Contacting a Personal Injury Law Firm Is Vital for Specific Individuals

Any motorcycle accident victim can benefit from hiring a lawyer. However, specific people require legal assistance more than others. You should be sure to hire an attorney for situations involving:

• More than one at-fault party
• A truck driver
• Catastrophic injuries
• Wrongful death
• A government employee 

An experienced lawyer can navigate the unique aspects of complex motorcycle accident cases and develop a strategy to hold the appropriate parties liable.

Benefits of Working with a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer can provide numerous valuable services, including:

• Calculating the case value – Your attorney can determine the value of your case to demand an appropriate settlement from the insurer. Insurance adjusters often start negotiations low, hoping accident victims will accept any money they can get. A lawyer knows how to maximize a claim to recover a full and fair settlement.
• Accounting for all losses – An experienced motorcycle accident attorney knows all the possible losses you might incur and can include them when assessing the value of your case. Pursuing compensation involves more than covering medical bills and lost wages. It also requires placing a dollar amount on physical pain, emotional suffering, and other intangible losses. A lawyer can also determine an accident victim’s future expenses and noneconomic losses to avoid out-of-pocket payments.
• Guiding through the process – Handling a motorcycle accident case is stressful. It involves following deadlines, multiple steps, and state laws. An attorney knows how to navigate the claims process seamlessly. They can offer guidance to help you through every stage and advise you of your options.
• Investigating the collision – A thorough investigation into the cause of the motorcycle crash is critical. Your lawyer can review accident scene evidence, talk to witnesses, read police reports, watch the security camera footage, and request complete medical records. The evidence they uncover can strengthen your case and show someone else should be liable for your injury.
• Fighting the insurance carrier – Insurance companies don’t want to pay claims. A skilled motorcycle accident lawyer knows how to fight against insurers’ tricks and tactics. They can obtain valuable evidence, consult experts, and aggressively negotiate with the insurance adjuster. Lawyers don’t back down from large insurers attempting to steamroll accident victims. They level the playing field to give their clients a fighting chance at a positive result.

Challenges After a Motorcycle Accident Requiring Legal Help

The claims process is rarely straightforward. Despite your best efforts and sufficient evidence proving someone else is at fault, the insurer might reject your version of events, argue about the severity of your injury, or blame someone other than their policyholder for the crash. Encountering challenges is an inevitable part of pursuing compensation after a New York motorcycle accident.

You should hire a lawyer within days of the crash. However, if you haven’t yet, and you’ve experienced any of these challenges, seek representation now:

• The insurer identifies your injury as a preexisting condition and denies the claim
• You receive a settlement offer much lower than you deserve
• You get assigned fault for the accident
• The insurance company discounts the extent of your injury
• The at-fault party lied about what happened to law enforcement and the insurer
• The insurance adjuster doesn’t cooperate during negotiations

Insurance carriers take the steps necessary to protect themselves. They might twist your words and use them against you to justify an inadequate settlement. They can also ignore your calls and emails, hoping you’ll get frustrated and give up on the claim.

A skillful lawyer knows how to convince an insurance adjuster to cooperate during the ongoing claim and participate in productive conversations to settle. They can handle communications with the insurance company, so you don’t risk saying the wrong thing.

Seek Representation from a Top-Rated Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in New York

If you sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident someone else caused, do not hesitate to contact Finz & Finz, P.C. We can begin working on your case immediately to locate the available evidence and hold the negligent party accountable for injuring you.

Call us at 855-TOP-FIRM for a free consultation in New York.