Tiffin Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcyclists who are involved in collisions with other motorists are placed in a difficult situation. The impact from even a minor collision can cause a rider to fall from their bike, off the side of the road, or even into oncoming traffic. As a result of these collisions, motorcyclists often face serious or even life-threatening injuries. However, people can often assume that because motorcyclists take on some risk when riding, they are not entitled to compensation for their injuries. The truth is that bikers have the same rights to seek fair compensation for their injuries as all other people. A Tiffin motorcycle accident lawyer can represent you in your fight for the compensation that you deserve. Contact a skilled personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Motorcycle Accident Laws

Ohio has passed no statute describing how a victim in a motorcycle accident may collect damages from an at-fault driver. Rather, motorcyclists must rely on courts’ decisions for relief. These decisions have identified the legal cause of action of negligence through years of legal opinions compiled into the common law. Negligence states that certain people have a legal responsibility to care for the well-being of others. When they violate this responsibility, they are liable for damages to the injured party. Whenever a person is injured in an accident while riding their motorcycle, negligence offers the most common approach to recover compensation. Working with a Tiffin motorcycle accident lawyer can make the claim-filing process easier on the injured party.

Proving Negligence

There are five segments of a negligence claim that a plaintiff must be able to prove in order to win their case: duty, breach, cause, scope, and damages. In certain situations, the law creates a responsibility for one person to protect others. A clear example of this is when a person operates a motor vehicle. All drivers assume a legal duty to protect other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Because of this, all defendants have a duty to protect the injured party in motorcycle accident cases.

When the person who has the duty to care for another fails in that duty, a breach of the duty of care has occurred. This can be the result of an action taken, or alternatively, failing to act to prevent harm. Examples of this in motorcycle cases can be improper lane changes, ignoring a red light, or failing to yield. The issue of whether a breach of the duty of care occurred is the most often contested element of a motorcycle accident case. The injured person must be able to demonstrate that their injuries were the result of the accident. Doctors’ notes providing their opinion on the case of the accident are strong pieces of evidence for this element.

Scope means that the plaintiff’s injuries must be foreseeable from the fact pattern of the case. In order to claim damages, the injured person’s harm must be physical, whether this is damage to property or the body. Mental anguish can be added on, but cannot stand alone. Tiffin motorcycle accident lawyers have seen that all damages must be rooted in physical harm.

Statute of Limitations Claims

Another aspect of Ohio law to remember is the statute of limitations. In short, this is a filing deadline that all motorcycle accident plaintiffs must meet. Ohio Statute 2305.10 gives plaintiffs only two years from the date of the accident to start a case. Bikers who have been hurt in a motorcycle accident often do not know what steps to take. Between significant medical bills, aggressive insurance companies, and piles of paperwork, they quickly become overwhelmed.Insurance reps are no help as they try to quickly settle cases for small sums or to deny payment altogether.

Do not take any chances, let a Tiffin motorcycle accident lawyer fight for what you deserve. Your attorney can handle all of the paperwork and negotiate on your behalf to try and reach a fair settlement. Indeed, most cases settle without needing to go to court. However, if a trial is needed, a skilled litigation team will stand by your side to convince the jury of your right to fair compensation. The time limit to file a claim is only two years, so it may be critical to contact an attorney as soon as possible.