Car vs. Motorcycle vs. Bike vs. Pedestrian Accidents

The streets can be dangerous no matter your mode of transportation. Vehicles may rule the roost, but collisions involving motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians are not far behind. While the general principles involving Personal Injury claims are the same for all these types of collisions, specific issues tend to arise more often when there are less than two cars involved.

What’s the Same?

No matter the auto collision, the claimant will need to prove that the other party was liable for causing the incident. Moreover, the claimant must prove that they were damaged as a result of the collision. Most often, this means finding witnesses, reviewing testimony, examining photographs, and scouring medical files to ensure a viable claim. Once the evidence is chronicled, the claim is presented to the insurance company who will then evaluate the case. Ultimately, the hope is to settle these matters out of court. Filing a lawsuit may become necessary, and the litigation process tends to be similar despite the facts underlying the collision.

What is Different?

When two cars collide, which is the most common scenario, the insurers generally adjust the case in their standard way. They may increase or decrease value based upon severity to a degree. At the end of the day, unless the cars were destroyed, the insurer will look at you as a number in line to collect on your minor injuries.

When an automobile strikes a motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian, some of the initial expectations go out the window. Instead of two tons of metal strike two tons of metal, an entire car may have careened into a soft, squishy human body. Without the protection of the car surrounding you while you drive, you are much more likely to incur substantial injury, and insurance companies know it!

If you are a motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian and are hit by a car, your leverage with the insurance company increases dramatically. The dreaded “bumper tap” is no longer on their mind, and instead they must think about the consequences of these facts being presented to a jury. Just imagine it, an insurance company attempting to downplay a collision between a Ford F150 and a mother of two jogging in her neighborhood. Regardless of the remaining facts, the insurer must tread lightly so as to not inflame the jury against their client – the at fault driver.

How Does an Attorney Handle This Case Differently?

It is all about leverage and knowing how to use the power imbalance. In a minimal damage bumper tap, the insurance company knows that the photographs will be detrimental to the claimant’s trial. In a pedestrian impact, the exact opposite is true. Experienced personal injury attorneys know how to push this leverage in both demand writing and litigation to obtain the best result. If you were an injured motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian call today for a free case evaluation.

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