Investigating a Motorcycle Accident

The key in any motorcycle accident case is to determine who or what is responsible for the collision. This is called assigning “fault,” and fault will determine who must pay compensation to victims of the accident.

At Herbert E. Maxey, Jr. P.C., we understand how critical it is to fully investigate an accident so that we can fairly identify who is at fault. Many injured victims are in too much pain to properly investigate what happened, so hiring a Virginia motorcycle accident lawyer is critical. Mr. Maxey represents injured persons throughout Virginia; Prince Edward County, Farmville, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Danville, and Richmond to name a few.

Law Enforcement Investigations are Often Incomplete

After a crash, you should call the police who can send an officer to the scene. The officer will perform an initial investigation to determine fault. However, police are really looking for criminal behavior, e.g., drunk driving, reckless driving, or other illegal action. If the police don’t find criminal behavior, then their investigation typically stops.

Our clients need to establish fault for another reason—to hold the at-fault driver legally responsible for compensation. The type of fault at play in motorcycle accident is “negligence,” meaning carelessness. Someone who negligently harms another is liable in civil court for those injuries, but this negligence is not necessarily a crime.  For this reason, many of our clients need a more thorough investigation than the police will provide.

Insurance Adjusters Have an Agenda

If another vehicle struck you, then you can expect the driver’s insurance carrier to assign a claims adjuster to the case. This person is tasked with identifying who is to blame for the crash. But claims adjusters also work for insurance companies, and large companies have one goal—to increase their revenue, often by denying legitimate claims.

Because the insurance adjuster does not work for you, injured motorcyclists should not expect a thorough, honest investigation or expect that the claims agent will share the results of the research with them. Instead, the results might be slanted to relieve the insurer from liability.

Only an Attorney Can Help You

After a crash, you need an advocate in your corner who looks out for your interests—and only your interests. Your motorcycle accident attorney can help investigate the crash by doing the following:

• Analyzing the police report.
• Speaking to witnesses to get their story of what happened.
• Listening to you describe what you remember about the accident.
• Looking for surveillance video that might have captured the collision.
• Analyzing your motorcycle for clues about who hit you and at what speed.

Each case is different and requires different investigatory techniques. In some accidents, it is obvious what happened, and fault will not be in dispute, so no investigation is necessary. In other cases, fault will be hotly disputed.

Regardless of the situation, you have only one person fully in your corner—your lawyer. Your lawyer represents only your interests and not the interests of an insurance company or another motorist.

For help after an accident, please call Attorney Herbert Maxey today. Our firm offers a free initial consultation to those injured in motorcycle accidents where we can discuss your case and answer any questions you have. To schedule, please call us at 434-394-0956. We represent clients throughout Virginia, including Prince Edward County and Farmville, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Danville, and Richmond.