Chesterfield Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Chesterfield Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Motorcycles are fun to ride, but they are also inherently dangerous in many ways. Even the most experienced riders face severe risks whenever they take their bikes on the road. It’s vital to acknowledge these hazards, do what you can to limit your risk of causing an accident, and know what to do when someone else has caused an accident. A Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney is the ideal asset to have on your side after such an incident.

Representing Motorcycle Accident Victims in Chesterfield, MO

The team at The Cagle Law Firm has years of experience handling a wide range of personal injury cases, including serious injury claims arising from motorcycle accidents. We know the challenges you are likely to face as you seek compensation for the losses you suffered, and we know how difficult it is for the average person to recover from a motorcycle accident on their own.

When you choose our team to represent you in your recovery efforts, you will have access to a responsive legal team ready to provide direction and support through all of your recovery efforts. We know how to guide our clients through the auto insurance claim filing process, the tactics that insurance companies often use to limit their financial liability, and how to hold insurers accountable. with personal injury suits.

Ultimately, you are much more likely to maximize the compensation you need secure for a motorcycle accident when you have experienced legal representation on your side. The Cagle Law Firm assists each of our clients in developing comprehensive and individualized recovery strategies. and we know how to help our clients overcome any unpredictable variables that may arise and complicate their recovery efforts.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Chesterfield

Missouri upholds the fault system for all vehicle accidents, meaning the driver at fault for causing an accident is liable for the resulting damages, and the injured party must firmly prove fault so they can recover compensation for their losses. While your physical recovery through medical treatment is the most important thing after a crash, it is important to remember that gathering evidence is critical and time-sensitive. Hiring an attorney right away improves the chances that critical evidence can be collected and saved.

Most of the motorcycle crashes reported in Chesterfield happen because of various forms of driver negligence. Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of motorcycle accidents in the Chesterfield area. Cell phone use behind the wheel is a prime example of how distracted driving is inherently dangerous, and motorcyclists are especially vulnerable to inattentive drivers. A distracted driver may not notice a dangerous situation before it is too late to avoid a collision. Since motorcycles are smaller than most other vehicles, it leaves them especially susceptible in these situations. The most common response by a negligent driver is that they simply never saw the motorcyclist. At the same time, each motorist has an obligation to keep a careful lookout for any objects in the roadway.

Speeding is another frequently reported cause of motorcycle accidents and it is also a major contributing factor to the number of fatal vehicle accidents reported in Chesterfield each year. Whenever a driver speeds, they have less time and space to react to a sudden change in traffic conditions. Accidents are more likely to happen when drivers speed, and speeding increases the risk of an accident, resulting in catastrophic or fatal harm.

Traffic violations such as illegal turns, failure to stop for red lights or stop signs, failure to yield the right-of-way, and other actions that disrupt the flow of traffic are inherently dangerous, especially to motorcyclists. Some drivers commit moving violations in split-second decisions, often failing to fully account for their surroundings. This can leave a nearby motorcyclist especially vulnerable to a collision.

Negligence refers to any failure to exercise reasonable care in a given situation. While the majority of accidents reported in the Chesterfield area happen because of negligence, accidents may also occur from illegal misconduct. Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs is the most common example of this when it comes to vehicle accidents, and DUI is among the most frequently charged criminal offenses in the state each year.

If the driver who hit you did so through some illegal action such as a DUI criminal charge, they not only face liability for your damages but also criminal charges from the state. Penalties for a criminal offense increase when the defendant has harmed a victim, and the liability to the victim in a civil claim is likely to increase when the defendant has broken the law in inflicting an injury. Your civil claim for damages will unfold separately from the state’s criminal case against the defendant.

Your Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney can explain how your civil suit and the criminal case against the defendant may interact. A jury overseeing a civil claim for damages may award a plaintiff additional compensation in the form of punitive damages to reflect the severity of a defendant’s actions at the plaintiff’s recommendation, and the judge handling sentencing in the criminal case against the defendant may order restitution to the victim as an element of the defendant’s sentence.

How to Prove Fault for a Motorcycle Accident in Chesterfield

Even if fault for your recent motorcycle accident seems perfectly apparent to you, there is a formal legal process you will need to follow to establish fault for your accident and liability for your damages. Depending on how, where, and why your accident happened, you may need various forms of evidence to prove that another party is directly responsible for your motorcycle accident and the resulting damages.

Your Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney can help you obtain the evidence you will need to assert fault for your accident and recover compensation through an auto insurance claim. Evidence you may need for your case could include:

• Police reports, toxicology reports, and other official reports obtained by the police after they have investigated your accident. These forms of evidence are especially crucial if any form of illegal misconduct is responsible for causing your accident.
• Physical evidence from the scene of the crash, such as pieces of debris in the road, tire marks, and nearby landmarks that can help gauge distance and assist in reconstructing the chain of events that caused your collision.
• Various forms of digital evidence, such as driver’s cell phone records that could prove they were texting while driving, vehicle computer data that can report the exact moment of impact, and footage from nearby traffic cameras that may have captured the accident as it occurred.
• Witness statements. Your attorney can help you identify any witnesses who saw the accident happen. It’s important to gather witness statements as soon as possible after your accident because human memory is fallible, and the accuracy of a witness report naturally dwindles the more time passes following the incident in question. An injured victim will need an attorney to identify witnesses and secure their statements. If they were to attempt to contact witnesses themselves, this could form a conflict of interest.
• Expert witness testimony. An expert witness is a professional who can provide unique insights concerning the most complex and technical details of a case. For example, your attorney could consult an accident reconstruction expert who can help you prove exactly how your motorcycle accident occurred, or they may consult a medical expert who can explain the exact scope of your medical complications following your accident.

Every case will require different evidence and some evidence may not be available. Your attorney can gather evidence to support your claim and to establish causation between your claimed damages and the defendant’s actions. However, it is important to understand the potential implications of shared liability in your motorcycle accident case. If a plaintiff is found to have contributed to causing their damages, it will diminish the total compensation they are able to claim from a defendant.

The state enforces a pure comparative fault system, which applies to any civil claim for damages in which more than one party bears fault for the accident in question. If comparative fault applies in your impending case, each liable party will have a fault percentage assigned to them. These percentages then apply to their respective shares of the damages cited in the claim. If a plaintiff bears partial fault, their fault percentage is taken from their case award. as a penalty.

It’s possible for comparative fault to apply to a vehicle accident case in various ways. Insurance companies will almost always assert comparative fault in some way in their effort to reduce their financial exposure to a claim. If you are concerned about bearing partial liability for your recent motorcycle accident in Chesterfield, your attorney will help you minimize the fault percentage assigned to you.

Filing Your Auto Insurance Claim in Chesterfield

Every driver in the state is required to have personal auto insurance that includes property damage liability coverage and bodily injury liability coverage. When a covered driver causes an accident, their insurance policy should pay for the damages inflicted on the other driver based upon their policy limits. . After proving the other driver’s liability for your recent motorcycle accident, filing a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance is your first step with an attorney for recovering your losses.

A minimum of $25,000 in coverage is required for both property damage liability and bodily injury liability for a single victim. The policy must expand to $50,000 in bodily injury liability coverage for injuries to more than one victim in a single accident.

Dealing with any auto insurance carrier can be challenging, and unfortunately, some insurance company representatives will attempt to take advantage of unwary claimants, coercing them into accepting lowball settlements or outright denying their claims for any reason they can find. When you have legal representation, you do not even speak to the insurance adjusters thus removing this particular risk.

Your Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney can help you file your claim, including securing any supporting documentation you need. to send to the insurance company. If and when the insurance carrier makes an offer, , your attorney will advise whether the offer is fair and reasonable. If it is not, or if the insurance carrier unfairly denies your claim, your attorney can help you file a personal injury lawsuit against the insurance carrier.

Building a Personal Injury Claim for Your Motorcycle Accident

If the insurance company fails to extend a reasonable settlement offer you have the right to file a personal injury suit against the insurer and named party in order to pursue Success with your personal injury claim requires proving fault for the damages in question and proving those damages solely resulted from the defendant’s actions and not any other cause.

Missouri has a five-year statute of limitations for most personal injury cases involving motor vehicles. This means you can file your personal injury claim at any time within five years of the date of the accident. However, it is always preferable for the plaintiff to hire an attorney and begin the process as soon as they can after their accident. , Injured parties should contact an attorney who can gather evidence on their behalf right away.

Your Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney compiles evidence and handles your case to resolution. At any point, a personal injury claim may either proceed to settlement negotiations if the defendant accepts liability or to litigation if they deny liability. In addition to arguing liability, the defendant’s insurance carrier will argue the severity of the injury. This is not just a likely but almost promised tactic. Settlements are more common and may take less time. Yet both parties have to agree to final terms and that is not always possible. If your case needs to be litigated, it is important that you know The Cagle Law Firm has a great deal of litigation experience and success.

The insurance company in your motorcycle accident claim may assert comparative fault, claiming you are partially to blame for the accident; they may dispute the scope of the damages you are claiming, or settlement negotiations could fail to produce a compromise. If you must resolve your claim through litigation, it is vital to have legal counsel you can trust with a history of success.

During litigation, both parties will have the opportunity to present their evidence, witness testimony, and arguments to support their respective sides of the case, and the jury overseeing the case will make a final determination of fault and compensation owed to the plaintiff, if any. It is important to remember that you should never assume a jury will see things your way.

Claimable Damages in a Personal Injury Suit

The primary objective of your personal injury claim is to recover compensation for your damages. Missouri law does not enforce any caps or limits on economic or non-economic damages in a motorcycle accident claim, so the plaintiff may seek full repayment for the direct financial damages they incurred due to the defendant’s negligence.

The average plaintiff may be aware of the immediately recognizable economic damages due to their immediate medical bills. However, an accurate assessment of their long-term economic losses may be far more difficult to quantify with a number. Your Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney can potentially help you recover compensation for:

• Medical treatment costs. Motorcycle accidents often result in severe injuries, many of which require extensive ongoing medical care. You have the right to seek compensation for the full scope of medical care needed to reach maximum improvement from your injuries, and this includes the cost of any in-home care and/or future rehabilitation you need to recover.
• Lost wages. If you cannot work while you recover from your injuries, you may be able to recover compensation for the wages you are unable to earn during this time.
• Lost future earnings. If you have been permanently disabled by your injuries, you may be unable to return to your job or never able to work again. If so, your lawyer can help you claim compensation for the future income you otherwise would have reasonably expected to earn. Your attorney can help account for inflation and future cost of living increases projected for however many years you likely would have continued working.

You may be surprised to discover the true extent of the immediate and future economic damages you can claim from the defendant after a motorcycle accident in Chesterfield. The goal of The Cagle Law Firm is to maximize your compensation. In addition to your economic damages, we can also help you increase the compensation you receive for your non-economic damages.

It’s important to remember that if you bear any partial fault for your accident, it will diminish your final case award by your fault percentage. Conversely, if the defendant caused your accident through an illegal act, it could enhance your recovery in the form of punitive damages and/or restitution. Your Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney can explain all the potential variables that may influence your case.

Calculating Pain and Suffering Compensation in Chesterfield

When the average person hears the term “pain and suffering,” they are likely to wonder how these intangible concepts can translate to compensable damages with monetary value. The state’s personal injury statutes do not restrict pain and suffering compensation in motor vehicle accident cases, so A plaintiff’s attorney can help their client determine a suitable amount based on the severity of their injuries and their medical expenses.

Physical pain, emotional trauma, and diminished enjoyment of life due to severe and disabling injuries are claimable losses in a personal injury case. While there is no cap on pain and suffering for most personal injury cases, there is also no set formula for calculating pain and suffering.

Attorneys theoretically use two methods for calculating the amount of pain and suffering compensation the plaintiff can seek. If a client has suffered life-changing injuries, their attorney is more likely to use a multiplier calculation, adding the total of their economic damages and then multiplying this by a factor that reflects the severity of their condition. If the client is expected to fully recover, their attorney is more likely to calculate based on their recovery time. Again, each case and person are unique including your injuries and your pain and suffering.

What to Expect from Your Chesterfield Motorcycle Accident Attorney

The right attorney can make a tremendous positive impact on the outcome of your pending motorcycle accident case. When you choose The Cagle Law Firm to represent you, you are investing in years of professional experience with all types of personal injury claims, including motorcycle accident cases. Motorcycle crash injuries almost always involve severe injuries and expensive economic losses. Our firm will do everything we can to obtain as much compensation as possible on your behalf.

During an initial consultation with our firm, you can ask whatever questions you need to ask to help you gauge our suitability to represent you. Likewise, we will review the details of your accident, offer our initial professional advice and provide a general overview of the legal services we can provide to help you recover. It is important that you choose an attorney you believe to be the right fit for your case.

Many people mistakenly believe that personal injury counsel is prohibitively expensive, and this, unfortunately, deters many claimants from seeking legal counsel when they need it most. At The Cagle Law Firm, we keep legal representation accessible with a contingency fee agreement.. Our firm does not require expensive retainers and hourly fees. In a contingency agreement, our attorneys only get paid when they successfully win your case. If we cannot obtain compensation on your behalf, you pay us nothing.

When we win a client’s case, our contingency fee is a percentage of the final case award. This effectively ensures that our success hinges on our client’s successes, and you can trust our firm to do everything in our power to help you succeed with your claim and maximize your final case award. You have a limited time in which to gather the evidence you will need to succeed with your claim, so it’s vital to connect with a trustworthy Chesterfield motorcycle accident attorney after your accident.

Contact The Cagle Law Firm today to schedule your free consultation with our team and learn more about the various ways we can help you recover from your recent motorcycle accident in Chesterfield, MO.