If we gathered all the data worldwide, the number of motorists would sum up to billions from motorcyclists, passenger vehicle drivers, public transport drivers, commercial vehicle drivers, and more. With this, we can only imagine how many accidents happen every day all around the globe. There is alarming data for motorcyclists published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to NHTSA, the number of fatal motorcycle accidents is 27 times greater than passenger occupant car accidents in 2017. Thus, every motorcyclist must know what to do when an accident happens. However, even without this data and even if one is not a motorcycle driver, be a passenger vehicle driver and a bystander. One should still be knowledgeable about this as anyone can be involved in a motorcycle accident. More so, when you have information on what to do after a motorcycle accident occurs, you can help a person in need when this situation unfortunately arises.

No matter how careful you are as a driver, these things happen. Protective gear can help save lives, but it cannot prevent human error, machine failure, and other uncontrollable causes of fatal accidents. You can be a good driver who obeys all rules and regulations but still get into an accident due to a reckless driver coming your way, road hazards, weather conditions, and others. When you get into an accident, you may become in shock and panic. Without knowing what to do, who knows what actions you may take and what repercussions these will have. The information on what to do after a motorcycle accident will guide you through reacting properly.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Before the possibility of how you react to the situation makes it worse, in this case, knowing what to do and truly applying this knowledge is your prevention. You can never say it won’t happen. Also, there’s nothing to lose, just something to gain with this information.

  • Keep your protective gear on

Removing protective gears can worsen an injury. Sometimes, feeling the pain from injury might not kick in immediately due to adrenaline in the state of shock. Do not remove your protective gear. Wait for medical professionals or medical responders to make sure that you will not carelessly worsen the injury.

  • Ensure your safety

The first thing you should do is move yourself away from any further hazard. Assess your environment immediately. Your motorcycle or the vehicle you have collided with might still explode. More so, incoming vehicles might not notice the accident immediately and may add more damage. Also, check if other individuals have been injured or have been caught up in the accident. Get them to safety as well.

  • Report the accident and Call 911

Immediately report what has happened and call 911 after you have ensured your safety. This is so the police, paramedics, and other agencies or people needed may respond quickly. The scene of the accident should always be immediately isolated and assessed for possible future litigations.

  • Consult a medical professional immediately

You should not put off medical attention after an accident for later. This is why calling 911 is also an immediate action needed in handling the situation. It’s so paramedics will also be alerted and sent to your location. Moreover, it is possible that minor and major injuries may not be noticeable during a state of panic or are naturally unapparent and would take days, weeks. Even months before symptoms start to kick in. Suffering from a motorcycle accident may cause severe internal damage such as broken bones, internal bleeding, and more.

  • Collect evidence

Of course, your safety and medical attention is a top priority. However, gathering evidence as much as you can is also an important task you should not forget. Evidence from the accident is important to check and validate police reports, possible litigations, and requirements for insurance. Collecting evidence would require you to take your photos, write notes, obtain a copy of police reports, medical reports, and more. It is also important to get information from the driver you have collided with or pedestrians involved. Swap contact information and insurance information with them.

  • Call a lawyer

After being involved in a motorcycle accident, experts and basic knowledge always emphasise that one must call a lawyer. Some people may already have their lawyers, but an important consideration about this is that you want a truly expert lawyer on these matters. Your family lawyer’s expertise may be in a different field. Although they are professionally licensed and educated on all laws, the specific experience and years of work on the matter is a salient factor for a lawyer to be of help. You need a motorcycle accident lawyer in this situation. He/she would already have in-depth knowledge and years of experience in handling motorcycle accident situations. More so, they will know how to deal with your insurance company and organise the usual insurance documents needed.

  • Speak with your insurance company

Insurance companies are obligated to provide you with what you have invested in. The amount of money that they will offer is affected by the facts of the accident. Some insurance companies will try to present the lowest amount of money possible, which may not be appropriate for the accident you have been in. Motorcycle accident lawyers can negotiate with your insurance company. More so, with a motorcycle accident lawyer’s expertise, he/she would know how much the standard amount of settlement is based on different severity of accidents from their past clients and based on theory and official standards. Most commonly, they also represent people involved in the accident in speaking with their insurance companies. However, you can be the one to get in touch with them immediately. The bottom line is that a lawyer can better communicate the accident’s details to your insurance company and negotiate with them. Always talk to your insurance company after these kinds of unexpected and unfortunate occurrences.

Find a qualified motorcycle accident lawyer that can take care of everything. Suffering from or even just experiencing an accident can be challenging to get over with. After going through such a situation, you should focus on taking care of yourself.