If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident, the last thing you want to deal with is other people’s biases. Unfortunately, when you’re involved in a motorcycle accident, you may have to deal with unfair motorcycle bias. However, with a talented attorney by your side, you won’t have to deal with the consequences of this bias, as it will be dispelled quickly by your experienced motorcycle crash attorney.
Why Is There a Bias Against Motorcycle Riders?
There are many negative stereotypes about motorcyclists. This is because of television shows, movies, and other media that often depict them as dare-devils or adrenaline-chasers. Because of this, people often see motorcyclists as inherently dangerous or overly reckless. These ideals can be extremely detrimental to one’s case, which is why it’s so important to hire an attorney.
Starting from when the accident occurs, there can be a chain of events that occurs because of someone’s bias. Police officers may arrive at the scene and just assume that the motorcyclist was the one who caused the accident. Insurance adjusters may reduce the claim’s value because of this. And the jury may not understand how the motorcyclist was the victim of the situation, especially with all the false evidence built up against them because of the harmful stereotype.
How Does Unfair Motorcycle Bias Affect Motorcycle Accident Cases?
So, how does unfair motorcycle bias actually affect a motorcycle accident case? Let’s look at the three different parties that may have unfair biases against the victim, how those biases can hurt the case, and how your attorney can help to ensure your compensation isn’t affected.
Insurers
Insurers know what they’re doing when they use unfair motorcycle bias as a tactic. They know that inexperienced attorneys may not try to fight against these claims, and they may be able to get away with paying out a smaller amount of money due to their biases.
Basically, insurers will offer less money because motorcyclists chose to ride motorcycles, which is dangerous. Therefore, they accepted some sort of risk when choosing their vehicle, and should be cited as at-fault, if even partially. This argument doesn’t hold up well and often crumbles when an experienced attorney challenges it.
Police Officers
Police officers can do a lot of damage to a case by assuming that a motorcyclist is the at-fault party before they ask any questions. When they arrive on the scene and notice that a motorcycle is involved, they may assume right away that the motorcyclist must have caused the accident. This bias can show up in their police report, even if it’s untrue.
A good attorney will be able to point out the obvious bias in the police report, dispelling it by citing other evidence that contradicts the officer’s points.
Juries
If your case goes to trial, you may have to deal with a jury that doesn’t know anything about motorcycles. The general public has a decent knowledge base when it comes to passenger vehicles, but when it comes to motorcycles, people often don’t know much.
For example, the jury might cite the fact that you sped up before taking a turn, thinking that this is a dangerous act that could have caused the accident. However,, that’s just how motorcycles operate. And you have to speed up in order to take a turn safely. Your attorney will be able to educate the jury to prevent them from having a negative bias against you.
What To Do if You’re Involved in a Motorcycle Accident
In 2019, there were 5,014 deaths and many more that were seriously injured because of motorcycle accidents. Motorcycles are actually more dangerous than passenger vehicles because of the lack of protection they offer to the rider. Because of this, motorcyclists are 29 times more likely to die in crashes than passenger vehicle occupants. However, this is at no fault of their own, but instead because of the nature of motorcycles themselves.
If you’re involved in a motorcycle accident, you may suffer serious injuries, like traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, or road rash. For this reason, it’s important to seek immediate medical attention once you leave the scene of the accident.
However, before you leave the scene, you should gather some information of your own. Take pictures of the scene, gather the at-fault party’s information and the information of any witnesses, and record a statement for yourself. Contact the police to file a police report and be clear about what happened.
After that, you should head to the hospital and contact an attorney to discuss your options.
Overcoming the Motorcycle Bias with the Help of an Experienced Attorney
If you or someone you love has been involved in a motorcycle accident, the best way to prevent yourself from experiencing negative bias is to hire a motorcycle accident attorney to help you file your accident claim. Our experienced team of attorneys at Sand Law will help you get the compensation you deserve for your damages.
For more information or to schedule a free case evaluation, please contact us online or at 651-291-7263.