Insurance cos. want to pay as little as possible and wear you down. Get a lawyer.

 

The short answer is YES get a lawyer.

1. The claims that you will have against the “at fault” driver will be two parts.
a. The damage you suffered to your bike – may be settled separate to medical. If they treat you fair $$ you can get you bike repaired or replaced without much wait. Get estimates on your own before talking to them about the cost to RR.
b. The medical will be a long term settlement due to treatment for months to years. This is where a lawyer is needed. Most insurance companies will agree to pay all “fair” medical costs (not in a hurry though), but when it comes to pain and suffering there will be BIG differences between what you think is fair and what they will offer (LAWYER). There may be issues with lost wages and other expenses you incur (LAWYER).

2. The un-spoken charges from you lawyer.
a. Your lawyer will agree to take you case for XX%, but there will be extra charges you aren’t aware of.
b. You will be charged for every piece of paper they copy, every phone call they make and every piece of mail they send. If the agree to 30% be prepared, by the time they pay your medical (or insure you have paid all medical bills) the amount left will be 60% 40% (their favor). These numbers may not be exact but I will wager they will be close in the end.
c. Oh I forgot to mention this process will probably take 24-30 months.

If you don’t get a lawyer you will get screwed BIG; if you do get one, you will get screwed a little.

** Note if you haven’t already, DON’T give a recorded phone statement to their insurance Co.

 

I got whacked by a left turning soccer mom 10-15-01. To make a really LONG story short, If I had not gotten some good Motorcycle Injury Lawerys on the case SOON, I would have gotten screwed, much worse than I did!! ........... Best of luck to ya and especially the wife............. I had the broken leg, collar bone, ribs and all!

 

I say yes due to the injuries. As stated earlier they will settle the property and bodily damage separately. Be prepared for the lawyer to make the process take longer. I am not implying the lawyers do this intentionally, just that the exchanges of info and paperwork will slow the claim down.

 

Dude! Everybody's got a lawyer except you. The lady that hit you has lawyers that work for the insurance company. Those lawyers are not paid to look out for your best interest. They are paid to make sure that 1) the insurance company mitigates it's losses, and then 2) mitigate the damages to their client, and in that exact order. You need a lawyer that speaks their language and can fight for you. Best case is that your lawyer has very little to do and everything works out fine. Worse case is that everything doesn't work out fine and then you're behind the eightball trying to get a lawyer to help you get whole. You could easily end up in a situation where her insurance company doesn't want to pay something and your insurance company doesn't want to either. That is where your own lawyer would come in and fight for you. Of course your insurance company says you don't need one. It's better for them to work with someone who is less knowledgeable of the process and system than they are.

 

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME ??????? ;-) Seriously, Sometimes a lawyer's just what the Doctor ordered. Not often, but in this case I think it is. I would have one in my hip pocket and just remember to only say, "My counsel's name is blank, his phone is blank, please refer any questions or comments to him." Just that would probably be enough to make the insurance company play nice. However, if not, he's all suited up (no pun intended) and ready with all the facts to step in and assist. Good luck. I hope you both make full recoveries and are back on the road soon.

 

Definitely get a lawyer. These guys specialize in motorcycles. If nothing else call them and ask some questions..

http://www.twowheeljustice.com/

 

Not all of us are as stated above. I work claims in North Carolina, both injury and property damage. I deal with both lawyers and people presenting their own claim. If I were you, I would try to settle my property damage and injury you might have yourself. That way you will not be paying any cut to an attorney. Your claim sounds pretty straightforward. I would get an attorney for your wife. Due to her extensive meds and existing conditions it would become a full time job for you just getting all the paperwork, medical bills, etc together to present her claim. By doing this, if your claim goes south, you can easily sign up with your wife's attorney and maybe he or she will cut you some slack on the % of settlement he will charge. I am not claiming to be an expert as every claim is different, but I have been doing this for over 20 years. If I can answer any questions for you just shoot me a pm.

 

I think this is the best advice yet. Your injuries are not as serious as your wifes. Handling your injury claim and the property damage without counsel could actually benefit the claim for your wife in that the at faults insurance company may be more willing to work towards settling knowing that the is the ever present threat that you might lawyer up yourself.

I would definately retain counsel for wife!

 

It depends a lot on what state you live in. Be sure any checks or papers they want you to sign have been read by a lawyer first. As said before you do not want to release them of any future complications that can be directly linked to the crash. Good luck