Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Rio, IL

 The sense of freedom a motorcycle comes with can be neutralized by the harm reckless drivers can do to you when they do not respect your safety. If another driver injured you in Rio, IL, reach out to the motorcycle accident lawyers of Burger Law immediately at (312) 500-HURT or contact us online for a no-risk, no-obligation case review.

If you were injured in a motorcycle accident in Rio, or anywhere in Illinois, find out how much your claim may be worth by using our free personal injury calculator.

Motorcycles are a great way to enjoy yourself and build a camaraderie with people who share your passions. You are connected to the road and your motorcycle in a way that a car just cannot emulate. Regrettably, this freedom also comes with a high price. Because of their relative lack of protection, the consequences of a motorcycle accident can be devastating. When you are injured, it carries instant hardships and you need someone to fight for you. You need to find a lawyer with a proven track record of winning motorcycle crash claims in Rio, IL.

Our attorneys and paralegals have more than 70 years of combined experience winning cases in negotiations and in the court room. Our motorcycle accident lawyers will fight until you recover all of your damages and there is nothing left to fight. Do not talk to your insurance or the other side’s insurance without speaking to an attorney first. The insurance adjuster will try to limit your financial settlement. Our firm has a proven track record of successfully fighting the insurance companies and making sure that they give the full compensation they owe our Rio, IL clients.

To find out more about how our personal injury law firm will fight for your rights, speak to a lawyer at (312) 500-HURT to go over your motorcycle accident case today.

How Common Are Motorcycle Accidents in Rio, IL?

Despite the fact that motorcycles make up barely over half a percent of all traffic miles traveled nationwide, they accounted for four percent of all injuries and 14 percent of all fatalities in traffic-related accidents in 2020, according to research from the National Safety Council. In the entire country, in 2020 there were 82,500 motorcycle accident injuries and 5,579 fatalities. In Illinois, there were 3,077 motorcycle accidents which caused 2,404 injuries and 152 deaths, according to the Illinois 2020 Crash Facts and Statistics. Sadly, the majority of those happened when a passenger car or truck collided with a motorcycle when the biker was driving in a straight line, which leads us to believe that the accidents were often because of another driver was not looking out for bikers. Most of the crashes occurred in urban areas, especially major city streets.

According to data from the Motorcycle Legal Foundation, Illinois is eighth in the country with close to 300,000 registered motorcycles, and fittingly was eighth in the country in fatalities in 2017.

The most common season for motorcycle crashes is summer, and half of all wrecks happen between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Rio, IL

There are several steps you should take, both at the accident site and in the days and weeks that follow, to ensure you make both a physical and financial recovery.

Immediately After The Accident

While any wreck is surprising and scary, try to stay as calm as possible. At the accident site, you should:

• Get out of harm’s way — If you are physically able, move out of the way of oncoming traffic. Leave the bike. It is obviously important to you, but staying with the bike or trying to move it could make your injuries worse. If you believe your injuries may be catastrophic, stay still and wait for emergency personnel.
• Do not remove your safety gear — Taking off your helmet or other gear could also make injuries worse. Adrenaline may hide how serious an injury actually is.
• Call 911 — As the injuries caused in a motorcycle wreck can be catastrophic, it may be a good idea to be looked over at the scene instead of leaving and planning to seek medical attention at urgent care or a doctors’ appointment. Police are trained to assign fault in an accident, and will make a police report.
• Gather evidence — Speak to the other driver and get their insurance information. Take pictures of all vehicles and the crash site from different positions. Take as many pictures as possible. Something you do not think is that big of a deal may be useful to a motorcycle accident lawyer in Rio, IL when trying to prove who is responsible for your injuries in the future. Get the contact info of any eyewitnesses to the accident.

Finally, if you did not seek medical treatment at the crash site, do so immediately.

What to Do Throughout the Claim Process

After you first seek medical care, notify the insurance company of everybody involved. Then, speak to a motorcycle accident lawyer in Rio, IL about your case. If your injuries are significant, you will likely need one to get full compensation. While communicating with your attorney, it is important to:

• Get the Full Medical Treatment You Need — This is not only vital for your health, but aids your financial recovery as well. You need to prove how much that accident hurt you, and to do that you need to be able to point to medical records which show the extent of your injuries. The the higher your financial loss, the higher your pain and suffering compensation will be as well. Go to every follow up, chiropractic or physical therapy appointment your doctor prescribes.
• Keep Detailed Records — You are also owed reimbursement for lost wages from time your injuries caused you to miss out from work, and any out-of-pocket expenses due to your injuries, such as parking or Uber rides for going to medical appointments or hiring someone to help look after your children. Keep all of your receipts and explanations for why you needed to pay those expenses. You can also keep a daily journal showing how your injuries have affected you physically and emotionally for a record of your pain and suffering.
• Leave the Insurance Company up to Your Attorney — Once you have filed your claim and enlisted the services of a motorcycle accident lawyer, let your attorney handle documentation and negotiation. Insurance adjusters try to employ a lot of tactics to avoid paying claims, and it is better to leave communication up to an attorney who knows how to combat them.
• Do Not Post on Social Media — It is commonplace to want to share what is going on with your life on the Internet. However, posting too much on social media can do damage to your claim. If you say your injuries are debilitating, and the insurance sees pictures of you at your friend’s barbecue, they they can say your injuries are not actually that severe.

From the moment you hire us, we will be in contact with you every step of the way until we attain a successful resolution. Allow us to handle the investigation, documentation, negotiation and litigation so you can spend your energy on on healing.

Do I Need a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Rio, IL For My Claim?

For some minor claims, where the liable party is obvious and your medical bills are no more than an urgent care visit, you may not need an attorney to get fair compensation. Give the insurance company proof of your financial losses, and ask for a little more for inconvenience. In a a settlement for a relatively small sum of money where their policyholder is clearly liable, the adjuster is not going to want to waste their time.

However, more likely than not you will need a motorcycle accident attorney for your injury claim. While in a a truly fair society insurance companies would fulfill their responsibility when someone is injured by their policyholders’ negligence, they usually have to be convinced to. Situations where you will need a motorcycle accident lawyer in Rio, IL include:

• Your injuries require ongoing treatment — The higher your damages, the more the insurance company will try and devalue your injuries. If your injuries require ongoing treatment, you will absolutely need an attorney to hold the insurance adjuster accountable for all of your damages.
• Your damages and the insurance company’s offer are way too far apart — If your damages are starting to creep up into the tens of thousands, and the insurance adjuster is only offering a few thousand, they are trying convince you that you do not know how much you are owed. If you enlist the services of an attorney, the insurance company will know that you are serious about getting the full compensation you deserve. Burger Law has added hundreds of thousands of dollars to claims, including turning a $3,900 offer into a $100,000 settlement.
• There is more than party at fault — With some accidents, especially wrecks involving more than one vehicle, there may be more than one liable party. For example, a driver may cut your off while not looking for you, causing you to take defensive action and hit an improperly cordoned-off construction site. A talented Rio, IL motorcycle accident lawyer will conduct a full investigation into the crash and assign a portion of the damages to each liable party. Finding other people who are liable is key if you are owed more compensation than the at-fault driver’s policy limits.
• The insurance adjuster is trying to blame you for the accident — Trying to say your injuries are your own fault is a frequent trick insurance adjusters use to devalue your claim. If the insurance company say your injuries are your own fault, an attorney can step in and conclusively demonstrate that is not the case. If it is true that you were partially at fault, you are not completely barred from compensation under Missouri’s comparative negligence doctrine. However, a lawyer is likely necessary to get you the best possible results.

Your Rio, IL motorcycle accident lawyer at Burger Law knows how to fight back against tactics insurance adjusters use. We have been doing it for more than three decades. We offer an initial conversation and investigation at no charge, so call us at (312) 500-HURT to see what we can do for your claim. We start developing our legal strategy from the moment you hire us, and do not let up until you get all of compensation you are owed.

Recent Burger Law Rio, IL Motorcycle Accident Victories

You need a lawyer who has shown they can get results in your type of claim before. Any motorcycle accident lawyer can say they will fight for you, but a lawyer with client testimonials and results to prove it is another thing. Here are several of our most recent victories as well as client testimonials:

• $495,000 Uninsured Motorcycle Accident Verdict
• $327,000 Motorcycle Accident Settlement
• $250,000 Policy Limits Settlement
• $100,000 Motorcycle Liability Claim
• Maximum Recovery Obtained for Motorcycle Accident

Do I Have a Motorcycle Accident Claim in Rio, IL?

If you want to have a valid claim in Rio, IL, you must have been injured by someone else’s negligence. There are five elements to proving negligence in a personal injury claim:

1. Duty of care — Did the liable party owe you an obligation to protect you from unreasonable harm? 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 says that “every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care,” so anyone else on the road automatically owes you that duty.
2. Breach of duty — Were they neglectful in that duty and cause an accident? Was the other motorist speeding, texting and driving, drunk driving or otherwise breaking proper procedure behind the wheel?
3. Cause in fact — Were your injuries the direct result of the accident?
4. Proximate cause — Whose breach of duty caused the accident? If the other driver’s brakes were not working, the liable party may be a manufacturer and not the driver?.
5. Damages — Did your injuries lead to losses, such as medical bills and pain and suffering? If your accident resulted in a few small lacerations and bruising, but they healed without any medical treatment, you likely do not have a claim.

If you were injured because of another’s negligence, you have an injury claim. Speak to a motorcycle accident attorney now at (312) 500-HURT if you have any doubts about the validity of your claim.

How Much is My Rio, IL Motorcycle Accident Claim Worth?

Your compensation will be a combination of:

• Economic damages, such as money you lost out on from time off work recovering, medical bills and out-of-pocket expenses
• Non-economic damages, such as emotional distress, disfigurement and pain and suffering
• While not common, you might be able to recover punitive damages if you were injured by extreme recklessness, such as drunk driving

Factors that might make your compensation higher or lower include:

• The severity of your injuries; more significant injuries typically lead to higher economic and noneconomic damages
• Whether or not you were partially at fault for your injuries
• If you sustained permanent disfigurement or disability
• How your life has changed because of your injuries

At Burger Law, our injury attorneys know how to calculate the full value of someone’s injury claim and insisting the insurance company pay all of it. If your injuries require ongoing medical care, that will also be part of your settlement or verdict, including accounting for inflation.

How Long Do I Have to File a Motorcycle Accident Claim in Rio, IL?

Pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/13-202, the statute of limitations for motorcycle accident injuries in Rio, IL is two years. That means you only have two years from the date you were injured to file a claim. There are some exceptions:

• If you or your loved one was a minor when the injuries occurred, they have until their 20th birthday
• If you or a loved one was under a legal disability when the injuries occurred, they have until two years after the disability ended
• If the negligent party is outside of the state of Illinois for a period, that time does not account against the two years

While two years may seem like a long time, investigating and developing a legal strategy for your claim takes time. Do not wait to call a motorcycle accident lawyer after you were hurt in a motorcycle accident in Rio, IL. Call us now at (312) 500-HURT.

What Are Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Rio, IL?

Motorcycles are harder for passenger car drivers to see, being smaller. Because of a phenomenon called “inattentional blindness,” drivers are less likely to see a motorcycle — even when they are looking for one. This is because we train our brains to look for other cars, but not for motorcycles. Inattentional blindness contributes to many motorcycle accidents in Rio, IL.

The most common causes of motorcycles accidents are:

• Left-hand turns — The Motorcycle Legal Foundation reports that 42 percent of all motorcycle accidents that result in fatalities occur when a car turns left while the motorcycle was going straight. These crashes can be the result of a car driver’s intoxication, reckless driving or distracted driving.
• Other collisions — Head on collisions also occur frequently between motorcycles and other types of vehicles. A car may also to fail to see a motorcyclist when turning in front of them. Motorcycles also have the highest rate of collisions with fixed objects, which may be due to a negligent construction company or governmental entity.
• Road hazards — Cracked pavement, potholes, animal carcasses, gravel or other roadways debris often do not have much of an impact on a car. However, motorcycles are less stable and these hazards can cause a motorcyclist to fall.
• Malfunctioning parts — Manufacturers and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall dozens of motorcycles annually. If bikes or parts that are defective are allowed to stay on the market, it can cause motorcycle crashes.

Who is Liable for My Motorcycle Accident Injuries in Rio, IL?

Ninety-four percent of all auto accidents are caused by driver error. So, most of the time another motorist is responsible for your injuries. However, depending on the specifics of your case, you may also be able to make a claim against:

• A governmental agency or contracting company for not repairing or negligent repairing a road
• A motorcycle designer, manufacturer or vendor for a defective product
• A company if someone they hired injured you while driving, such as in a commercial truck accident

Can I Sue For My Rio, IL Motorcycle Accident if it Did Not Involve Another Vehicle?

Governmental bodies are supposed to keep their roadways safe for use by everyone on the roads, and when obstruction or other objects in the road cause an accident, the agency responsible for the neglect may have to compensate you for your injuries. However, the state of Illinois does not make it easy to hold them accountable. Our motorcycle accident lawyers in Rio, IL can take on your claim and guide you through the complexities of local and state laws to secure you the compensation you deserve.

A Loved One Was Killed in a Motorcycle Crash in Rio, IL. What Are My Legal Options?

Motorcyclists are not only at increased risk of a catastrophic injury, but are more likely to be in a fatal accident. If your worst nightmare came true and someone you love died in a motorcycle crash, you can make a recovery through a wrongful death claim. While it is impossible to put a monetary value on your loved one’s life can help provide some sense closure and ease the financial burden that come with your loved one’s passing. 740 ILCS 180/, the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, details the laws surrounding wrongful death claims:

• A wrongful death claim can be made when some is killed by another’s negligence or wrongdoing.
• The Illinois statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is two years from the date of your loved one’s death, not the date that they were first injured.
• There are three categories of people who can file a wrongful death claim in Illinois. In order of priority, they are:
  1. Members of the nuclear family, such as a spouse, children, grandchildren and grandparents
  2. When there are no immediate family members, siblings and siblings’ descendants can bring a suit
  3. If there are no family members, a judge can appoint a plaintiff ad litem to file a claim
• Your compensation will include:
  • Under 755 ILCS 5/27-6, the Illinois Survival Act, the personal injury damages incurred by the deceased before their death, for example their medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering
  • Funeral expenses
  • Loss of financial support from the deceased, including any benefits related to their employment
  • Loss of consortium
  • Loss of instruction, guidance and moral training the deceased would have provided
  • Survivors’ grief, sorrow and mental suffering

Burger Law’s Rio, IL wrongful death attorneys are not just tremendous at securing full compensation. We are empathetic and have helped many families navigate the sorrow, anger and confusion that accompanies a fatal auto accident.

In addition to motorcycle accidents, other injury cases we take on and win in Rio, IL include:

• Truck Crash Lawyers in Illinois
• Wrongful Death Lawyers in Illinois
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Illinois
• Car Accident Attorney in Illinois

HIRE BURGER LAW

Speak to a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Rio, IL Today

Our Rio, IL motorcycle accident lawyers will not stop fighting until there is nothing left to fight; that is our guarantee. You are owed a recovery for your motorcycle accident. You do not have to pay for someone else’s mistakes. To learn more about how our Rio, IL personal injury law firm will fight for your rights, call our team at (312) 500-HURT or contact us online for a no obligation case review.