What Should You Do After a Motorcycle Accident in New Jersey?
After an accident, you might have a million questions about what happens next and how to get compensation for your injuries. In many cases, an attorney can help you file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering – but you will have to face the legal hurdle of proving your case. New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer Jerry Friedman explains what you should do after a motorcycle accident in Edison, NJ and what evidence you should collect to help build your case and fight to get the compensation you need.
Seeking Medical Attention After a Motorcycle Accident in NJ
The boost of adrenaline during an accident can mask injuries, making it hard to understand the full extent of the harm after a motorcycle crash. You could also suffer internal injuries like bleeding, perforated organs, and brain injury, which you will need to go to the hospital to diagnose, let alone treat. Certain injuries like whiplash can also have delayed symptoms that do not appear until hours later or until the next day.
If there is a chance that you were badly injured, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. Getting to a hospital quickly could be the difference between a full recovery and permanent injuries or disabilities. Call 9-1-1 and get an ambulance as soon as you can if you need help. In the meantime, do not worry about additional evidence collection; the police officers who arrive at the scene of the crash will be able to gather information and build an accident report while you receive treatment.
If you are not seriously injured, you should still call for an ambulance or EMTs to check you out, make a record of any injuries, and advise you on how to proceed with medical care. If you are well enough to stay at the scene of the accident, there is a lot of evidence and information you can collect to help build your case.
Information to Collect after a Motorcycle Accident in NJ
When you’re involved in a motorcycle accident Atlantic City or elsewhere in New Jersey, you will need to have a good record of what happened in order to take your case to court or to file a claim with an insurance company. In most cases, the basic info of “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” will be what you need to collect.
Who
If you are well enough to stay at the scene of the accident, get information on who was involved and who witnessed the accident. Gather the name, contact info, and address of anyone who was involved in the accident or who saw the crash and stopped to give a statement. If you can collect actual statements as well, these can be helpful later to know who saw what. Also get contact information for any insurance companies that might represent the other driver – and share your insurance info as well. This is usually required under NJ law after a crash involving injury.
What
Alongside the actual individuals involved, take notes on what vehicles were involved. It will be important to know the make, model, license plate number, and other identifying information about the cars, trucks, or other motorcycles involved in the crash so you can tell the jury what happened. You will also want to record details about what the road was like and what kinds of weather and lighting conditions might have contributed to the accident.
Getting photos of the vehicles and places involved in the accident can also help show what the accident looked like.
When
The time and date of the accident will help build your story. Knowing the time will also help you piece together a timeline of events leading up to the accident and a timeline of your medical care and recovery.
Where
Taking notes on the specific location of the crash will also be important. If you can, write down what street the accident occurred on and where everyone was in relation to any streetlights, traffic lights, storefronts, cross streets, or mile markers.
Why
Tracing the event from beginning to end will help build the narrative of why the accident happened and who was at fault. Looking at the moves each driver made as they came toward each other will be a part of this. It is important to take notes while it is fresh in your mind to help explain why the accident happened and what mistakes or errors contributed to the crash.
How
The specific details of how the crash happened will also be important information. Take notes on what you remember about how each car collided, what positions they were in, and other details while you are still dealing with the aftermath of the accident.
If you don’t have paper and your cell phone still works, record video or audio of yourself to take notes on how the accident happened and what happened leading up to the crash. Ultimately, the court or the insurance company will need to hear the story of how the accident happened, and that will be a vital part of holding the at-fault driver accountable.
If there is video evidence of the accident, this can be incredibly helpful evidence for actually showing people how the accident happened. If you had a helmet camera or a nearby traffic cam or security cam might have captured the accident, make sure to contact the owner of the footage and ask for it to be preserved for trial and to have a copy made.
Who to Call After a Motorcycle Accident in NJ
Typically, people think that their insurance company is the first call to make after they begin to deal with the aftermath of an accident. In many cases, filing an insurance claim can help you get compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and motorcycle repairs after a motorcycle accident in Holmdel, New Jersey, but the damages paid through insurance might not be enough to help you.
It is important to always talk to a motorcycle accident lawyer after being involved in a serious motorcycle accident in NJ. There may be many details about your insurance policy that you might not understand. While making an insurance claim might get you quick money to help cover your injuries, it might ultimately mean losing out on money for pain and suffering damages or getting reduced insurance payouts.
A New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer like Jerry Friedman can help you determine the full extent of your damages, help you put together the evidence in your case, and help you understand what your case might be worth in a lawsuit. Do not accept insurance payouts or make statements to the other driver’s insurance company or lawyers before consulting with your own lawyer.
Keeping Records After a Motorcycle Accident in New Jersey
As you go through your recovery, make sure to keep good records of everything related to your injury. Keeping a journal of your pain and suffering and the challenges you overcome during your recovery can help you recall what happened and build a good case for pain and suffering damages. Keeping records of the medical expenses you faced for hospital treatment, follow-up care, and rehabilitation can help you later prove what your medical care cost. Lastly, keeping records of your pay stubs and financial records can help prove what wages you lost or missed because of your injury and how much you might continue to lose in the future.
This information can play a substantial role in how much compensation an insurance company or personal injury lawsuit provides. Our NJ motorcycle accident lawyers can help put this information together with the information collected at the scene of the accident or from a police report. From there, we can work to build your injury case and fight to get you the compensation you need.
Call Our NJ Motorcycle Accident and Injury Lawyer Today for a Free Consultation
If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident in Toms River, New Jersey and are searching for ways to obtain compensation for your claim, call our New Jersey motorcycle accident attorney today at 1-800-LAW-4-HOGS. We can schedule a free legal consultation and help you understand more about what to do in the aftermath of your accident and how we can represent you and fight to get you compensation for your injuries and medical expenses. Contact us today for your free case consultation.
