Daphne Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcycles offer little protection for riders, so it is no surprise when motorcycle crashes have catastrophic results. Victims often sustain severe injuries and wind up dealing with hospitalizations, surgeries, long-term rehabilitation, and tremendous pain and suffering. Medical bills pile up at a time they are unable to work, and some injuries lead to death.

If you or a loved one has been injured or someone has died in a motorcycle accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses providing the money you need to meet your expenses and pay for care. A fair insurance settlement or jury verdict may be the difference between getting your life back on track and losing income and a stack of unpaid medical bills.

However, winning compensation is not easy to do on your own. Alabama laws are complicated, insurance companies and their attorneys will try to deny claims or get you to accept the lowest settlement possible, and there is an unfortunate bias against motorcyclists, to begin with, which makes it even harder to win.

At this difficult time, when you are trying to recover from your injuries, the Daphne motorcycle accident lawyers at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana can protect your legal rights and help you get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Your motorcycle crash may be the result of a mistake by the other driver, or it could be a complex event with many causes. In every situation, our attorneys have the experience to ensure all negligent parties are held accountable for their actions. Let us take the burden off you by handling all legal hurdles and dealings with the insurance company while you focus on recovery.

We serve clients from our offices in Mobile, Daphne, and Foley, AL, and offer a free consultation to discuss your case. Call us today at (251) 444-7000.

How Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Can Help

Why Choose Us?

There are many lawyers out there, and it is important to find one with the experience and skills to negotiate and litigate complex motorcycle cases. Here are some reasons why we believe the motorcycle accident lawyers at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana are your best choice:

• Experience. Our seasoned attorneys have the experience with motorcycle accidents necessary to know what to do and expect. Attorneys Dee Asthana, C. Randall Caldwell, Jr., and Drew Wenzel have decades of experience successfully representing clients to get the largest payouts possible.
• We have outstanding client victories and proven case results. We win big, including a $2,250,000 verdict in a car accident involving drinking and driving.
• We come highly recommended by many satisfied clients.
• We offer an attractive attorney referral program and consider it the highest compliment when we receive referrals from our esteemed colleagues, past clients, lawyers, and judges.
• We understand the ins and outs of the insurance claims process and know how to deal with insurance companies.
• We are skilled negotiators and can settle most cases out of court, but we are also successful litigators fully prepared to take your case to trial if necessary.
• We are available. When you hire us, you receive our full attention, compassion, and commitment to see the case through to a successful conclusion.
• We offer free, no-obligation consultations, and there are no fees to you unless and until we win your case.

Our Alabama Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Works for You

When you retain Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, we will get to work for you immediately. We will:

• Meet with you to discuss how the crash occurred, who the at-fault parties may be, and what type of settlement to go after
• Ensure you get proper medical care and that all symptoms and treatments are documented
• Investigate the accident and gather evidence, such as photographs and videos from traffic cameras, interviews with witnesses and first responders, and police and medical reports and records
• Hire experts to reconstruct the accident and determine fault, and experts to testify as to your damages and losses and how they will affect you into the future
• Handle all communications and negotiations with insurance companies for a fair settlement
• Build your case and advocate for you in court if necessary.

When you have our legal team on your side, you will have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have skilled and experienced attorneys fighting for you.

Call us today to get started with your case while evidence is available, and witnesses can be found at (251) 444-7000.

Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Must Prove Negligence

To win your case for compensation, our attorneys must be able to show that another party, the defendant in the case, was negligent and at fault for causing the accident that injured you. Under the principle of “negligence,” when one person acts carelessly or recklessly and causes injury to another person, the careless person is liable for the harm they caused.

Proving negligence legally means establishing four essential elements:

1. Duty – The defendant had a duty not to cause harm
2. Breach – The defendant breached this duty by actions or failure to act
3. Causation – This breach caused the accident that injured you
4. Damages/Harm. – You suffered damages as a result.

In some cases, there may be multiple parties who were negligent. For example, if your motorcycle was hit by a truck, depending on the circumstances, in addition to the truck driver, we may be able to hold the trucking company that owned the truck, the cargo company that overloaded the truck, the manufacturer of defective truck parts that failed liable for the accident.

In every situation, our attorneys would look to identify all negligent parties, as they all may have insurance and assets that can go toward a settlement.

Damages Our Motorcycle Injury Lawyer May Recover

Settlements Should Cover All Your Damages

In a successful motorcycle accident case, you may win an award that covers the losses you suffered, called “damages.” These should include both your economic or monetary damages and your non-economic damages that do not have a specific dollar value but negatively impact your life, such as:

• Medical and rehabilitation care costs
• Damage to your motorcycle or other property from the accident
• Lost income and future income if you cannot work
• Mental and physical pain, suffering, depression, and anxiety
• Disfigurement
• Disability
• Loss of consortium and quality of life.

In some rare cases, when gross negligence was involved, you may also receive punitive damages. These serve to punish the offender and as an example to prevent such negligence in the future.

Daphne Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Answers FAQs

After a serious motorcycle accident, you are bound to have questions. We can answer your specific concerns at your free consultation, but to get started, here are some answers to questions our attorneys are often asked:

Are there time limits for filing a lawsuit?

Yes, Alabama has a statute of limitations that sets time limits for filing. According to the law (Alabama Code Section 6-2-38), you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim, or the courts are likely to refuse to hear your case.

How much can I get in a settlement?

There is a wide range of settlement amounts possible for a motorcycle accident, from thousands to millions of dollars, depending on the circumstances of the case and the factors involved. Generally, the more serious and permanent the injury and the higher the costs, the higher the settlement.

What if my loved one died in a motorcycle accident?

If a loved one dies in a motorcycle accident, our attorneys may be able to file a wrongful death claim to receive compensation. The law (Section 6-5-410 of the Code of Alabama) defines a wrongful death as one that is caused by the “wrongful act, omission, or negligence” of another, and a wrongful death claim can result in compensation for funeral and burial costs, in addition to other damages.

What if I did something to contribute to the accident?

Alabama is a contributory negligence state, so if you are over age 14 and even one percent responsible for causing your injuries, you cannot recover damages. For this reason, having an experienced motorcycle attorney handle your lawsuit is especially important.

When you have our Daphne motorcycle accident lawyers working for you, we will keep you informed and answer all your questions throughout the entire legal process.

Alabama Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Understand It is Tough to Ride Safely

Our attorneys know that the open riding experience that makes motorcycling special also causes danger. The motorcycle provides little or no physical protection. You have only your helmet, proper clothing, and footwear.

Motorcyclists face many challenges to traveling safely, including:

• Visual recognition: Motorcycles are smaller than cars and trucks. They are hidden by other vehicles and weather conditions. Visibility is especially an issue at intersections, where about 70 percent of collisions between motorcycles and vehicles occur.
• Road hazards: What could be a minor irritant for a driver can be a deadly hazard for a motorcyclist? Potholes, oil slicks, puddles, debris, ruts, uneven pavement, railroad tracks, and objects on the roadway can bring a motorcycle down.
• “Wobble” accidents: Especially at higher speeds, a motorcycle’s front end can become unstable. It can shake or “wobble,” causing a loss of control. This may be caused by a misalignment of the front and rear tires. If this happens and an accident occurs, you may have a motorcycle accident case against the manufacturer.
• Riding skills: Much better skills and physical coordination are needed to safely operate a motorcycle compared to a car. Many accidents are due, in whole or in part, to a rider’s lack of skills and a failure to understand the operating characteristics and limits of the motorcycle.

Motorcycle crashes often involve vehicles turning left in front of motorcycles heading straight. The problem is, generally, drivers fail to see motorcycles because of their smaller size. Drivers will also misjudge the motorcycle’s speed, thinking it’s traveling slower than it is.

The odds are against riders when there’s a crash, especially at high speed or if it involves another vehicle. Cars and trucks are far bigger, heavier, and easier to see. On the other hand, a skilled rider faced with a dangerous situation may use the machine’s agility and ability to stop quickly to swerve quickly out of the way.

Protect Your Health and Legal Rights by Riding Safely

Alabama law requires motorcyclists to use a helmet. It is the most important safety device you can use. It distributes the force of an accident and absorbs part of the energy. It also protects your skull and brain by preventing a hard object from piercing into them.

Riders who drank alcohol before riding are involved in about 43 percent of all fatal motorcycle crashes. Since motorcycling requires more skill and coordination than driving, riding under the influence can sharply lessen your ability to operate safely.

Warnings for riders about safety and wearing a helmet serve a couple of purposes. They can make riding safer and, if you are injured, you may suffer less harm. Under Alabama law, if the insurance company can show that you contributed to the cause of the accident, your claim will fail. If you don’t ride safely and are responsible for the accident, even in a small way, you may not have a case.

This is one of the most important reasons to hire our motorcycle accident lawyers in Daphne, AL. By trying to settle your case by yourself, you may say something to an adjuster or write something in a statement that can put some of the blame on yourself. Without realizing it, you may end your claim before it starts.

Call Our Skilled Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Daphne, AL

If you or your loved one is injured in a motorcycle crash, call our personal injury lawyers in Daphne, AL, at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana to discuss your legal options. We also help accident victims from our offices in Mobile and Foley, AL. You are not a second-class citizen on the road because you’re on a motorcycle. You or your family should be compensated if a negligent driver caused your accident and injuries.

To learn more about how we can help, call us for a free initial consultation at (251) 444-7000.