What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in New Haven

A motorcycle ride in New Haven is an exhilarating experience in the open air. Unfortunately, the same two-wheeled, unenclosed design that makes a motorcycle ride so appealing also leaves motorcyclists vulnerable to serious or catastrophic injuries in an accident. When an accident is preventable and occurs due to a negligent driver or a road hazard that should have been promptly addressed by a road maintenance agency, it’s important to take purposeful action to get medical help to the scene and to document critical evidence that would otherwise disappear when law enforcement moves the wreckage to restore traffic flow.

What to Do at the Scene of a Motorcycle Accident in New Haven

Some motorcycle accidents cause severe injuries that leave the victim unconscious or unable to move, in which case they can only wait in place for help to arrive. However, as an injury victim, if you can use your phone to preserve evidence—or hand it to an uninjured person to use for you—it greatly benefits you later in an injury claim seeking compensation for damages like medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for pain and suffering. Use a cell phone to take the following steps at the scene of the accident:

• Call 911 to report the accident and request emergency services to the scene
• Take time-stamped photos of the position of your motorcycle before it’s moved
• Photograph any other involved vehicles
• If the accident was caused by a road hazard, photograph the cause of the accident
• If possible, photograph the scene of the accident from your location without moving around and causing further injury
• Add the contact information of other drivers
• Add the contact information of any eyewitnesses to the accident

Eyewitnesses sometimes disappear from an accident scene without leaving their names. Having an eyewitness can be a key component of a successful compensation claim after a motorcycle accident in New Haven, particularly in locations where there are no traffic cameras.

What to Do In the Days and Weeks Following a Connecticut Motorcycle Accident

Once you’ve documented evidence at the scene, always accept emergency transportation to a hospital. This provides critical medical care and ensures evidence that your injuries occurred in the accident and nowhere else. At the hospital, you’ll receive treatment for your obvious injuries, but you should also request a full medical evaluation so the doctor can catch and treat any injuries with delayed symptoms. Sometimes the adrenaline of an accident masks injuries until later.

Have your doctor make a detailed medical report listing every injury, their recommendations for treating the injuries, and your prognosis. Then, call a motorcycle accident attorney to represent you before you speak to insurance representatives who may call with a low settlement offer while you’re vulnerable when it’s almost always less than what’s available to you in a well-executed claim for damages.

Be sure to carefully follow your doctor’s orders and save your medical bills and receipts for related expenses. A skilled New Haven motorcycle accident attorney will carefully calculate your economic and non-economic damages so you can get the most out of your motorcycle accident claim. Although financial compensation can’t erase the injury, it helps open doors to the best possible medical care for your recovery and helps you achieve a sense of justice when someone else’s negligent or reckless behavior caused your serious injuries.