When Jack was 17, he convinced his parents that he was ready to buy a motorcycle. He had loved them since he was a boy, and had been practically counting down the days until he could get a license since Kindergarten. He had ridden dirt bikes for years, and was eager to finally be able to be a daily motorcyclist. After Jack completed several motorcycle driving prep courses and saved up to buy his own bike, his parents finally relented. Jack could not have been happier.
Unfortunately, just a few days after getting his new motorcycle, a drunk driver hit Jack head on. Jack had on all of his protective gear, but he still suffered significant injuries. Jack never thought he would be one of the 88,000 people injured in motorcycle accidents each year, especially since he was so safe. His parents were just grateful he wasn’t among the more than 4,500 who are killed each year on a motorcycle. While Jack was still in the hospital, it became clear that the other driver intended to make it as difficult as possible for Jack to prove what had happened and get fair compensation for his injuries-some of which would likely last the rest of his life. His parents advised that he needed to make a personal injury claim and find a motorcycle injury lawyer as soon as he could.
When he first contacted an auto injury lawyer and explained he needed to make a personal injury claim, he learned that since more than 95% of personal injury claims are settled outside of court, he had a good chance of never having to go to trial. Based on previous interactions with the other driver, however, he decided he needed to look into someone who was an expert when a personal injury lawsuit did make it to court. He wanted to make sure that no matter what happened after he filed his personal injury claim, he would not be left all alone to deal with the fallout of a crash he did nothing to cause.
After Jack gave his full statement to his attorney and the police finished providing their report, including the fact that the driver at fault had a blood alcohol level more than 4 times the legal limit, the other driver’s attorney settled quickly. There was a lot of back and forth about the terms of the settlement, but given that Jack had once had a strong chance of receiving an athletics scholarship and would not likely never walk without a limp, he was able to receive a claim that satisfied him, his parents, and his attorney.
Thought getting in a motorcycle accident was by far the worst moment of Jack’s life, he was so grateful that he been wearing his protective gear. He knew that even though he had done everything right, the situation that life gave him meant that he would still suffer from the consequences of his accident for the rest of his life. Thanks to his successful personal injury claim, however, Jack knew that he would never need to worry about being able to pay for the care he needed and could attend college-athletic scholarship or not.