I don't understand, if my bike is mangled in an accident, I don't want it back. Give me the money and I'm off for a new ride without issues
When I had my accident, there was SUBSTANTIAL damage to my bike. A motorcycle is a lot different from a car. They don't repair anything. They replace it. From what he said $800 plus a paint job is nothing. They aren't going to repair his tour pack, side panels or anything else. They will bolt on brand new ones. In my case, I got back a 6 year old bike that was like taking delivery of a factory fresh 6 year old bike. I had a couple of broken and bent cooling fins, so I got new cylinders and the cylinder kit came with pistons and rings. I got new fenders, tank, bars, lights, mirrors, turn signals, foot controls, and a new seat. The tires were flat, so I got new skins. My 12 year old sissy bar bag had scuffs, so I got a new one even though the scuffs were there before the wreck. They said there was no way to tell if the scuffs were there or were caused by the wreck. The only thing old on it was the wheels, tranny, frame, carb, speedo, tach, and the clutch and brake levers. Cost me nothing. If I they had totaled it, I would have had out of pocket expenses to get a used bike or even more out of pocket for a new one. I was more than happy to get my bike repaired.
Keep all your receipts for meds, a gardener, dog walker, house cleaner, gas receipts to and from doctors/hospitals and so on. Keep a diary of things you can't do any longer, that you can't do for the moment, inability to sleep, headaches, any short term memory loss.
When you go see a Neurologist tell them everything that hurts, what's improving and what hasn't improved. Make sure the Neurologist is used to working on PIP cases along with your lawyer.
I had a similar accident in 2008. Fortunately for me, a good friend is an attorney and he handled it at no charge. My bike was totalled, but I walked away with just one broken bone in my right hand and some really impressive bruises on my back (from landing in the road). The guy driving the pickup that pulled in front of me had just state minimum coverage, was unemployed, divorced and apparently had nothing worth suing for. His insurance did pay all medical bills, replaced damaged helmet, gloves, boots, even the jeans I was wearing. The bike only had about 5K miles on it, so I got a check for the full amount I paid for it. One interesting thing I learned: LA apparently has a law that property damages must be paid in (I believe) 30 days or less. So I had the money for a new bike pretty quick!
Document EVERYTHING, and lawyer up ASAP!
You both have fairly serious injuries, and you deserve to be compensated!
If you don't get a lawyer, be prepared to bend over.
The medical costs, and lost income, etc, will probably be more than the value of the bike.
And Do not sign a dad gum thing till you know for a fact how much
you are going to get don't even allow them to get the bike out of storage,
till you and the adjuster have agreed on the money. and have everything
put in writing. Don't take any bodies word for anything. Ask me how I know.
My butt is still sore from the screwing I took, back in 07
One other thing I want to add as far as my accident goes. It took almost 5 years for everything legal to be said and done. My injuries were serious and the money involved was substantial, but still it took a long time and many court appearances, hearings, depositions, and paperwork for everything to be over with. My lawyer said that the more $$$ involved, the longer it will take. Even when they know they have to pay, they want to hold onto their money as long as possible. Smaller claims, not so much.
To clarify the $800 plus is simply busted parts that can be ordered and bolted back on. All the damage to the fiberglass parts, which are not replaceable on this vintage machine, will need body work. The fender can be swapped out for a newer matching fender. And because of this only a complete paint job will restore it.
The scenario involved us traveling at only 35 mph. I first registered the car turning in front of us about 40 feet away from the impact. I braked hard, swerved left and nailed the rear passenger door with almost no forward momentum. The car traveling from my left to the right basically made light contact with the front tire and threw us over on the right side as it went by.
Not that the bike is extremely important in this matter, but I have a lot invested into it. The tire, rim, and forks show no sign of head on damage. The front fender has a big dent in it close to the bottom. The damage to the fairing is from the new windshield being ripped away tearing the stereo caddy off the top of it and destroying the stereo system I had finished installing this year. The right side compartment lid and hing is bent up and sprung. The handle bars are twisted due to my rib cage whacking them. The right mirror is shattered and brake lever has wear on the ball on the tip. The passenger's right foot board was ripped off it's broken cast metal mounting post, which scarred the side cover and the mufflers chrome cover next to it. The saddle bag top on the left popped open but wasn't damaged other than scratches. The right saddle bag cover bent it's mounting tab it slides onto but again it was only scarred up. The tour pack has scratches and the lid was ripped off leaving breaks where the hinges were and damaged the hasps. The spring loaded antenna left a big scar and is twisted off center now. The most curious is the several discoloration mars on the pillion from who knows what? And there's a tear in the bottom left corner of the pillion. I'm thinking when it was transported someone strapped around this in some fashion as to cause this odd damage.
My investment includes rebuilding the motor last winter going .20 over and boosting it to 9.6:1, a brand new S&S super E, Cycle Electrics stator and regulator, along with a new cam sensor added to the Crane hi4E ignition system and recent EV 27 cam and lifters. It looked the best ever and run better than ever at the time of the accident.
From sitting on it the front end looks square and turns as smooth as it always has. There isn't even a mar on the tire rubber.
Our helmets have minor scratches on the front right side and visor, Our road rash was slight knee and elbow scrapes with only t-shirts on. We both had a chin abrasion too. I swear I could not have had much forward momentum at the time of the impact. Our injuries are more like just falling over, except for my broken ribs. If I had even another foot to stop we may have never had this accident. I've been riding since 12 and up until a few years ago my skills were mostly trail riding and motocross style racing. I never lost control until the car tossed us over on the right side.
I have a few other leads on lawyers and will be calling several most of tomorrow to learn more about what I can recover. I appreciate those who are sharing some info here and hope to hear some more input too. Thanks.
Lawyer or not, the insurance company is only going to pay what they are legally liable for. Why don't you tell them what you want and see what they offer before hiring a lawyer. You can hire a lawyer at an hourly rate to review what you've been offered if you want. If you turn the claim over to a lawyer, he is going to take 1/3 of everything you get. That's 1/3 of the bike payoff, 1/3 of the medical bills, etc. So, if the insurance company offers you $50K, the lawyer would need to get $75K out of them for you to break even. I've dealt with insurance companies many time including a policy limit $300K claim for my folks. The one time I hired a lawyer because the Insurance company wouldn't pay me what my car was worth after being totaled by a drunk, it took a year and a half and I ended up with the same thing they offered me in the first place after the lawyer took his 1/3. Remember, 99% of the lawyers give the rest a bad reputation.
10-05-2014, 01:29 PM
