Stockton Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Our motorcycle accident attorneys in Stockton have a track record of success in both personal injury and wrongful death cases. We are proud to help injured riders and their families fight for the compensation they need to get their lives back, and we won’t settle for anything less than you deserve. Thousands of clients have turned to our law firm for representation, yet we remain dedicated to offering the personalized legal counsel of a small, neighborhood practice. To discuss your case in a free, no-obligation consultation, contact our 24-hour phone line at 1-800-GO-HARRIS.

How Much Time Will It Take to Resolve My Motorcycle Accident Claim?

It’s easy to lose sleep at night when your financial future has been put in jeopardy due to medical bills and other damages. Facing economic turmoil is never easy, but it can be even more stressful not to know how your case will play out. The unfortunate truth is that even the strongest motorcycle accident cases can proceed to litigation or even trial if the opposing party refuses to settle. And in some cases, it is wise to put off the settlement negotiations until the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement. This could take several months to well over a year depending on your diagnosis and prognosis. At the end of the day, there’s no way to predict the duration of the proceedings with any degree of certainty. But generally speaking, the stronger the evidence to support your claim, the less likely the opposing party may be to challenge your case. Below are a few factors that might affect the duration of the proceedings:

• The Value of Your Claim: If you’re pursuing a significant amount of money, the insurance company will have more incentive to challenge your claim. That means more resources might be invested in finding weaknesses in your case. Also, it may be easier for the insurance company to justify the cost of litigation.

• Your Prognosis: As previously mentioned, the best motorcycle accident attorneys in Stockton sometimes advise their clients to wait until they’ve reached maximum medical improvement before entering settlement negotiations. If you’ve been diagnosed with brain trauma or another injury that will take a considerable amount of time to heal, it could be months or well over a year before settlement talks commence.

• Whether Your Own Negligence Was a Contributing Factor: Sometimes a defendant will wrongly try to shift fault to the accident victim. This, of course, could lead to litigation if both sides cannot agree on liability. In some cases, the plaintiff did, in fact, play a role in causing the crash, but there’s a disagreement regarding the percentage of fault assigned to each liable party.
• Whether Multiple Defendants Played a Role: Here again, a dispute might arise if the parties involved cannot agree on how liability is apportioned.

• Whether You’ve Made a Critical Error: Your own statements and actions might influence the likelihood of a dispute. Mistakes you should avoid include providing a recorded statement to the insurance company, ignoring your doctor’s instructions, or posting about your accident or injury on social media.
• The Defendant’s Willingness to Cooperate: There’s no way to force a defendant to pay a fair settlement. If the opposing party won’t settle despite being presented with strong evidence, your case might proceed all the way to trial which, of course, can draw out the proceedings considerably.

What Role Might Expert Witnesses Play in My Case?

There are many kinds of experts who might assist your legal team during the investigation and settlement calculations. Your attorney might also depose expert witnesses during the discovery phase. Medical experts, for example, might be deposed to prove the kinds of injuries you sustained and the cost of necessary care. If you had a pre-existing condition that was aggravated in the crash, your lawyer might depose medical experts to prove causation. A financial expert might be deposed to prove the value of future damages such as loss of earning capacity. If you could not return to the same profession, the deposition of a vocational specialist might contribute to your case. If the collision was caused by a defective auto part, your lawyer might bring in an automotive specialist to help with the investigation and to provide deposition. An accident reconstruction expert might also help with the investigation and provide deposition regarding what led to the crash.

Contact Us Today for a Free Consultation with a Stockton Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

You shouldn’t have to worry about falling into debt due to an injury or death that someone else caused. Our lawyers are ready to help you pursue the compensation you need to cover medical costs and any other damages arising from the accident. Send us a message or call 1-800-GO-HARRIS to set up a free consultation.