Columbus
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

When you’re in an accident on a motorcycle, you pay a heavy price. Without the safety protection that a car can provide, motorcyclists can easily suffer road rash, broken bones, and other serious injuries. Our Columbus motorcycle accident lawyers can help you get the money you need.

John Foy & Associates understands what you’re going through, and we want to make the process of getting a financial recovery as easy as possible. With our 20-plus years of experience, we know how to build a case and strong-arm insurance companies into giving you what you need.

Why Are Motorcycle Accidents Deadly?

Motorcycles are smaller and have a different shape than other vehicles on the road, which means they’re easily missed by drivers who aren’t paying close attention. It’s common for other drivers to cut off motorcycles while turning or hit them while changing lanes. This is especially true when the motorcyclist is lane-splitting.

When these accidents happen, they are often far worse for the cyclist than for the passengers in the car that hit it. This is because cars are bigger, and there is a more considerable amount of space between the point of impact and the car’s occupants, especially in front and rear-end collisions. 

In addition, cars today also come equipped with all sorts of safety enhancements that save lives and prevent injuries. Motorcyclists don’t have any of these advantages. 

When riding a motorcycle, there’s nothing between you and the road, and there’s no seat belt to keep you from flying off your bike upon impact. Helmets and protective clothing help, but even a relatively minor motorcycle wreck can easily put you in the hospital.

What Damages Can I Collect for My Motorcycle Accident?

You can recover money for any injury, as long as your accident caused them to occur. There are many types of damages and motorcycle injuries, but here are the most common. 

Medical Expenses

Even with the best protective gear in the world, motorcycle accidents can leave you with severe injuries that can require extensive medical treatment to heal properly. 

• “Road rash,” the cuts and scrapes that happen when your body skids along the roadway
• Head injuries, including concussions and disabling traumatic brain injuries
• Broken bones
• Injuries to the neck and back
• Spinal cord injuries

Medical expenses cost thousands of dollars if you don’t have insurance that protects you from high medical costs. For example, a broken bone can cost several thousand to fix without health insurance. 

Even with insurance, you’re still looking at high medical costs down the road. You can recover financial compensation for your medical expenses by filing a claim for a settlement and working with a Columbus, GA, motorcycle accident attorney. 

Vehicle Repairs 

Cars are much heavier than motorcycles. Getting into an accident with one can leave your motorcycle severely damaged. In many instances, your motorcycle could be beyond repair. Whether you need repairs or to replace your motorcycle completely, our lawyers will ensure that you get the money you need to do so in your settlement. 

Lost Wages

Recovering from a motorcycle accident takes time. Unfortunately, that time spent recovering means time lost working. Your bills and financial obligations don’t just stop because you got into an accident. You still need to make money, but how can you if you’re unable to work due to your injuries? 

You can recover all your lost wages through your settlement. We will help you calculate the value of the pay you missed out on due to your accident and ensure that all of it gets accounted for. 

Compensation for Non-Economic Damages

When it comes to financial compensation for motorcycle accidents, there are two types of damages, economic and non-economic. Medical expenses, vehicle repairs, and lost wages count as economic damages because their values are fixed. Non-economic damages don’t have fixed values. They typically include: 

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish and emotional trauma 
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Wrongful death 
• Disfigurement and disability 

We use various formulas to calculate your non-economic damages into your settlement value. While money can’t fix or replace everything, we hope that it can provide you with closure and the ability to recover from what happened. 

Can I Collect Punitive Damages from a Motorcycle Accident?

Sometimes. All drivers on the road need to exercise a duty of care for others. If a driver fails to meet that duty through their own negligence, they are responsible for whatever accidents they caused. In cases where negligence was extreme, you can potentially recover an award for punitive damages under the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) § 51-12-5.1.

Not all motorcycle accident cases will qualify for punitive damages. The best way to see if you’ll get an award for these damages is by talking to one of our motorcycle accident lawyers in Columbus, GA. Keep in mind that punitive damages are mainly to punish the driver for their actions. How much you will get will depend on the outcome of your negotiations or trial. 

What If I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet?

Helmets are required by law in Columbus, GA, but that doesn’t mean everyone wears one all the time. Many people leave their helmets at home for a quick trip or occasionally don’t wear a helmet just to get the feeling of wind in your hair. But not wearing a helmet can impact your claim for injuries.  

It’s essential to know that your helmet use has nothing to do with who caused the accident. If the other driver is at fault, they must pay, period. However, not wearing a helmet could have caused some of your injuries or could have made them worse than they otherwise would have been. 

We’ve seen many cases where the other driver’s insurance company tried to deny the motorcyclist any money at all simply because the motorcyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet. Insurance companies frequently view motorcyclists as lawless rebels. 

So, we take the time to investigate the accident fully, including sending you to medical experts who can assess your injuries and support your case. 

How Much Will It Cost to Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Columbus, GA?

We don’t think it’s right to ask you to pay us up-front to help you get money after you’ve gotten injured. That’s why our motorcycle accident attorneys in Columbus, GA, use a “contingency fee” system in all our cases.  

• First, we consult with you for free.  
• Then, we take care of your case without ever asking you to pay a bill.  
• Finally, if we recover money for you, we’ll keep a percentage of what you receive.  

Everything else is yours. And if yours is one of the rare cases where we can’t recover anything, you won’t pay us a dime.

How Long do I Have to File My Claim in Georgia? 

In Columbus, GA, you have two years to file a claim before the statute of limitations expires. You shouldn’t delay and call one of our motorcycle accident attorneys quickly. After an accident, get medical treatment and reach out to us. 

We urge that you speak to us first because the insurance company may try and reach out to you. Before you accept their offer or do anything, allow us to help you. If you can build a strong case fast and file your claim at the right time before the expiration date, the chances of recovering a fair settlement are high. 

Talk to a Columbus Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

At John Foy & Associates, our single goal is to get you money. We’ve been doing it successfully for more than 20 years, and we’d like to give you a free consultation to talk about your accident and how you were injured. Call us or fill out the form to your right to schedule an appointment with a Columbus, GA, motorcycle accident lawyer.