As passengers in vehicles or on a motorcycle, you have rights if you are ever involved in an auto collision. It is particularly important to keep this in mind if you are the passenger of a motorcyclist and you are in an accident given the very likely you could sustain serious if not life-threatening injuries from the accident. What those rights are is the topic of this blog.
Motorcycle passengers have the right to file a personal injury claim.
If you have been injured in an accident and it was due to someone else’s fault, you can file a personal injury claim in New Hampshire. Many passengers do not for one basic reason: they fear they will have to make the claim against friends or family members.
That assumption is not accurate. If the accident was caused by your friend and you were a passenger on his or her motorcycle, you actually file the claim against the insurance company.
One problem, however, that occurs a lot in New Hampshire is that many motorcyclists do not have insurance on their bikes because it is not required. If that’s the case, then you would actually have to sue your friend or family member, but the lawsuit would only be worth it if the defendant has the assets to cover your injuries.
In this case, you will likely have to depend on your own health insurance and your own finances to cover the costs of any injuries.
If, on the other hand, the at-fault driver is a driver of a passenger vehicle, then that driver should – by law – have auto insurance, and you can file a claim with that auto insurance company.
Motorcycle passengers have the right to file a lawsuit, if necessary.
Sometimes, when an auto insurance company challenges your claim, it fails to offer a settlement package that covers your expenses. In some case, the auto insurance company may challenge the claim completely and not offer anything.
If either of those scenarios play out in your case, you can sue. It is important to speak to an attorney first because he or she can advise you on the law and how your case measures up. There may be a valid reason the auto insurance company is not offering you fair and just compensation, but there may also not be a valid reason and so you should fight for what’s yours and invoke your right to sue.
Motorcycle passengers have the right to fair and just compensation.
The right to fair and just compensation seems like common sense, but it isn’t. What is fair and just can be derived by both objective and subjective means. That said, even if there will be some disagreement on the value of what is fair and just, you still have a right to fair and just compensation.
Rights, however, are not always upheld. But with an experienced attorney in New Hampshire fighting on your behalf after you were injured as a passenger either on a motorcycle or in a vehicle, you stand a good chance of getting what is just and fair.
These rights are obviously inter-connected but they are not always obvious to the victim of a motorcycle accident. Your health and your recovery is the first priority in an auto collision, so make use of your rights. And if you need help doing so, contact an experienced motorcycle accident attorney who will make sure your rights are at the forefront of your personal injury claim in New Hampshire.