Springfield Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

The motorcycle accident attorneys at Motorcycle Safety Lawyers, LLC will help to remove the burden of the law and allow you to focus on recovering from your injuries. In addition to serving clients injured in motorcycle accidents all around Springfield, IL, we also serve Sangamon County. Our firm has represented injured motorcyclists for over 40 years.

At this point, you are likely attending medical appointments that you had no plans for, missing time from work (which is causing financial difficulties), paying to store your bike in a tow yard, and receiving calls from an adjuster prior to your first follow-up appointment.

There is one distinct difference about our team: We are part of the motorcycle community year-round and not just when someone gets into a motorcycle wreck. We provide funding for Accident Scene Management Courses; we attend and participate in rallies and swap meets across Illinois, and we will review your motorcycle insurance policy absolutely free of charge.

Legal Help for Injured Motorcyclists in Springfield

This section of our website is specifically designed to help Springfield-area motorcyclists and their families following crashes involving passenger vehicles; uninsured or underinsured motorists; delivery vehicles, commercial vehicles, or semi-trucks; and dangerous roadway conditions such as potholes, loose gravel, or construction zones.

If you are a cyclist who was injured on your bike when hit by a company vehicle while riding on a county road, we will need to gather a much different type of evidence compared to if you were rear-ended at a stoplight in a city. We will also be dealing with significantly different types of insurance coverage. In addition, there will likely be very different time constraints placed upon us. Therefore, our goal initially will be determining what type of case you actually do have. Once this has been accomplished, we will begin to build your case from that point moving forward.

Why Springfield Riders Choose Motorcycle Safety Lawyers

A Law Firm Focused on Motorcyclists

Lawyers who deal with motorcycles know the unique characteristics of a motorcycle (i.e., countersteering, engine braking, etc.), and they are aware of when a motorcyclist may swerve instead of grabbing onto the front brake to avoid a collision. In addition, motorcyclists have a different type of prejudice than most other individuals who suffer injury. Insurers often rely upon this prejudice in handling claims from motorcyclists. They often ask about what you were wearing at the time of your accident (or injuries), whether or not you had mufflers on your exhaust system and/or if your motorcycle was high performance. None of these questions may establish why a vehicle turned into your lane while you were traveling down the road.

Involvement in the Motorcycle Community

• Accident Scene Management courses sponsored through Road Guardians, teaching riders how to help at a crash scene before first responders arrive
• Free insurance policy reviews, where our legal team reads your policy and tells you where you are exposed
• Sponsored events across Illinois, listed on our event calendar
• Support for the BikerDown Foundation, which helps injured riders and grieving families with equipment, transportation, and financial guidance
• Rider assistance including “Do Not Remove My Helmet” stickers, MSL Trauma Packs, and the National Biker VIP Card™

Experience Handling Serious Motorcycle Claims

The motorcycle accident lawyers at Motorcycle Safety Lawyers have been representing motorcyclists who have been injured in accidents for over 40 years (combined experience). Our attorneys include members of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), and American Bar Association (ABA). Motorcycle Safety Lawyers has also maintained an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for its commitment to clients. See our client reviews.

How We Investigate a Springfield Motorcycle Accident

Identifying the Responding Agency

The location of the accident record is determined by which agency worked on the crash. Within City Limits: Motorists are commonly handled by the Springfield Police Department for crashes that occur on city streets; Illinois State Police handles those occurring on Interstate highways and Freeways within the State; and many county roads (including unincorporated) are handled by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department. For example, a crash just outside the city limits could be handled by another municipality. The name of the investigating agency is listed in the “Investigated By” box located at the top left corner of your motorist exchange paperwork. The actual investigating agency can depend on where the crash occurred and which agency responded.

Obtaining Records and Digital Evidence

In addition to reports such as the Illinois Traffic Crash Report and any reconstruction report, an attorney will also obtain records of 911 calls and police communications with dispatch, photos from officers taking pictures at the scene, video from the officer’s squad car cameras or body-worn cameras, video from nearby residences (i.e., doorbell cameras), and/or businesses’ security cameras (if they exist) in the area. 

There may be other video sources available depending on local government regulations regarding public cameras; however, many personal devices are set to automatically delete their oldest videos after a certain amount of time. Therefore, if you believe your injury resulted from an accident involving another party, immediately contact a lawyer for representation. The lawyer may then send letters to all relevant parties requesting they preserve any video evidence which could be helpful in proving liability, if parties comply. If this does not occur, and a video recording is deleted prior to receipt by an attorney representing you in litigation resulting from the accident, then the evidence may not be able to be recovered. 

Preserving the Motorcycle and Riding Gear

Your motorcycle is an object of interest as well as your equipment. Before repairing your motorcycle, selling it for scrap metal, or crushing it, we may seek out your motorcycle and have it inspected with the damage still present. All aspects that relate to how fast you were going when involved in the accident (i.e., bent fork) are related to what direction you went into something (scrape direction), if you had your lights on at the time of the collision (paint transfer from another vehicle’s surface to yours), and whether your headlight was operating (lamp filament condition). A similar relationship exists between you and your protective gear (helmet, jacket, gloves, boots). Please do not dispose of this gear; please advise the repair facility against starting repairs, and provide us with information regarding the location(s) of such items.

Investigating the Roadway

Whenever a road condition is included in an accident or injury case, our firm researches what department(s) own and maintain that section of highway; their record of maintenance on the area involved; whether there were other complaints regarding the exact same hazardous conditions; any plans for construction work, traffic control during construction and/or any contractor’s responsibilities; if inspections are routinely performed (and when), and finally, photos taken while the condition still exists. The latter point may seem minor, but a pothole could cause serious injuries to a motorcyclist or bicyclist in June and then get fixed with cold patching material in July. Once repaired, the ability to prove it ever existed is significantly reduced.

Learn More & Watch Video

Where a Springfield Motorcycle Crash Happened Can Affect the Investigation

No one can promise a particular record exists. What we can do is identify what might exist and go after it before retention periods run out.

Who May Be Liable for a Springfield Motorcycle Crash?

Responsibility can be attributed to the driver; the driver’s employer (a trucking or delivery service); the vehicle owner, when there is a separate basis for liability such as negligent entrustment, agency, or the owner’s own negligence; a manufacturer of motorcycles, vehicles, or parts; a repair facility; a construction contractor; or a governmental agency (responsible for maintaining the roadway), if applicable.

There are many instances where responsibility will extend to more than one individual. This process also attempts to identify all available insurance policies from each defendant. That identification will help determine if you will recover fully.

Problems That Can Complicate a Springfield Motorcycle Claim

Disagreement about fault. Illinois has a “modified” system of determining responsibility for injuries. If you were more than 50 percent responsible in causing the collision, you will receive no compensation. If you were 50 percent or less responsible, then your award would be reduced by the same amount.

How this affects compensation.

Insufficient coverage. The state of Illinois requires certain amounts of automobile liability insurance coverage. For example, there must be at least $25,000.00 coverage for each injured party ($50,000.00 total) for bodily injury, plus another $20,000.00 in case of property damage. Many times it does not take many helicopter transports to exceed this amount of insurance. Therefore, we check all of the possible insurance policies available to help pay for your treatment.

Request a free policy review.

Serious or permanent injuries. If you sign a release when settling with the other driver or another responsible party, you generally cannot seek additional compensation from the released parties for claims covered by the release, even if you later need surgery or experience additional losses. The settlement amount means nothing unless those items are considered and included in the final settlement agreement prior to signing.

More on injury claims.

Crashes caused by road defects. The local governmental entity (i.e., City, County, Park District) has protections as outlined in the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/8-101). These include: a shortened statute of limitations period to one year from the date of incident and immunity defenses which do not apply to private parties. Claims against the State of Illinois  (including IDOT) will typically proceed through the Court of Claims (705 ILCS 505).

A motorcycle that was removed or repaired. Bikes can be towed, sold to salvage yards, disassembled (parted out), and destroyed in less than two months. One of our first priorities is to locate and preserve the damaged motorcycle.

How Our Springfield Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Help

• Determine each and every liable party
• Retain the police report, 911 tape(s), & any other audio or video footage possible
• Find, interview, and document witnesses as quickly as possible
• Save the motorcycle (and) gear; save photos of any damage to both; save the motorcycle, etc.
• Identify all potential sources of insurance that could be used to pay your claim
• Keep track of the medical bills you have paid; keep track of the income you’ve lost due to your injury; keep track of all other out-of-pocket costs associated with your injuries
• If necessary, consult experts in reconstruction, medicine, and/or vocational rehabilitation
• Negotiate with your insurer’s representatives so you don’t have to
• When the amount they’re offering doesn’t reflect the harm you sustained, file a lawsuit against them and get ready to go to court

What Compensation May Be Available?

Under Illinois law, if you were involved in a motorcycle collision and suffered an injury, you may seek reimbursement for those medical expenses that you have already paid; future care & rehabilitation; past wage loss; loss of ability to earn wages in the future; pain & suffering; disability; loss of a normal life; scarring/disfigurement; property damage to your motorcycle/riding gear; and wrongful death damages pursued by the decedent’s personal representative for the benefit of the surviving spouse and next of kin.

Illinois generally does not impose a statewide cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary motorcycle accident claim against a private party. Different statutory limits and restrictions may apply to claims against the State, a governmental entity, or another specially protected defendant. The value of a claim depends on the nature and extent of the injuries, the recoverable damages, the strength of the evidence, and the applicable law. The amount that can ultimately be collected may also be affected by available insurance coverage and the responsible parties’ assets. To see the entire list of types of compensation available in Illinois after being involved in a motorcycle collision, please visit our guide to Illinois motorcycle accident compensation.

Speak With a Springfield Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Tell us what happened. That is the whole first step.

Call (888) 500-9000 any time, or send us your case details online. The consultation is free, and the decision is always yours. We work on a contingency fee, so there are no upfront fees and no out-of-pocket expenses if we represent you. We only get paid if we win for you.

We do not keep a Springfield office, and it has not stopped us from serving riders here. We handle Springfield and Sangamon County cases from our Illinois offices, request records from the agencies that hold them, send investigators to the scene, meet clients where they are, and file suit in Sangamon County when that is what the case needs.

Motorcycle Safety Lawyers®. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar result or similar outcome.