Indiana is filled with places to take beautiful motorcycle rides—from the corn-filled roads in the country to the hills of Brown County to downtown Indianapolis, there is much to see. Unfortunately, just like all vehicles on state roadways, there is the potential to be involved in an accident. The Indiana University Public Policy Institute stated in 2020, there were 1,969 individuals injured in motorcycle-related crashes, and 134 people died in such crashes.
If You Are Involved in an Indianapolis Motorcycle Accident, Here Are Some Steps You Should Take:
1. Check for Injuries
The first thing you should do is check for injuries. If you are injured, call 911 immediately. Even if you do not feel injured, getting medical attention as soon as possible is important, as some injuries may not be apparent immediately. Being involved in an accident often causes your body to respond with the production of adrenaline, making it hard to recognize injuries until the response has subsided. If you do not need emergency medical treatment, visit your family physician or an urgent care facility. Delaying medical treatment is not only bad for your recovery from an injury. Still, it may also lead the insurance company or, ultimately, a jury to doubt whether the accident caused the injuries. 
2. Call the Police
You should call the police to report the accident, even if it is minor. Both personal injuries and property damage may not be immediately apparent. The police will investigate the accident and prepare a report. The report will be important if you decide to make a claim for your injuries or other damages. Simply exchanging information with the other drivers involved leaves you open to the risks that the information you are given is fraudulent or that you will not be able to locate the other drivers again. Police involvement will help to ensure that those issues are taken care of.
3. Take Photographs of the Accident Scene
Take photographs of the accident scene, the damage to your motorcycle, and any other vehicles involved. If there are skid marks, debris on the roadway, or any other evidence at the scene, photographs can preserve the location of evidence and can be used in the investigation of the accident.
4. Follow the Advice and Orders of Your Health Care Provider
To heal from your injuries, as well as to pursue a claim for personal injury in Indiana, you must do what your health care provider tells you to do. If you disagree with your health care provider or feel the treatment is not helping, discuss that issue with your provider. Under Indiana law, as a person injured due to the fault of another party, you must do everything that you can do to recover physically. Following your health care provider's advice and orders is the most important thing you can do to “mitigate your damages” and maximize any potential recovery.
5. Do Not Talk to the Insurance Company Before Talking to an Attorney
Insurance companies are incentivized to settle your claim quickly and cheaply. However, knowing the value of your claim is impossible until you have finished medical treatment and recovered physically. Insurance companies will also try to talk to you about how the accident occurred to use your words against you later. When seeking legal counsel, it is of utmost importance to be honest. It is easier for an attorney to help you when they know all the facts.
6. Do Not Discuss the Accident on Social Media
As soon as insurance companies are aware of your claim, they will search social media for any posts or references regarding the accident. They want nothing more than to use this information against you. Even if you are not posting about the accident, be mindful that the insurance companies will try to use anything you post against you.
7. Be Patient
It often takes time to recover from injuries caused by a motorcycle accident. Be patient and focus on your physical and mental recovery. Only when you have completed all of your medical treatment can you assess your damages from the accident.
Here Are Additional Tips:
-Do not admit fault at the scene of the accident. Even seemingly innocent comments at the scene of an accident can be misconstrued and used against you. While it is human nature to want to apologize after an accident, such statements can be used later as an admission of fault.
-If you can, get contact information from any witnesses at the scene. Witnesses often leave the scene of an accident quickly, and it can be impossible to track them down later without any contact information.
-Report the accident to your insurance company. Most of the time, your insurance contract with your insurance company requires you to promptly report an accident, even if you do not think you will make a claim. Failure to report the accident to your insurance company can result in a denial of benefits.
-Only sign papers with an attorney.
-Keep track of all of your medical expenses.
-Be aware of the Indiana statute of limitations. In Indiana, the statute of limitations for filing a claim for personal injury is two years from the date of the accident.
Contact Keller & Keller LLP
Following these steps can help you protect your rights after a motorcycle accident in Indiana. Often, evidence of the collision can be lost over a relatively short period of time. If there is any video footage of the accident, these videos are often overwritten or deleted after a short period of time. Other physical evidence from a motorcycle collision can be lost quickly as the area of the collision is remediated or simply over time. If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, call our Indianapolis motorcycle accident attorney team at Keller & Keller as soon as possible for a free consultation with our attorneys.
