Injuries sustained in an off-road collision are often devastating, catastrophic, and deadly. Riders that have been killed or injured due to the negligence of another rider, ATV, or Side by Side driver are entitled to recover for their injuries. Oftentimes, an at-fault rider or driver will have insurance on their motorcycle or other off-road vehicle that will include money for injuries they caused other riders, or even their passengers.
Under the law, victims of negligence are entitled to compensation so they can recover from the damage another rider causes. These include damages for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and many others.
Our office investigates all injuries to determine not only whether the crash was the result of another driver or rider’s negligence, but we also investigate all potential sources of recovery through insurance of the at-fault negligent person.
Often times a crash will happen as a result of both riders making some sort of mistake or “negligent” behavior. In Missouri, even if a rider contributes a portion of the fault in a crash, they may still be entitled to recover for their injuries, medical costs, pain and suffering, and other damages from the crash.
This is called comparative fault and is broken down so that the injured party may recover a percentage of their damage based on the amount of fault that is assigned to the other rider in the crash. During our consultation and during my investigation of a claim we will help identify sources of negligence so that our clients may be compensated to the fullest extent of the law after being injured in a dirt-bike or other off-road vehicle crash.
Even if another rider does not have insurance, or if the amount of insurance they have is not enough to cover the damage they cause, oftentimes it is still possible to recover for off-road injuries under your own insurance coverage.
These claims are called Uninsured Motorist Claims if the at-fault rider doesn’t have insurance, or fails to stop and exchange insurance information after the crash.
Underinsured Motorist claims are situations where the at-fault rider does have insurance, but they don’t have enough coverage on their policy to fully compensate the victim for their injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and other losses which are collectively called damages