In 2018 alone, there were 82,000 injuries caused by police-reported crashes while on motorcycles. This is in the USA alone, so you can see that accidents are a significant problem. It’s therefore always a possibility that you could end up in an accident at some point in the future.
But do you know what to do if you have a motorcycle accident? Who should you call and in what order? This article will answer any questions you have about this subject. That way, you can travel with ease, knowing what to do should someone cause a problem in your vicinity.
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Call the Police
It is more important than anything that you call the police. If you do not, the police may consider it a “Hit and run”. So make sure they have a report of any major incident on the road where one or more people get affected.
This is important to do even if there is no serious injury, as it sets a story in stone that you can use for the insurance claim.
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Seek Medical Attention
If you are uninjured, you may not need to do this, however, we would still recommend it. It is important that you get checked over, as you may have a concussion you are not aware of. You may even have a more significant injury to the brain that needs treatment before it gets worse.
In addition, various insurers will not pay out without a medical report of the incident.
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Gather Details
As you wait for the police, you should get as many details as you can. Here is a checklist of just some of the things you can do:
- Take photos of the vehicles involved
- Take photos of the driver
- Take photos of skid marks, with objects next to them for scale and with the resulting incident in the photo
- Get the names, address, and contact details of all witnesses
- Collect the insurance details from others involved in the incident
- Document the number-plates of all the vehicles
While the police will collect all this information, they do not always gather the same information and they are only human after all.
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File for Insurance
Once you file the insurance claims in Texas, you can start the process towards financial recovery from the incident. You should check with your insurance provider, as they may ask you to file a report even if you do not claim. The insurer will then send out an investigator to determine how much needs to be reimbursed.
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Do Not Talk About the Motorcycle Accident
Whatever you do, do not post on social media about the incident. Insurers will scour social media for any discussion of the fault and deny claims based on them. In a similar way, you should not talk any extra detail about what happened with the police without lawyers present.
What Next?
This should give you a good idea of the basics of what to do after a motorcycle accident. There are plenty of other pieces of advice we have for looking after yourself in other situations. We recommend you check our blog for more information in this regard.
