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Typical Challenges To Motorcycle Claims February 16, 2018

If someone that has been injured in a motorcycle accident decides to bring a lawsuit against the responsible party, the insurance company for the person being sued would supply that defendant with a lawyer. During the course of the trial, if the case proceeded to that point, the defendant’s lawyer would seek to show that the rider of the motorcycle was at least partly responsible for what happened. While taking that approach, the defendant’s lawyer would seek to counter the claims of the prosecution.

An argument made in court, in order to counter a claim made by the opposing lawyer is called a challenge. Here are some of the challenges that might be raised by a lawyer that is speaking for an injured motorcyclist.

The challenge used most frequently

Motorists often say “I did not see him,” when questioned about their failure to keep from hitting the rider on a motorcycle. Indeed, it can be hard to spot a motorcyclist in a rearview mirror. Lawyers know that such an argument sounds reasonable, and so they use it quite frequently.

Challenges that relate to the wearing of a helmet

As long as the cyclist’s injury did not result in harm to his or her head, the lawyer for the defendant might point out the obvious fact that dealing with the absence of protections was part of riding a motorcycle. If the defendant had failed to wear a helmet, then the victim/plaintiff would have no case to challenge. The law mandates use of a helmet by all motorcycle riders.

Suppose that a cyclist that was wearing a helmet got involved in an accident and then got injured. That cyclist would have grounds for suing the responsible motorist. The motorist’s lawyer could challenge charges from the prosecution by saying that a helmet cannot prevent all traumatic injuries.

In addition, the defendant’s (motorist’s) lawyer might offer a second challenge. He or she might point out that the cyclist could have suffered a minor injury on an earlier occasion, and the recent accident has just compounded the nature of the one suffered earlier.

Challenging the clarity of the victim’s memory

Sometimes, an injured motorcycle rider experiences something called flashbacks. In that instance, a recalled event has come from some location deep in the rider’s mind. A lawyer might try to question the veracity of the account made by the person that has experienced such a flashback.

A challenge’s dependence on the healing of an injury

Some injuries take a long time to heal or to stabilize. Lawyers working for a defendant can use that fact to their advantage. They can challenge the predictions made by experts, and say that the expert’s prediction has assumed completion of the healing or stabilization process, when that same process may not yet be completed. By using the various challenges, the personal injury lawyer in Spruce Grove, assigned to the defendant by the insurance company can work to reduce the amount of money awarded to the victim.