The High Rate of Speed and Minimal Protection on a Motorcycle Crash Creates Serious Injuries
Motorcycle accidents can cause devastating damage to a rider. Motorcycle riders lack the same protection that car motorists have and often endure impact at an incredibly high rate of speed. This combination leads to potentially life-altering injuries, such as brain and spine injuries, and in extreme cases death. The nature of these accidents is potentially severe and, accordingly, so are the medical bills. The issue often becomes finding enough applicable insurance coverage to pay for the considerable medical bills that accompany a massive crash. Arizona has laws outlining applicable insurance coverage and duties. These laws were enacted to protect members of the public from sustaining life-altering injuries and lacking coverage and protection for the accompanying medical debt. These laws can also be potentially complicated and contentious. It is important to have an attorney who is familiar with types of recovery for injuries sustained as a result of a motorcycle accident so you can have the maximum methods of recovery. Members of Goodnow|McKay are experienced with these claims and are here to help. We are committed to helping our clients recover fair compensation. We are often able to negotiate reasonable settlements with the responsible insurance companies, but we are willing to fight for our clients through trial if necessary.
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Recommended Motorcycle Insurance Coverage
Every state in the country has different requirements for the minimum amount of insurance coverage a driver must have when they ride on the roads. Unfortunately, Arizona’s minimum policy is only $15,000—and for motorcycle crashes this is, generally, largely inadequate to pay for damages suffered in a serious crash. Additionally, many motorists do not even have insurance when they drive. A common scenario is a motorcyclist is hit and injured and the other party is unable to fully compensate the rider for his or her injuries. As a result, the driver is hurt and incurs medical debt. Luckily, there are two types of insurance policies the rider can purchase in order to protect themselves and potentially avoid a scenario like the one above.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: UM/UIM is a policy a rider can purchase as an add-on to their existing motorcycle insurance policy that will supplement additional funds if the at-fault driver has inadequate coverage to pay the full value of the claim.
Medical Payments Coverage: Commonly called Med Pay, this is also an add-on a rider can purchase to add additional coverage to their own existing motorcycle policy. Medical payments coverage is meant to pay for auto-injury-related medical treatment.
Arizona Motorcycle Accident Statistics
AZDOT provided the following statistics for motorcycle involved car accidents in 2017:
- 127,064 total crashes in Arizona for 2017
- 2,907 of total crashes involved a motorcycle
- 2,274 people were injured in motorcycle accidents
- 156 motorcyclists were killed in accidents
