When motorcyclists are injured anywhere in the U.S., they often face difficult paths to compensation. That’s because insurance companies are frequently biased against riders, and they often believe they’re at fault for their crashes, regardless of what the evidence says.
In Virginia, the path to compensation for injured riders is even more difficult. That’s because Virginia uses a contributory negligence system of awarding compensation in injury claims. This system only allows people who played no role whatsoever in causing their accidents or injuries to receive compensation. Being ruled even 1% at fault makes victims ineligible for settlements.
Because motorcyclists face a lot of bias from insurers, other drivers, and even police, they’re often blamed for crashes, even when it’s clear that the other drivers involved in the crashes were liable. Police officers may assume that riders were speeding even when they weren’t or that they were following vehicles too closely before their crashes occurred.
Once fault has been established, no matter how minor, insurance companies will use that against riders to prevent them from getting compensation. This is yet another reason why injured riders need to get experienced Roanoke motorcycle accident lawyers on their sides right away after crashes that weren’t their fault.
Don’t risk losing out on 100% of the compensation you deserve because you were assigned a small percentage of blame for a crash that wasn’t your fault. Contact Skolrood Law Firm today for a free consultation.
