Writing down the details after an accident is more accurate than relying on your memory. After any kind of accident that could prompt you to file a personal injury claim, it’s crucial to do everything you can to protect your right to fair compensation for your losses.

One of the best first steps you can take is to write down everything you can remember about your accident, including details of your injuries and their effects on your daily life.

These notes can be useful later, when you put together a demand letter for the insurance company, or when you decide to file a personal injury lawsuit. Having notes to remind you of the details of what happened, and what you went through, is more reliable than counting on your memory.

Get into the habit of taking notes on anything you think might possibly affect your case, and carry it through the entire personal injury claim process. Whenever you remember something you had not thought of before — write it down — and put it with your other notes.

Here are some specific things about which you should make notes:

Describe How the Accident Happened

As soon as your head is clear, jot down everything you can remember about how the accident happened, beginning with what you were doing and where you were going, the people you were with, the time, and the weather.

Include every detail of what you saw and heard and felt—twists, blows, and shocks to your body immediately before, during, and right after the accident. Also include anything you remember hearing anyone—a person involved in the accident or a witness—say about the accident.

Describe Your Injuries and Their Effects on You

In the first days following your accident, make daily notes of all pains and discomfort your injuries cause. You may suffer pain, discomfort, anxiety, loss of sleep, or other problems that are not as visible or serious as another injury, but for which you should demand additional compensation.

If you don’t make a specific note of injuries immediately, you may not remember exactly what to include in your demand for settlement weeks or months later. Also, taking notes will make it easier for you later to describe to an insurance company how much and what kind of pain and discomfort you were in.

In addition, writing down your different injuries may help your doctor diagnose you. For example, a relatively small bump on the head or crick in the neck may not seem worth mentioning, but it might help both the doctor and the insurance adjuster understand why your bad back pain developed several weeks after the accident.

Also, by telling the doctor or other medical provider about all of your injuries, those injuries become part of your medical records, which will provide evidence later that such injuries were caused by the accident.

Describe Your Economic Losses and Other Effects of the Accident

You may be entitled to compensation for economic loss, missed special events, as well as for pain and suffering, but you will need good documentation. Begin making notes immediately after the accident about anything you have lost because of the accident and your injuries: work hours, job opportunities, meetings, classes, events, family or social gatherings, vacation, or anything else which would have benefited you or which you would have enjoyed but been unable to do because of the accident.

Summarize Conversations with Insurers, Witnesses, and Others

Make written notes of the date, time, people involved, and content of every conversation you have about your accident or your claim. In-person or telephone conversations worth noting may include those with any witness, adjuster, or other insurance representatives, or with medical personnel.

If you have been in an accident, and need help determining whether you may have a claim, contact the attorneys at Turner and Turner; with more than 30 years of experience advocating for the rights of accident victims, our attorneys will help you receive the compensation you deserve.

Call for a free consultation today at (248) 355-1727.

Motorcycle riders are at higher risk because bikes are smaller than other vehicles and are therefore less visible, bikes are less stable than four-wheeled vehicles and there are fewer barriers on motorcycles to prevent injuries when compared to automobiles, which have air bags and seatbelts, not to mention door and roof beams and windshields.

Motorcycles do have some safety advantages: they are more agile, they can turn quickly to avoid obstacles and hazards and they have a much shorter stopping distance.

The key to defensive driving, then, is to maximize the safety advantages and compensate for the increased exposure to risk.

First of all, if you have not taken a motorcycle safety course, consider taking one, whether you are a new or experienced bike rider. Many times, this can have an impact on your insurance rates, and even if this is not the case, the more information and experience you can glean, the better. Be sure that you are really competent at braking and cornering as these maneuvers are the trickiest and require the most experience.

Finally, be sure that the bike you drive is a good fit for you (you should be able to place both feet on the ground) to operate safely and with confidence. You should also ensure that you can reach all controls. Be realistic; if you are small of stature, you may not be able to safely operate the largest manufactured motorcycles.

In addition, please keep in mind the following riding tips:

• Be vigilant about staying out of all vehicles’ blind spots.
• When you must pass a vehicle, signal that you will be doing so, pass quickly and get out of the blind spot as quickly as possible. This is a very dangerous maneuver, particularly when passing an 18 wheeler.
• Assume that you are invisible! Look always at driveways and intersections and be prepared as to what to do if somebody doesn’t see you. Where will your escape route be?
• Keep your following distance, using the 2 second rule, but always be looking ahead on the road and planning. What will you do if somebody enters the highway, do you have room to move over?
• Avoid hazards like painted road lane markings, manhole covers and potholes.
• If the weather conditions mean that the roadways are wet or icy, consider stopping for a while or pulling over, particularly at  the beginning of a rainstorm when the water mixes with the oil on the road surfaces. If you must continue on, be extremely cautious, lowering your speed, increasing your following distance and avoiding all distractions.
• Don’t ride in a wolfpack, even if it’s fun. The exposure to risk is very high.
• Obviously, don’t drink. Alcohol contributes to a huge number of motorcycle collisions. Designated driving plans don’t work as easily with motorcycles, because it means your bike has to stay somewhere typically overnight, but it’s better to find a place to stow your bike and return to it alive.
• Wear protective gear. We don’t know where you are on the helmet question but helmets do save lives. Other protective gear that makes a difference includes protective eyewear, gloves and thick clothing if the weather makes them comfortable. You want your protective gear to give you some relief from the elements (comfort), to be thick enough to prevent abrasions and contact burns and to provide increased visibility. All black clothing might be fashionable, but brighter colors and use of reflective gear may save your life.
• Be sure to wear sturdy footwear; leather boots are ideal.

Are the giant mounds of ice turning to slush?  If so, it’s time to take the motorcycle out of the garage, get it spring ready (checking fuel systems, tires and battery) and think about where to take a great ride.  Whether you drive a car or motorcycle, it’s time to venture outside and see some beautiful vistas on the way.

Plan a local drive that offers scenery, fun stops and socializing with friends or make bigger plans for a road trip.  

One of the great scenic byways, perfect for a motorcycle ride is the Tunnel of Trees Road, which is a section of M-119.  Start your journey at Harbor Springs (north of Petoskey) and take Route 119 north all along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, until you get to Cross Village.

The Tunnel of Trees is gorgeous in spring with the appearance of colorful trillium on the forest floor.  As you ride along, a lovely forest will surround you, making a canopy of trees, while you can still view Lake Michigan from the high bluff on the other side of the road. There are some great twists and curves (at Devil’s Elbow and Horseshoe Bend).

There are plenty of places to stop:  country stores, a glass blowing workshop, artisanal bakeries and evidence of old Native American housing and even forts.

Enjoy a sunset and a relaxing meal at Cross Village and head back south!

Photo Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0619-UP022-TunnelofTrees.jpg

Now, 19 states and the District of Columbia require all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, 28 states require only some motorcyclists – usually younger or novice riders – to wear a helmet, and three states have no helmet use law. States have been gradually repealing or weakening mandatory helmet laws for nearly two decades,

leaving adult citizens with freedom of choice in the matter.

Advocates for mandatory helmet laws say that there is no free ride, and counter the argument that adults should be free to make their own decisions by pointing out that all taxpayers are ultimately burdened by paying for someone who suffers a devastating head injury due to their choice not to wear a helmet.

Meanwhile, advocates for choice such as Jeff Hennie, vice president of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, says that the insurance industry can not be impartial in this matter because “life has gotten more expensive for them and they have to pay out more.”

“The fact is our highways are bloody,” Hennie said. “This (the Michigan helmet law change) doesn’t make helmets illegal. … No one is forcing anyone to ride without a helmet.”

Whether you are a biker and choose to wear a helmet, or assert your right not to, this is certainly food for thought.

See a map of Helmet Laws in the US here.