What you do in the hours and days following a motorcycle crash can affect both your health and your ability to pursue compensation later.
If you are involved in a motorcycle accident in Nashville, your first priority should always be your safety and medical care. Once immediate concerns have been addressed, taking a few additional steps can help preserve important evidence and protect your rights.
Quick Answer: What Should You Do After a Nashville Motorcycle Accident?
After a motorcycle accident in Nashville, get to a safe location if possible, call 911, seek medical attention, document the accident scene, collect witness information, preserve your motorcycle and other evidence, and report the crash to your insurance company.
Be cautious about giving recorded statements, accepting an early settlement, or speculating about who caused the accident before all of the evidence is known. If you suffered serious injuries, consider speaking with a Nashville motorcycle accident attorney as soon as reasonably possible.
1. Get to Safety and Call 911
If you are able to move safely after the collision, get out of active traffic and away from any immediate hazards. Do not attempt to move if you believe doing so could make a serious injury worse.
Call 911 or have someone nearby make the call.
Emergency responders can provide medical assistance, secure the accident scene, and address immediate safety concerns. Law enforcement may also investigate the collision and prepare a crash report documenting information about the vehicles, drivers, witnesses, and circumstances surrounding the accident.
Even if the other driver suggests handling the accident privately, reporting a serious motorcycle collision is usually the safer approach.
2. Seek Medical Attention
Motorcyclists can suffer significant injuries even when a crash does not initially appear catastrophic.
Adrenaline and shock can make some injuries difficult to recognize immediately. Symptoms associated with concussions, internal injuries, soft tissue damage, and other conditions may also become more noticeable in the hours or days after the accident.
If emergency responders recommend evaluation or transportation to a hospital, take the recommendation seriously.
If you do not go directly to an emergency room, seek appropriate medical attention promptly if you experience pain, dizziness, headaches, numbness, weakness, confusion, difficulty moving, or other symptoms.
Medical treatment is important for your health. Medical records can also document your injuries, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and the relationship between your condition and the motorcycle accident.
3. Document the Motorcycle Accident Scene
If your injuries allow you to do so safely, take photographs and videos before the accident scene changes.
Useful photographs may include:
- Your motorcycle and its damage
- The other vehicle or vehicles involved
- Vehicle license plates
- The location and angle of the vehicles
- Skid marks or debris
- Traffic signals and signs
- Lane markings
- Road and weather conditions
- Visible injuries
- Damage to your helmet or riding gear
Take both close-up and wider photographs when possible. A wider view can help establish where vehicles were positioned in relation to intersections, lanes, traffic signals, and other features of the roadway.
Do not put yourself in danger by standing in traffic or entering an unsafe area simply to take photographs.
4. Get Information From Drivers and Witnesses
Obtain the other driver’s name, contact information, driver’s license information, license plate number, and insurance information when possible.
Witnesses can also be extremely important.
A neutral witness may have seen a driver make an unsafe left turn, change lanes without checking, run a traffic signal, use a phone, or engage in other behavior that contributed to the collision.
If someone witnessed the crash, ask for their name and contact information. Do not assume their information will automatically appear in the police report.
Witnesses may leave the scene before law enforcement has an opportunity to speak with them, so obtaining their information yourself can help preserve another potential source of evidence.
5. Be Careful What You Say About Fault
Immediately after a crash, you may not have enough information to know exactly why it happened.
Avoid guessing about fault or making statements such as:
- “I didn’t see the car.”
- “I might have been going too fast.”
- “I’m sorry.”
- “Maybe I could have stopped sooner.”
You should provide truthful information to law enforcement and other appropriate parties, but you do not need to speculate.
Additional evidence may later show that the other driver was distracted, failed to yield, made an unsafe turn, was speeding, or otherwise contributed to the collision.
This is especially important in Tennessee because the state uses a modified comparative fault system. A rider who is found partially responsible for a collision may have their compensation reduced according to their percentage of fault.
If responsibility for your crash is disputed, learn more about how comparative fault can affect a Tennessee motorcycle accident claim.
6. Preserve Your Motorcycle, Helmet, and Riding Gear
A damaged motorcycle can be more than property that needs to be repaired or replaced. It may also contain evidence about how the collision occurred.
Before allowing your motorcycle to be repaired, sold, salvaged, or destroyed, make sure its condition has been thoroughly documented.
You should also consider preserving your:
- Helmet
- Jacket
- Gloves
- Boots
- Other protective equipment
- Damaged personal belongings
Photographs are useful, but the physical items themselves may also become relevant in a serious injury claim.
Keep receipts for towing, storage, repairs, replacement equipment, and other accident-related expenses.
7. Report the Accident to Your Insurance Company, But Be Careful With Recorded Statements
Your insurance policy may require you to report an accident within a certain period of time, so review your policy and provide appropriate notice promptly.
Reporting an accident, however, is different from giving a detailed recorded statement about how the collision happened.
An insurance adjuster may ask questions about your speed, actions before the crash, injuries, medical treatment, and other details. Statements made early in the process can become important later, particularly when fault or the extent of your injuries is disputed.
You should be truthful when communicating with an insurance company, but avoid guessing or minimizing your injuries simply because you do not yet know how serious they are.
You should also be cautious about accepting an early settlement before you understand the full extent of your medical needs and other losses.
8. Keep Records of Your Injuries and Financial Losses
A motorcycle accident claim may involve much more than the initial emergency room bill.
Create a file where you can keep accident-related documents, including:
- Medical bills
- Hospital records
- Prescription receipts
- Physical therapy records
- Transportation expenses related to treatment
- Towing and storage bills
- Motorcycle repair estimates
- Receipts for damaged personal property
- Pay stubs and other records showing lost income
- Correspondence from insurance companies
Continue keeping records as your treatment progresses.
If your injuries prevent you from returning to work or affect your ability to perform your previous job, documentation of those changes may also become important when evaluating your losses.
9. Be Careful About Social Media After a Motorcycle Accident
What you post online after an accident may potentially become relevant to an insurance claim or lawsuit.
Photographs, videos, check-ins, comments about the crash, or posts about your physical activities can sometimes be taken out of context.
For example, a photograph showing you attending a family event does not necessarily mean you are no longer injured, but an insurance company could attempt to use the image to question the severity of your symptoms.
Avoid discussing the details of the accident, your injuries, settlement negotiations, or who you believe was responsible on social media.
It may also be wise to review your privacy settings, but do not delete or alter existing posts simply because you believe they could be relevant to a potential legal claim without first obtaining appropriate legal advice.
10. Consider Speaking With a Nashville Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Not every minor motorcycle accident requires an attorney. However, legal guidance can be particularly important when a crash involves serious injuries, significant medical expenses, missed work, disputed fault, an uninsured driver, permanent impairment, or the death of a loved one.
An attorney can investigate the collision, preserve evidence, communicate with insurance companies, identify available sources of compensation, and evaluate the full extent of your losses.
Acting promptly can be particularly important in Tennessee because the state has a relatively short filing deadline for many personal injury lawsuits.
Learn more about how long you have to file a motorcycle accident claim in Tennessee.
What Evidence Should You Keep After a Motorcycle Accident?
Evidence can play an important role in determining both who caused a motorcycle accident and how the crash affected the injured rider.
In addition to photographs and documents collected immediately after the collision, keep anything that may help establish your injuries, expenses, employment losses, and recovery.
Depending on the circumstances, useful evidence may include police reports, medical records, photographs, videos, witness information, insurance correspondence, damaged riding gear, receipts, wage records, and documentation of future medical needs.
Some evidence may not remain available indefinitely. Businesses may overwrite surveillance footage, vehicles may be repaired, roadway conditions can change, and witnesses’ memories may fade.
This is another reason serious motorcycle accidents should be investigated promptly.
What If You Were Too Injured to Collect Evidence at the Scene?
Do not put your health at risk trying to gather evidence.
Many people injured in serious motorcycle crashes are transported from the scene by ambulance and have no opportunity to photograph the roadway, speak with witnesses, or obtain the other driver’s information.
That does not necessarily prevent you from pursuing a claim.
Other sources may help reconstruct what occurred, including police reports, photographs taken by other people, witness statements, surveillance footage, traffic cameras when available, vehicle damage, and other evidence.
If a family member or trusted person is able to safely photograph the motorcycle and other relevant items after the accident, those photographs may also be useful.
What If the Other Driver Says the Motorcycle Accident Was Your Fault?
A disagreement at the accident scene does not determine legal responsibility.
Drivers involved in the same collision may have very different accounts of what occurred. An insurance company may also reach a conclusion about fault that you disagree with.
The available evidence should be evaluated before accepting an allegation that you caused or substantially contributed to the crash.
Tennessee’s comparative fault rules make these disputes particularly important because the percentage of responsibility assigned to an injured rider can directly affect the compensation available.
Frequently Asked Questions About What to Do After a Nashville Motorcycle Accident
Should I call the police after a motorcycle accident in Nashville?
If a motorcycle accident involves injuries, significant property damage, or another serious issue, calling 911 allows emergency responders and law enforcement to respond to the scene. A police investigation may also produce a crash report containing information that can become useful during an insurance claim or lawsuit.
Should I go to the hospital if I feel okay after a motorcycle crash?
Some motorcycle accident injuries may not produce obvious symptoms immediately. If you experience pain, dizziness, confusion, numbness, weakness, headaches, or other concerning symptoms, seek medical attention promptly. Follow the recommendations of emergency responders and healthcare providers regarding evaluation and treatment.
Should I give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement?
You should be cautious about giving a recorded statement before you understand your injuries and the circumstances of the collision. You are required to be truthful, but you should not speculate about fault, your speed, or the severity of injuries that are still being evaluated.
Should I repair my motorcycle immediately after an accident?
Make sure the motorcycle and its damage are thoroughly documented before repairs, sale, salvage, or disposal. In a serious or disputed accident, the motorcycle itself may contain evidence relevant to determining how the collision occurred.
How soon should I contact a Nashville motorcycle accident lawyer?
Consider contacting an attorney as soon as reasonably possible after a serious motorcycle crash, particularly when you suffered significant injuries, fault is disputed, or you face substantial medical expenses or lost income. Acting early can make it easier to preserve evidence and investigate the accident before important information disappears.
Injured in a Nashville Motorcycle Accident? Contact Matt Hardin Law
The steps you take after a motorcycle accident can affect your health, your financial recovery, and your ability to establish what happened. Your immediate priority should be getting appropriate medical care, followed by preserving as much information about the accident as reasonably possible.
If you or a loved one was injured in a motorcycle accident in Nashville or Middle Tennessee, Matt Hardin Law can review the circumstances of the collision and help you understand your legal options under Tennessee law.
Our Nashville motorcycle accident attorneys can investigate the crash, deal with insurance companies, evaluate your losses, and help you determine the appropriate next steps.
Schedule a complimentary consultation with Matt Hardin Law or call 1 (800) 777-MATT.