Wilmington Area Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

If you were hurt riding a motorcycle in Wilmington or anywhere in New Castle County, get medical care first. Then save what you can about the crash, be careful what you say to the other driver’s insurer, and talk with a Delaware injury lawyer before you sign anything. A first call with Murphy & Landon is free. We listen to what happened and tell you plainly whether it looks like a claim, and what would come next. Nothing on this page predicts the outcome of any case.

After a motorcycle crash in Delaware: get checked by a doctor, keep your bike and gear as they are, photograph everything, get witness names, and don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer until you understand your injuries.

What should I do after a motorcycle accident in Wilmington?

1. Get medical care, and keep going. Riders often walk away from a crash thinking they are fine, then find out about the injury later. See a provider promptly and follow the treatment plan. Your medical records are the main proof of how badly you were hurt.
2. Make sure the crash is reported. Get the police report number and the name of the agency that responded, whether that was Wilmington police, New Castle County police, or Delaware State Police.
3. Get witness names and phone numbers. Drivers who stopped, people on the sidewalk, and other riders can be hard to find a few weeks later.
4. Keep your own record. Write down what you remember while it is fresh: where you were, your lane position, what the other vehicle did, and what the driver said at the scene.

What evidence should I preserve?

Motorcycle crashes often come down to physical evidence and to how the rider is portrayed. Hold on to:

• Your motorcycle. Don’t repair it, scrap it, or let an insurer take it until you have talked with a lawyer. The damage can show how the crash happened.
• Your helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, and other gear. Keep them as they are, damage included.
• Photos and video. Take pictures of the bike, the other vehicle, the road surface, debris, skid marks, sight lines, and your injuries over time. If you had a helmet camera or dash camera, save the footage and make a copy.
• Nearby cameras. Businesses, homes, and traffic cameras may have recorded the crash, but footage is often overwritten within days or weeks. Note which cameras might have captured it so a lawyer can ask for that footage to be kept.
• Paperwork. Keep the police report, insurance cards and letters from insurers, repair estimates, medical bills, and records of work you missed.

Why motorcycle cases can be different

A motorcycle claim is a crash claim, but a few things often come up more than they do in car cases:

• Assumptions about the rider. Insurers sometimes argue that a rider was speeding or hard to see. The evidence, not assumptions, should decide what happened, so the physical evidence and witness accounts matter.
• Injuries that are more serious. A rider has much less protection than a person inside a car. Fractures, road rash, head injuries, and long recoveries are common.
• Insurance that may not line up. Your motorcycle policy, the other driver’s policy, and any car insurance in your household may each apply differently. Which policies apply depends on the policies themselves and the facts. Bring the paperwork you have and we can go through it with you.

How Delaware law treats fault, insurance coverage, and filing deadlines depends on the specific facts and current law. We don’t guess at those answers on a web page. We go through them with you on the first call.

Does my case count if I had no insurance, no motorcycle license, or no helmet?

It may. These details can matter, but they don’t automatically end a claim. Tell us the facts as they are. We’ll tell you straight how they may affect your situation, and you have nothing to lose by asking.

Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company?

Be careful. The other driver’s insurer works for the other driver, not for you. It is reasonable to report the crash to your own insurer. Before you give a recorded statement to the other side, sign a broad medical authorization, or accept a fast settlement offer, talk with a lawyer. An early statement can be used against you before anyone knows how serious your injuries are.

What happens when I call Murphy & Landon?

Here is what the first conversation covers:

• What happened. You tell us about the crash in your own words.
• Your injuries and treatment so far, and who you have seen.
• The paperwork you have: the police report, photos, insurance letters, and medical bills. If you don’t have any of this yet, call anyway. We’ll tell you what to gather.
• A straight answer about whether it looks like a claim, what we would look at next, and what to do in the meantime.

The call does not obligate you to hire us. We represent injured people and their families. Most personal injury cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis, and the fee is discussed and agreed in writing before any work begins. If you hire us, we can also help with the claim for damage to your motorcycle and gear, and help coordinate the insurance benefits that may cover your medical bills and lost wages.

Murphy & Landon is a Wilmington personal injury firm. Attorneys Roger D. Landon and Scott M. Himelein both list motorcycle accident cases among their practice areas.

Call 302-472-8100 or contact us online to set up a free consultation.

Related pages

• Delaware car accident guide: the fuller first-day checklist after a crash
• Delaware auto accident lawyers: car, truck, and other crash claims
• Delaware personal injury: how we decide whether a case is a fit
• Wrongful death: if a rider was killed in a crash

This page is general information about motorcycle accident claims in Delaware. It does not predict the outcome of any case, does not decide who was at fault in any crash, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.