Welcome to Biker Justice USA! This site is designed to lead you to a motorcycle accident attorney in your area that you can trust with all of your legal needs. Each of the attorneys listed on our site is experienced in motorcycle injury law and are current members of some of the leading motorcycle legal associations.
All personal injury law is complicated and motorcycle accidents are a specialty of their own. Pick an attorney you can trust to get the support you need!
The Brown Firm
7176 Hodgson Memorial Dr.
Savannah, GA 31405
Motorcycle Law FAQ in Georgia
Do I need a motorcycle license to ride in Georgia? How do I get one?
What equipment do I need for my motorcycle to be street legal in Georgia?
What should I do first after a motorcycle accident in Georgia?
If I was partially at fault for an accident in Georgia, can I still have a case?
How long do I have to file a claim in Georgia?
How do I figure out the damages from a motorcycle accident in Georgia?
How much insurance do I need to ride my motorcycle in Georgia?
Do you need to wear a helmet in Georgia if you’re an adult?
Why do I need to see a doctor even if I wasn’t injured in my accident?
A driver’s license with an ‘M’’ motorcycle endorsement is required to legally ride your motorcycle in Georgia. In order to gain the full ‘M’ endorsement, the rider must be at least 18 years of age. Your ‘M’ license can be acquired in one of two ways.
Riders of at least 16 years of age can instead apply for a temporary motorcycle instruction permit that allows them to ride under more restricted conditions. This can be acquired by completing Georgia’s Driver Training/Driver Education Course and passing a vision and motorcycle knowledge exam with the support of a guardian or authorized driving training instructor.
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
In order for your motorcycle to be legal to ride in the State of Georgia, there are a few basic requirements. Most of these are included with many motorcycles, but you are still responsible to make sure that you have them. These include:
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
The very first thing you should do after a motorcycle accident if you’re in a condition to do so, is to call both the police so that you can file a report and they can begin an investigation, and the hospital, so that you and any other injured parties can arrange to receive medical treatment. Do so even if you don’t have any visible injuries, internal injuries or head trauma can sometimes take hours before their effects become apparent, and it could be too late for you to receive prompt treatment.
While waiting for the police, or ambulance if necessary, to arrive, you will want to gather whatever information you can if you are able to do so. This includes:
Once you have received medical treatment, you will want to get in touch with a Motorcycle Accident Attorney as soon as possible, and to file a report of the accident with your insurance so that they will be aware of an upcoming claim. It is usually best not to talk with your insurance more than is absolutely necessary without the help of an attorney, as your insurance may attempt to find an excuse to reduce or dismiss your claim.
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
You might. The State of Georgia follows a set of negligence laws referred to as Comparative Negligence. This means that based on your percentage of fault for an accident, your compensation will be reduced by an equal amount.
If you were 20% at fault, then, you would only receive 80% of the compensation you would have received if you were not at fault at all. For example, if you would have received $50,000 in damages for an accident, but were 20% at fault, you would instead only receive $40,000 This is limited to a maximum of 50% fault, at which point you can no longer receive damages from an accident.
The Statute of Limitations - that is, the time you have to file a lawsuit - for personal injuries is two years in the State of Georgia. That means that your lawsuit claim itself must be filed within two years of the date of the accident; sometimes a case may take longer to be completed, but it must be filed at that time. While the Statute of Limitations for property damage is a longer period of four years, claims made in that way will not help you recover for your medical and other expenses arising from your injuries caused by the accident.
Because of the limit on how long you have to file a claim, and how long negotiations with insurance can take, either your own or that of the other party, it is usually a good idea to get in touch with an experienced Motorcycle Accident Attorney who will fight to protect your rights as soon as possible after the accident, so that the investigative and negotiation processes can begin while you focus on your recovery, which can often take many months.
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
The damages from an accident, and your compensation for those damages, are typically broken down into two categories. The first, ‘special’ damages, cover damages from the accident with a direct monetary cost. Some of these include
The second category is ‘general’ damages, which covers aspects that do not normally have a set dollar value. Some of these include
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
As a bare minimum, there are certain levels of insurance required to ride any vehicle within the State of Georgia. While it is not strictly required to have more than these minimums, it is usually still a good idea for motorcycle riders to have a little extra, as accidents involving motorcycles tend to be more severe than accidents strictly involving regular automobiles. The minimums for insurance in Georgia are:
It is also usually a good idea to match these with Uninsured Motorist Insurance in the case that you are involved in an accident with someone who is uninsured, or who does not have sufficient insurance to cover the expenses of an accident. Though a claim may go beyond the scope of someone’s insurance, it is impossible to get compensation from the money that doesn’t exist. Uninsured Motorist Insurance can help protect you in those circumstances.
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Yes. All riders, regardless of age, have to wear a Department of Transportation (DOT) approved motorcycle helmet while riding a motorcycle in Georgia. Additionally, unless your motorcycle has a windscreen, you must also wear eye protection such as goggles or a protective visor on your helmet.
This also applies to passengers, who must also wear a helmet. While some riders may find this an inconvenience, helmets have been proven to reduce the risk of serious or fatal head injuries from motorcycle accidents by 37%.
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
There are both legal and medical reasons why seeing a doctor as soon as possible after being involved in a motorcycle accident is important.
From a medical standpoint, many injuries - including internal injuries and trauma to the head - are not immediately apparent when you first get them. They can take hours or even days to show external signs, and you may find yourself off in a much worse situation if you had been examined shortly after your accident. Your injuries could get worse, or you might even die if they’re severe enough.
Legally, having an examination and medical record immediately after the accident allows you to prove that your injuries stem from the accident and not some other cause that may have happened between your accident and the time of your claim. Your insurance, or the other party, may claim that your injury is from another event, or that it was not as bad as it is before some external activity made it worse, potentially resulting in reducing or dismissing your claim. Having this record, and getting regular treatment documenting your recovery, is an important part of proving that this is not the case and that the other driver is responsible for your injuries.
- Harry Brown, Top Georgia Motorcycle Accident Attorney
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