What Parents Should Do After a Motorcycle Crash

While you’re still figuring out which hospital has your child after the motorcycle crash and who can drive you to the emergency department, the police start asking questions. Some questions can wait until later. First, find out where your child is and how they’re doing.

Until your child is safe, leave insurance questions, including underinsured motorist coverage effects on claims, for later. For now, deal with just one call. In your notes, write the hospital’s name and phone number.

1. Put emergency care ahead of paperwork

Call for help and avoid unnecessary movement

If there’s possible injury or danger at the scene, call 911. Don’t remove protective equipment or move unnecessarily with a possible spinal injury or injury to the head or neck, unless staying put creates an immediate hazard. Do as dispatch says.

Continue medical follow-up

After the initial shock fades, symptoms can show up, so help your child follow discharge instructions and attend recommended appointments. For new or worsening symptoms, turn to a qualified medical professional rather than diagnosing them yourself. Before leaving, ask what any unclear instructions mean. The discharge papers from the emergency department need their own folder.

2. Preserve the scene without creating another risk

Photograph what can change

Take wide photographs that show where the motorcycle sits on the surrounding road. Move closer to photograph vehicle damage and debris, then capture skid marks and traffic controls, showing the lighting and road conditions too. When appropriate, photograph the injuries you can see. Moving traffic is off-limits.

Collect names and identifying details

The other driver’s plate number goes beside their name and contact information, with the insurer’s name and policy details. Instead of pushing witnesses to say who caused the crash, ask how to contact them. Each responding officer’s name goes next to their badge number. The report number belongs in those notes with the agency.

Protect physical evidence

The motorcycle and riding gear need photographs before you repair or discard either; talk to the insurer about an inspection first. Keep any damaged personal items with the helmet and torn clothing.

3. Report the Massachusetts crash accurately

Understand the state reporting threshold

If a crash causes injury or death, or damage over $1,000 to any one vehicle or other property, the operator must file a written report within five days under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 26. Send the police department with jurisdiction a copy, alongside one for the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Send the insurer a copy as well.

The operator still has to file a report if police attend the scene. Ask the RMV or qualified Massachusetts counsel promptly how to arrange reporting when your child’s injury prevents them from completing the report.

Notify the insurer without guessing

Notify the insurer promptly, as your policy instructs. Share only facts you know when asking for a claim number, then save the adjuster’s contact information. Don’t guess. Say when you don’t know a detail, and check it before you pass it along.

4. Build a claim file before details disappear

Create a dated document log

Use a paper or secure digital folder for policy declarations and insurer correspondence, keeping medical records, prescriptions, repair estimates, receipts, wage records, police information, photographs, and claim details there too. Keep the originals in that folder.

Before speaking with the insurer or counsel, put your questions about underinsured motorist coverage effects on claims in that same folder.

When someone calls, log their name and organization beside the date of the call. Beside the call notes, add whatever follow-up was promised, such as the date of an adjuster’s inspection. Symptoms belong beside each date, along with your child’s notes on what they couldn’t do, including missed work or school. “Missed Tuesday’s lab because of wrist pain” works as an entry.

5. Underinsured motorist coverage effects on claims

Distinguish uninsured and underinsured drivers

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners calls a driver uninsured when they have no applicable liability insurance. When a driver’s liability coverage won’t cover the losses they cause, they’re underinsured by the Insurance Research Council’s definition. IRC figures for 2023 show 15.4% of U.S. motorists were uninsured, with the underinsured share at 18.0%. Together, those shares total 33.4%.

Understand the practical effect on a claim

For serious injury losses, the at-fault driver’s liability limits aren’t always enough. Covered injuries can also be paid through applicable underinsured motorist coverage, within the policy’s terms and limits. Don’t count on getting every dollar back. Once you’ve read your child’s policy declarations and coverage limits, check exclusions and notice requirements against the insurer’s letters. Before accepting a liability settlement, find out which conditions apply.

6. Avoid mistakes that make the record harder to prove

Don’t toss receipts. Without receipts or photographs taken before repairs, you’ll have a harder time proving costs and damage. Date your notes rather than relying on what you remember. Write down why your child missed a recommended appointment.

Your public social media isn’t the place for crash details or injury claims. Don’t assume a broad release covers just motorcycle repairs, and ask which parties and claims it covers before you sign.

When answering legitimate claim requests, give only what you know about injuries and fault, including on questions about speed or distance. An adult rider handles communication and decisions unless you have legal authority to act for them; help with gathering records.

A calm system for the days that follow

Leave yourself more than one afternoon to work through every medical question or insurance concern. Once urgent care is handled, get reports in on time as you check the details in your child’s crash records. Be practical and steady. Your dated crash folder needs to be ready for the next call, with photographs and receipts alongside the report number and medical paperwork.

p.s. Related posts:

Practical Tips on How to Teach Your Teenager to Drive

It’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month! #CallsKill

Adding a Teen Driver in Georgia? Here’s What It Does to Your Car Insurance

Carpooling, Bus Stops, & Safe Rides: TruthFinder® Can Help to Get Your Child to School Safely

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