WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT FILING YOUR MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT CLAIM
IMPROVE PATIENCE AND REDUCE STRESS
With These 4 Tips
In this fast-paced world, it can be easy to grow impatient. Things as small as waiting for a slow website to load or waiting in a long line for coffee can sometimes leave people feeling frustrated and anxious. Practicing patience helps reduce stress and helps you realize it's okay if something takes a few extra minutes. If you find yourself feeling impatient, here are a few helpful tips. BREATHE DEEPLY When you feel stressed, your breathing gets shallow, which amplifies anxiety. Practicing deep breathing can help reduce stress and frustration by relaxing your body and mind. This is as simple as taking a few quiet moments to inhale through the nose, drawing your breath into the belly and lungs. Count to four to help you focus as you inhale. Then exhale slowly through your mouth. After a few repetitions, you will find that your mind and body feel calmer. SWITCH FOCUS When agitated, it’s common for our thoughts to center on the irritant. Though it may feel difficult to do when you’re stressed out, switching your focus will help you calm down and be more patient. For instance, if you find yourself growing more and more frustrated by hitting red lights as you drive, try focusing on green instead. Looking for passing cars, signs, trees, or anything that is green will help break that hyper-focus and shift it from negative to positive. Soon, those red lights will be less bothersome. MEDITATE A great way to increase your patience is by meditating, a combination of the first two tips — focus and breathing. Meditation helps people constructively manage thoughts by allowing them to practice observing their thoughts from a neutral perspective. Regular meditation can reduce stress and improve patience throughout the day. Even just 5–10 minutes of daily practice can have a tremendous impact over time. PRACTICE ACCEPTANCE While the above tips can help you improve your patience, sometimes you must simply accept that some things can’t be rushed. There will be times when we cannot control the outcome: A red light will change to green when it changes and no sooner. Learning to accept that can help people let go of their frustration, become more understanding of their situation, and greatly improve their patience.
Did you know that, after an accident, you have every right to be suspicious of a doctor referred to you by your insurance company — even if the health care is “free”? Most attorneys refer to this as the “kiss of death” to an injury claim. Why? That doctor may have a profitable relationship with your insurance to minimize your injury claim as much as possible. Here are a few other things you may not know about your motorcycle accident claim. DOES IT MATTER WHETHER I WAS WEARING A HELMET? No. You have the right to file a claim or lawsuit over your injuries, regardless of whether you were wearing a helmet. That’s true even if you were legally required to wear a helmet. However, if you have a head injury, the insurance company may claim you contributed to your injuries by choosing not to wear one and you may get a lower offer from them or award from a jury than you would have recovered otherwise. You may still claim other “special” and “general” damages for other injuries, including past and future medical bills, wage loss, custom parts and repair costs of the motorcycle, as well as physical injuries such as past and future pain and suffering, inability to function as a whole person, scarring, disfigurement, and permanency of the injury. WHAT CAN I DO IF I WAS FORCED OFF THE ROAD OR HIT BY A HIT- AND-RUN DRIVER? In this situation, you may still be able to make an insurance claim if you have uninsured (UM) motorist coverage, which is an absolute must for motorcycle riders. Insurance companies are famously reluctant to pay these claims, however, and may blame you for your injuries — even though they are your insurance company! Some policies may also have a “physical contact” requirement, but there could be ways around that. If you have any trouble enforcing your legal rights, you should contact a motorcycle accident lawyer you trust as soon as possible in order to immediately investigate the crash, take witness statements, review physical evidence, take pictures and/or video of the scene and your injuries, and otherwise aggressively protect your rights and interests as a motorcycle rider. You can find out more in our book, “Indiana Motorcyclist Guide: Protecting the Biker 101,” available for free online at SevenishLaw.com. Thanks for reading!
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