Accidents happen at any time. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your home state or on a trip through different states. The problem is that laws change from state to state. If you’re involved in a motorcycle accident in a different state, you still need to hire an attorney. The question that you probably have is whether you should hire an attorney in another state.
Interstate Legal Problems
Normally, you have to file a case where the accident occurs. If you’re from out-of-state, however, it is normal for you to want to hire a lawyer within your state and close to home. Usually, the lawyer needs admittance to the state bar in which he or she represents the client. This is the same for any type of case. If you need an attorney to represent you in the state where it happened, then you need to have an attorney with a license for that state. There are exceptions. States may allow an attorney from another state to represent a client for one case.
Hiring an Out-of-State Attorney
Whether you decide to hire an out-of-state attorney depends heavily on the circumstances of your case. If you’re the defendant in a case, your insurance will probably have an attorney for you. Quite a few personal injury cases are settled outside of court. In this case, your lawyer only needs to be competent enough to handle the negotiations.
If you are the plaintiff, however, it matters where your attorney has his or her license. If you think that the case will go to trial, then you may want to hire an accident attorney closer to where you live. This makes communication a lot easier and helps you to track the progress of the case. When the attorney is out-of-state, you are less likely to have face-to-face meetings. Now, you do need to make sure that you hire an attorney who has the expertise to obtain the best outcome.
Accidents occur all of the time. If you take your bike out for out-of-state trips, then you may have to worry about accidents occurring in another state. When you’re in a wreck outside of your home state, hiring an attorney might be complicated. In some instances, you’ll want to hire a lawyer in your home state, but if you have to go to trial, then the court might ask you to hire a lawyer out of state. If you’re unsure of what your specific needs are, contact a motorcycle lawyer right away.
Source: Personal Injury Lawyer Trenton, NJ, Davis & Brusca, LLC