If you are a moped rider and have recently been in an accident, it is important that you call a personal injury attorney. The following are three reasons to contact an attorney at a law firm like The Gil Law Firm as soon as you can.

It is often obvious the car was at fault

As you well know, mopeds cannot travel as fast as a motorcycle or even a scooter, but they can travel fast enough to be used on city streets. Car drivers, however, do not always see them. A moped can be rear ended easily while coming to a stop at a red light. A moped will stop more quickly than a car but may not be seen as quickly as a large motorcycle. In this case, the driver is clearly at fault. When this happens, it is a matter of getting all of the compensation you are entitled to, and this will only happen with legal representation. An insurance company will give you only as much as they need to in order to get your signature on the dotted line of a settlement offer.

The laws can be complex

The biggest issue with moped laws are that they vary by state. In addition, they can change quickly, so what you thought was the law in your state may have recently changed. After an accident, the insurance company may try to talk down the settlement amount by making a false claim about the current laws. Do not be persuaded to settle based upon anything anybody tells you other than your own lawyer. And even if you were in violation of a law, this may not have any bearing on your compensation. For example, if your state has a helmet law and you weren't wearing one, this may not mean you are entitled to less compensation.

Mopeds are ridden differently than motorcycles and scooters

Although a moped is a motorized vehicle, on most city streets, they can be operated in bike lanes. But just as with bicycles, they must obey the rules of the road the same way cars must do. But although mopeds can travel faster than bicycles, they can never match the top speeds of a car on the main boulevards and streets of a city. For this reason, they travel on the side of the road. But when left turns are necessary, the moped rider must move to the left lane, and this is where accidents can occur. An attorney with experience representing moped riders will understand the subtle aspects of traffic issues involving cars and mopeds.

Often when a person is hurt by an automobile while riding their moped, there will be an attempt to settle quickly out of court. While it may be tempting to take an offer made to you, you should always contact an attorney.