What To Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Indiana

In Indiana, the driver who causes a motorcycle crash, and that driver’s insurer, owe for the harm, which means the steps you take after the wreck are mostly about building proof against a company that has every reason to blame the rider. This post covers the order of those steps, from the roadside to the first month, and the Indiana rules that come up most often along the way. If you were hurt, the Indianapolis motorcycle accident lawyers at Christie Bell & Marshall can take the insurance fight off your hands while you heal, starting with a free consultation.

The First Hour: A Short Checklist

Most riders remember little of the minutes after going down. Keep this order in mind, and let bystanders help with anything you cannot do yourself:

1. Get clear of traffic if you can move safely. Leave your helmet on if you have neck or back pain, and let paramedics remove it.
2. Call 911 and ask for the police. A crash report written at the scene carries more weight than one pieced together days later.
3. Accept the ambulance ride or go to the ER the same day. Road rash, a broken wrist, and a mild brain injury can all feel manageable for an hour and much worse by night.
4. Take photos, or ask someone to. Get the other vehicle’s plate, the intersection, skid marks, and your bike where it came to rest.
5. Get names and phone numbers. Witnesses leave fast, and some never make it into the officer’s report.
6. Keep the conversation short. Exchange information, but do not guess at speeds or apologize.

Some riders keep a card listing what to do at the scene of a motorcycle accident under the seat for exactly this moment. If the scene is already behind you, the steps below are where your claim is won or lost.

Figure Out Whose Insurance Pays

Indiana is an at-fault state, so there is no personal injury protection coverage that pays your bills no matter who caused the wreck. Money for your injuries usually comes from one or more of these sources.

The At-Fault Driver’s Liability Policy

Every Indiana driver must carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person and $50,000 per accident under IC 9-25-4-5. That minimum can disappear in a single hospital stay after a serious motorcycle crash, so it is often the first source but rarely the last.

Your Own Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage

Indiana insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and a policyholder can only turn it down in writing. If you did not reject it on your motorcycle policy or a household auto policy, it may cover the gap when the driver has no insurance or too little. Our uninsured motorist accident lawyers review every policy in the household before assuming one does not apply.

Health Insurance and Medical Payments Coverage

Your health plan and any medical payments coverage on your bike policy can pay early bills while the fault fight plays out. Those payers may later ask to be repaid from a settlement, so keep every explanation of benefits.

Tell your own insurer about the crash promptly even if you were not at fault, because most policies require quick notice. That call protects coverage CBM may need later.

Find Out Whether the Driver Was on the Job

A driver who hit you while working often brings an employer and a much larger commercial policy into the case. Watch for these signs at the scene and in the report:

• A logo or fleet number. Company names on doors, ladders on the roof, or a vehicle number on the bumper.
• Commercial plates or a USDOT number. These point to a business vehicle, and larger carriers fall under federal safety rules.
• A delivery or service call in progress. Packages in the cab or a work order on the dash.
• An active rideshare app. A driver carrying a passenger or waiting for a ride request may be covered by an Uber or Lyft accident policy that is far larger than a personal one.

Employers rarely volunteer that their driver was on the clock. CBM sends preservation letters for dispatch records, GPS data, and the vehicle’s telematics early, before anyone decides they are no longer needed.

Get the Crash Report and Fix What It Gets Wrong

The report is often the first document an adjuster reads, and it sometimes reflects only the driver’s version because the rider was in an ambulance. The Indiana State Police keep the statewide repository of crash reports and sell electronic copies through BuyCrash, including reports written by local departments.

When you get it, check the diagram, the direction of travel, the listed contributing factors, and whether your witnesses appear at all. An officer’s estimate of your speed is an opinion, not a measurement. If something is wrong, it is easier to add a supplement or line up contrary evidence now than to argue about it a year from now.

Intersection Crashes and Indiana’s Dead Red Law

Many motorcycle claims come down to who had the right to be in the intersection. NHTSA’s 2023 motorcycle crash data found that in 46 percent of fatal crashes between a motorcycle and one other vehicle, the other vehicle was turning left while the motorcycle went straight, passed, or overtook.

Indiana adds a twist that surprises drivers. Some signal sensors do not detect a motorcycle, so a rider can sit at a red light that never changes. Under IC 9-21-3-7, a motorcyclist at a signal-controlled intersection may proceed on a steady red only after coming to a complete stop for at least 120 seconds, using due caution, treating the light like a stop sign, and deciding it is safe to go.

If you went through a red under that rule and a driver hit you, expect the insurer to claim you “ran the light.” Intersection video, signal timing records, and witnesses who saw how long you waited are what answer that. Our intersection accident team knows where to look for that proof around Indianapolis.

Arguments Adjusters Raise Against Riders

Indiana uses modified comparative fault under IC 34-51-2: your recovery shrinks by your share of fault, and it is barred if your share is greater than the fault of everyone else combined. That is why insurers work so hard on the next three points.

No Helmet

IC 9-19-7-1 requires riders and passengers under 18 to wear a DOT-compliant helmet and eye protection such as glasses, goggles, or a face shield. The statute does not require adult riders to wear a helmet. Skipping a helmet does not cause a crash, and it has nothing to do with a broken leg, but the insurer may still argue it made a head injury worse.

Speed

Expect the other side to say you were going too fast. Physical evidence, such as crush damage, rest positions, and the other vehicle’s own event data, usually tells a more accurate story than a driver’s estimate.

Lane Position

Riding between lanes or on the shoulder draws a fault argument. Indiana’s rules on lane splitting matter here, but a rule violation still has to have caused the crash to count against you.

Each of these points can move a percentage, and a percentage moves money. CBM answers them with evidence rather than letting them sit in the adjuster’s file unchallenged.

The First Month: Protect the Claim While You Recover

The weeks after the crash are when careful riders quietly lose value. A few habits protect it:

• Keep every appointment. Gaps in care give the insurer a reason to say you healed or got hurt somewhere else.
• Hold on to the bike and the gear. Do not let a salvage yard crush the motorcycle, and keep the helmet, jacket, and boots in a bag.
• Say no to a recorded statement. The other driver’s insurer cannot make you give one, and anything you say can be clipped later.
• Write down what you cannot do. Missed shifts, missed rides, help you needed to shower or dress. A few lines a week becomes strong proof of pain and suffering.
• Keep quiet online. A smiling photo at a cookout can be shown to a jury as proof you were fine.

If the other side is already calling, that is a good time to hand those calls to a lawyer.

Results in Motorcycle and Red-Light Cases

Kevin P. Farrell has practiced injury law in Indiana since 1974, has concluded more than 3,000 personal injury claims, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. His advice for riders comes from watching which cases hold together:

“The riders who come out best are rarely the ones with the worst injuries or the most obvious fault. They are the ones who kept the motorcycle, kept their medical care steady, and let us find out early who the driver was working for. Whether the driver was working can change a case completely, because it can bring in the employer and a commercial policy that dwarfs the driver’s own.”

That is the kind of detail behind the firm’s largest results. CBM recovered $60,000,000 for an Avon, Indiana rider seriously injured when a truck driven by a Tesla employee struck his motorcycle on Rockville Road, and $750,000 for an Uber passenger hurt when another driver ran a red light. You can review the rest of our case results as well. Past results cannot guarantee what any individual case will produce, because every claim turns on its own facts.

Every rider’s case with us starts the same way, with a free look at the report, the photos, and every policy that might pay.

Contact Christie Bell & Marshall After Your Motorcycle Crash

After a wreck, you should be focused on surgery, therapy, and getting back to work, not on arguing with an adjuster about your speed or your helmet. Christie Bell & Marshall has spent more than 40 years representing injured Hoosiers, and we handle the evidence, the insurers, and the deadlines so you do not have to.

A consultation costs nothing, and our fee depends on winning compensation for you. Contact our team to talk about your crash.

FAQs About What To Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Indiana

Is Indiana a no-fault state for wrecks?

No. Indiana is an at-fault state, which puts responsibility for your injuries and losses on whoever caused the wreck, and in practice on that person’s insurance company. You make a claim against their liability coverage, and your own policy may add uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage if theirs falls short. Your share of fault, if any, reduces what you can recover.

What is Indiana’s dead red law?

It is the part of IC 9-21-3-7 that lets a motorcycle, motor driven cycle, or bicycle rider go through a red signal that will not change. The rider must stop completely for at least 120 seconds, use due caution, treat the signal like a stop sign, and make sure it is safe before proceeding. It is not permission to run a red light, and the rider still has to yield.

How long does it take to get a settlement from a motorcycle accident?

Smaller claims with clear fault can settle in a few months once treatment ends. Serious injury cases often take a year or more, because a fair value depends on knowing your long-term medical outlook. Indiana gives you two years from the crash to file a lawsuit under IC 34-11-2-4, and the timeline for how long a settlement takes also depends on how fast the insurer responds.

Should I give the other driver’s insurance company a statement?

You do not have to, and in most cases you should not before talking with a lawyer. Adjusters use recorded statements to lock in details, such as your speed or what you saw, before you have the full picture. You can give basic contact and vehicle information and decline the rest.

What if the driver who hit me left the scene?

Call police right away and give them every detail you remember about the vehicle. Your own uninsured motorist coverage may cover a hit-and-run, but policies set short notice deadlines, so report it to your insurer quickly. Indiana treats leaving the scene of an accident that injures someone as a crime.

Call 317-488-5500 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form