Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Riding a motorcycle in California is a great activity. The weather is excellent year-round, and the scenery is beautiful. Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle can also be quite dangerous. More than 5,000 people die each year in motorcycle accidents. While not every motorcycle accident results in death, most cause serious injuries. This happens because of the lack of protection a motorcycle provides. Cars protect occupants far better than motorcycles, and that plays a major role in the severity of motorcycle accident injuries. If you or a loved one were injured in a motorcycle accident, you deserve to have legal representation that you can trust. You need to give yourself the best chance of making a complete recovery. Part of the way you do that is by making sure you consult with a qualified motorcycle accident attorney to evaluate your case.

Common Motorcycle Accident Causes

Motorcycle accidents are caused by many reasons, many of which involve human error. The most common causes of motorcycle accidents include:

• Speeding
• Opening a car door in the path of a motorcycle
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Stopping short
• Failing to yield
• Unsafe lane changes
• Dangerous road conditions
• Left-turn accidents
• Motorcycle defects

No matter what caused your motorcycle accident injuries, you may face a long road to recovery. With all that is involved recovering from a serious incident, you don’t need additional stress worrying about how you will pay your bills. To give yourself the best chance of making a full recovery, you need to speak with a seasoned motorcycle accident lawyer who can help you obtain compensation for your injuries.

Resulting Injuries

The use of helmets by motorcycle riders is on the rise. This could be a reason why motorcycle deaths in California are falling. Despite the improvements in motorcycle safety and awareness, accidents and injuries continue to happen. This is mostly because of the nature of motorcycles; they are open and expose the rider to the force of impact with other vehicles and the road. Common injuries include:

• Head injuries: These injuries include concussions and other traumatic brain injuries, fractured skulls, and brain contusions. Any injury involving the brain or head is serious and needs to be evaluated immediately. Many times, the worst symptoms from head injuries may not appear until hours, days, or even weeks after the accident.
• Broken bones: Because your body takes the force of the impact with the other vehicle during a motorcycle accident, broken bones are common. Broken bones also occur when the impact of the collision throws riders and/or passengers from their motorcycles, hitting the pavement or other objects with enough force to break bones.
• Road rash: When a rider slides across the pavement after being thrown from his or her motorcycle, road rash often occurs. This can happen even when the rider is wearing protective clothing.
• Neck injuries: Neck and head injuries usually occur together. Because of the forces upon impact in a motorcycle accident, the spine is often jolted, causing serious neck injuries. The most serious involves the spinal cord and can cause paralysis and even death.

Motorcycle accident injuries are often serious. Even if you are lucky and walk away from a motorcycle accident, you should make sure to be seen by a medical professional as quickly as possible. You may have injuries that haven’t appeared yet, and those can be some of the most serious.

Getting Compensation for Your Injuries

When injured in a motorcycle accident, your only concern should be for your safety and well-being. After a motorcycle accident, severe injuries may require extensive medical attention. That medical care is often very expensive. The last thing you want to concern yourself with is how you will pay for that medical care. A motorcycle accident lawyer will help you seek compensation for the full cost of your injuries by fighting to get you damages for:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Lost wages
• Loss of companionship
• Past, present, and future medical bills
• Rehabilitation costs

Many people have a hard time accurately calculating what they will need to pay their medical expenses. It’s not just the medical bills sitting on the kitchen table, either. It’s the future expenses as well, the medical bills that have yet to arrive. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may be out of work temporarily or maybe even permanently. Your ability to earn money to pay your bills may have been significantly reduced and maybe even eliminated altogether. Because of this, you need to create an accurate estimate of your future medical needs. This is something that a good personal injury attorney can help with. Working with a trusted motorcycle accident attorney can give you the peace of mind you need. A motorcycle accident lawyer can estimate the value of their client’s cases to better understand what their future financial needs are and how to best ensure that they don’t end up being left to pay for injuries that they did not cause.

Settlement Offers

Many people get excited when they receive a settlement offer, and that’s understandable. You want to put this behind you as quickly as possible, but you also need to make sure you’re getting compensation for the full cost of your injuries, including future costs. Insurance companies will often try to “low ball” you to get out of paying the full value of your claim. The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to work with a skilled and experienced motorcycle accident lawyer. Your motorcycle accident lawyer can review your settlement offer and help you determine whether it’s appropriate. If not, then your motorcycle lawyer can negotiate on your behalf and even file a lawsuit, if necessary. While it’s true that most personal injury cases settle before a trial is needed, your motorcycle lawyer should generally only settle if it’s right for you and your specific situation. Make sure you find someone fully prepared to take cases all the way to trial, if that’s what you require to get the compensation needed to make a complete recovery.