Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says sports bikes are more likely to be involved in accidents than others.
Why sports bikes? It has to do with their size and construction, meaning they are typically lighter and smaller than the traditional “ride,” thus making them an easier target. In terms of handling, sports bikes are also considered to be more skittish, making them harder to handle in a dangerous situation.
There are a large number of cons to riding a motorcycle of any kind, not the least being death, but this does not seem to stop bikers from taking to the roads. Many have a sense that nothing could happen to them, that they are good bikers, safe drivers and know the ropes. They may well be all those things, but that does not mean the other guy on the road is safe. These days, with more and more people texting while driving, and even surfing the web while behind the wheel, safety is an issue for everyone on the road.
Consider the case of a university student on his way home from a football practice, doing the posted speed limit and just about to turn left into his driveway. From behind him, an impatient, speeding drunken driver pulled out to pass the young man, T-boning him. The force of the impact ejected the biker head-on into a light pole. He died instantly. The drunk was not just driving while under the influence, either. He was surfing the ‘net with his mobile device, looking for a late night spot for pizza.
The NHTSA has found that just about 55 percent of all fatal motorcycle accidents did involve several other vehicles, including the bike. Of the 55 percent, close to 90 percent were collisions between a vehicle and a biker, with over 85 percent being bikers being hit by a passenger vehicle. Those are startling numbers, and bring home the reality of the risks of biking.
More often than not, any biker involved in an accident, if they survive, has significant, if not catastrophic injuries that change their life forever. Injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident tend to be ones that take a long time to recover from, if ever. For instance, ruptured lungs, severed spinal cords, traumatic brain injury, road rash to the bare bone, crushed pelvis, amputation of various limbs and crushed bones. Many bikers never fully recover physically. Many more have cognitive difficulties for the rest of their lives.
For these reasons, and others, such as the ability to pay their medical bills, anyone involved in a motorcycle accident that was the fault of the other person, needs to speak to a qualified and competent Atlanta injury lawyer. Negligence in causing an accident by, for example, texting while driving, is often cause for a settlement to assist the plaintiff with the medical expenses.
These cases are rarely open and shut, and need the experience of an injury lawyer to deal with the insurance companies, who swarm the plaintiff, trying to get them to settle quickly, and for less than they may be entitled to should they go to court. It’s your life and your future. Do not hand it over to an insurance company trying to push you into a settlement too soon.
Tim Anderson writes for Atlanta Personal Injury attorney, Stephen M. Ozcomert. The firm specializes in personal injury, malpractice, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Stephen M. Ozcomert, visit Ozcomert.com.