You are not the kind of rider who bobs weaves in and out of traffic. Not the kind of rider who squeezes your way to the front of the traffic at a stop light. Not the kind of rider who pops a wheelie on an open stretch of road in town. Not the kind of rider who takes advantage of a large group of riders and forces your way from an interstate on ramp to a crowded interstate lane. In fact, you are the opposite of all of these examples. You love to ride, but you respect the road. You love your bike, but you realize the responsibility of sharing space with cars and trucks.
Motorcycle accidents are tragic, and they are even more tragic when they happen to safe riders who follow all of the rules of the road. Unfortunately, even when motorcyclists are careful, they cannot control the other drivers on the road. As a result, motorcycle accidents can happen to even the very best riders.
The Physical, Mental, and Financial Costs of Motorcycle Accidents Can be Overwhelming
After a motorcycle accident, riders and their families are faced with both relief and fear. The initial relief of surviving a motorcycle accident, however, can quickly turn to the fear of the implications of the injury and the recovery, the rehabilitation and the expenses. Without the help of a personal injury lawyer, however, the fear of all four of these issues may be even more intense. The problem of attempting to handle motorcycle accidents without the advice of a motorcycle accident attorney is that the relief of survival can overshadow the focus of the other impending problems.
The average personal injury settlement amounts may initially seem substantial, but without pausing to consider the questions to ask personal injury lawyers, families may find that the initial substantial settlement offerings fall far short of the real expenses. For example, what will you do if the initial number of physics therapy appointments are not enough to you return to your normal activities? What do you do if the physical therapy appointments do not address your occupational therapy needs? What do you do if you are unable to return to work within the schedule predicted by the settlement?
In many situations it is important to contact a legal representative so that you can be more informed before accepting any settlement in an accident that is not your fault. Otherwise, you risk finding out that what you thought was a substantial settlement was far less than you needed to recover and return to everyday activities and a job.
Car and Motorcycle Accidents Create Frightening Statistics
It does not take any driver long to figure out that spending time on today’s roads can be very dangerous. A look at other drivers while you are sitting at a stoplight, for example, can give you an indication of the causes of many of today’s most frequent car accidents. Statistics indicate, for instance, that drivers who are distracted by tasks other than driving are more likely to have an accident. Specifically, an driver who engages in tasks like reaching for a phone, dialing and texting increases their chance of getting into a crash by as much as three times that of a driver who does not participate in those extra activities.
If a traveler is on a motorcycle instead of a car, his or her trip may be even more risk. For instance, in 2013 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 4,668 people died in motorcycle crashes. And while this number is a decrease of 6.4% from the 4,986 killed in 2012, that decrease is no consolation if someone you know and love is in an accident.
Unfortunately, another NHTSA report indicates that in the year 2013 motorcyclists were nearly 26 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash. This statistic is for every vehicle mile traveled. Additionally, motorcycle riders were five times more likely to be injured than a car occupant.
Personal injury lawyers may be able to help those injured in a motorcycle accident by helping the injured party and their families anticipate the costs of recovery.
