Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle Accident and Injury Representation for Riders, by Riders

While many personal injury lawyers say they represent motorcyclists, how many of them are actual riders themselves? At Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group, each of our attorneys is an experienced rider and skilled attorney who knows firsthand the unique challenges and circumstances that motorcyclists face. If you have been in a motorcycle accident or incident in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia, contact us for a free consultation.

Where the Law meets the Road.

A motorcycle is unlike four-wheeled vehicles, requiring skilled and vigilant rider coordination to operate – particularly in a crash scenario. Because of our deep understanding of both the physics involved in a motorcycle crash and the laws that govern those involved, the Motorcycle Law Group maintains a high success rate in both settlements and jury outcomes. Most importantly, we have a passion for the motorcycling lifestyle and can effectively and sincerely communicate to the jury, judge, and insurance companies the reasons we ride and the laws that guide our community.

Common Motorcycle Accident Causes

Know Before You Go: Seven Helpful Tips if You’re Involved in a Motorcycle Accident

1. Avoid making statements to other people at the accident scene, to include the police, unless absolutely necessary, and never apologize or admit fault to the other driver.
2. Get medical attention right away – this isn’t a scenario where you want to tough it out. Your medical records will be important evidence.
3. Don’t get your bike repaired until your motorcycle lawyer can properly document all the damages – we may even have an accident reconstruction expert examine the damage.
4. If you are able, get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses to the accident.
5. If you’re still standing after your accident, do your own documenting of the crash scene and take pictures of the other vehicle’s damage if possible.
6. You’ll likely have to pay a lot of accident-related expenses out of pocket before your settlement – keep all your receipts so we can calculate accurate damages.
7. Don’t talk about your accident on social media and don’t post any pictures or say anything that could call into question the severity of your injuries.

Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction

For your motorcycle case, our attorneys may work with accident reconstruction experts who specialize in motorcycle physics and are able to piece together how the accident unfolded based on evidence, vehicle damage, and witness testimony.

• Reconstruction is particularly critical for motorcycle cases in which downed riders are unable to speak for themselves due to being taken away from the scene in an ambulance – leaving less-injured car or truck drivers at the scene with their word of how events unfolded.
• Many of our clients are often cited with contributing to a collision, but in many instances, we are able to prove otherwise: the rider is innocent, not at fault, and did everything in his or her power to avoid the accident.

The Difficulties of Disputed Fault in Motorcycle Accident Injury Cases

Who is truly at fault? Unclear liability has another unfortunate side effect for motorcycle riders. When fault is in question, the insurance company and their client are much more likely to take a case to trial. In an ideal world, you can avoid court by gathering evidence and negotiating with the insurance company with facts and hard realities.

Facts aren’t the only things that matter in motorcycle injury cases. Insurance companies are less concerned with doing the right thing than they are minimizing the claim payments they make to injured riders.

Why would they settle for a fair amount when they control the narrative?

Insurance companies believe juries are unfriendly to motorcyclists due to the unjustified biases held against many riders. They think that if you don’t settle for a lot less than you deserve and choose instead to take your case to trial you will be facing an unfriendly jury that holds all kinds of negative preconceptions about “reckless outlaw bikers.”

There are many good car accident and truck accident attorneys out there, but when it comes to changing the hearts and minds of a judge and jury, an everyday personal injury lawyer can’t defend you like a fellow motorcyclist. As attorneys, we know how to humanize you based on our own experiences.

Policy Limits Often Work Against Motorcyclists in Catastrophic Injury Motorcycle Accidents

In some scenarios, it is preferable for a rider to take their case to court, especially if the policy limits of the responsible driver are far below what you deserve. In catastrophic injury accidents — which motorcycle accidents often are — your medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering could far exceed the other driver’s $25,000 or $30,000 bodily injury limit. In that scenario, the only way for you to recover funds in excess of that limit will be to take the case to a jury trial.

Types of Damages in Accident Claims

Motorcycle injury or death claims (as well as car injury or death claims) have one fundamental goal: to make you financially whole after an accident or compensate you and the heirs for the death of a loved one.

Your injury claim can cover everything from your medical bills and property damage to damages that are less easy to quantify in monetary terms, such as pain and suffering. Additionally, it will cover future medical bills, future pain and suffering, and any lost wages or future lost wages and earning capacity.

A claim for death, compensates the heirs for loss of financial support, companionship, and other damages. Having uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage can increase the amount of money available for your injury or a death claim in the event the at fault party does not have enough insurance or no insurance.

You may be eligible for damages to compensate you for:

• Medical bills and future medical bills
• Lost wages
• Loss of earnings capacity
• Property damage (for your bike and equipment)
• Pain and suffering
• Future pain and suffering
• inconvenience
• Loss of consortium, loss of support and income from the death of a loved one.
• Funeral expenses
• Costs related to continuing care (mobility assistance devices, transportation costs, etc.)
• Other out of pocket expenses related to your injury or recovery.

How Do You Calculate the Value of Damage Types?

Some damages are easy to calculate — it’s simply a matter of adding up your medical bills and loss of job wages. Other damages may require a financial expert, or testimony of an heir.

Important considerations when calculating certain types of damages include:

• Property damages: It’s common for motorcycles to be total losses after an accident. In most cases, the insurance company will consider the make, model, year, and mileage of your bike. Whether such a valuation is accurate of the true value of your motorcycle depends on its condition and how much you’ve invested in modifications or aftermarket parts. If you have a restored classic motorcycle or custom bike, for example, you may want to consider investing in classic or custom motorcycle insurance. How you have insured it could play a role, as well as the cost of motorcycles like yours being solid in your area (like comparable in home sales).
• Medical damages: Your emergency room bill is just one part of your medical damages calculation. Everything from the ambulance ride to the hospital to your physical therapy and rehabilitation costs should be included in any calculation of your medical costs.
• Pain, suffering, and loss of consortium: There’s no obvious dollar valuation for pain and suffering or loss of consortium (a legal term for a change in a relationship to a family member, through death or injury). Articulating how the death of a loved one affected your quality of life, finances and family dynamics is important. Your success in winning or negotiating non-economic damages are heavily reliant on the skills of your motorcycle injury attorney.
• Punitive damages: Punitive damages most often come into play if the negligent driver was doing something that was particularly reckless and illegal. Drunk driving and texting-while-driving accidents are the most common type of auto accident personal injury cases where punitive damages become available.

Common Motorcycle Accident Causes

The biggest threats facing motorcyclists on the road are other drivers. However, unsafe roadways, dangerous weather conditions, rider errors, and motorcycle defects are all potential hazards as well.

Here are some common risks and causes of motorcycle accidents:

• Inexperienced or negligent drivers: One of the biggest dangers on the road is drivers who are careless or don’t realize how dangerous they are making traffic for riders. Tailgating, failing to check blind spots, or driving under the influence can easily result in accidents that seriously injure or kill riders. Riding defensively and maintaining awareness of the road and surrounding vehicles is the best way to avoid accidents with negligent drivers. New riders may also want to consider signing up for advanced riding courses that teach accident avoidance strategies and maneuvers.
• Speeding: Speeding creates risks for riders and drivers. Drivers making a left turn in front of a rider may not be able to tell how fast the motorcycle is going and misjudge the time they have to make the turn safely. In fact, many states have laws stating that the rider forfeits their right of way if speeding occurred. Drivers might also not notice a rider coming up behind them quickly on the left or right when they’re about to make a lane change. All drivers and riders should always follow the speed limit.
• Weather and dangerous road conditions: Running over potholes or rocks in the road may not always flip a car, truck, or SUV, but it can easily result in a motorcyclist being tossed over their handlebars. Icy or wet roads can cause cars to slide, but passengers will be in a protective metal chassis and cushioned by airbags. Motorcyclists who slide don’t have the same protection, so road condition-related accidents can be extremely hazardous to riders. Make sure your lights, tires, and brakes are always in good working order before you ride.
• Unsafe lane changes: You don’t have to ride for long before experiencing your first brush with a car invading your lane with seemingly no concern for your safety. Many drivers become distracted and don’t adequately check to confirm the lane they’re changing into is clear. It would be great if every driver was courteous and looked out for riders, but unfortunately, its not always the case.
• Rider error: Most riders are very cautious and stay focused, but sometimes a crash occurs from over-braking or running wide on a curve.
• Intersections: Intersections are the source of many motor vehicle accidents, like those involving unsafe left turns, running red lights or stop signs, and illegal lane changes. Due to distracted driving riders are at an increased risk of being rear-ended while waiting for a light to change.

Schedule a free consultation with Motorcycle Attorneys Who Understand What You’re Going Through

The Motorcycle Law Group represents riders and motorcycle accident victims in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.