San Marcos Motorcycle Accident

If you ever have owned and ridden a motorcycle, you know how fun it is, a different kind of freedom!

Motorcyclists are much more vulnerable to accidents than someone traveling in a car or truck. Other drivers are not always paying attention to a fast-moving motorcycle, and when it comes to an accident, the motorcyclist almost always pulls the short straw. They have very little protection when involved in an accident. In Texas, the law allows motorcycle riders to get on the road without helmets. This spells nothing but trouble; wearing a leather jacket may help protect from road rash but nothing for broken bones. To make matters worse, too many times, there is quick and unwarranted blame placed on the motorcycle driver.

Texas roads and highways are often dangerous for the 400,000 plus motorcycle enthusiasts who drive them. Accidents involving motorcycles may occur because of distracted, tired, or drunk driving. What can you do if you have been injured in a Texas motorcycle accident? What is your legal recourse if your loved one has died in such an accident?

Our Texas motorcycle accident lawyers offer this article to help answer your questions and provide information on motorcycle crashes in Texas. Our San Marcos motorcycle accident lawyers have thirty years of experience representing Texas personal injury and wrongful death cases that may help your case seeking the financial restitution you deserve following a Texas motorcycle accident.

Motorcycle accidents have a greater probability of serious injury or death than car accidents. According to statistics available from the Texas Department of Transportation, two-thirds of Texas motorcycle accidents lead to severe injury or death. The year 2018 saw 418 motorcycle accident fatalities, a number that equals 16% of all Texas traffic deaths for that year. Injuries were incurred by a whopping 6,913 motorcycle riders and passengers in the same year. Considering the comparative lack of protection that a motorcycle provides when measured against an enclosed vehicle, it is easy to see why severe injuries or deaths are common in motorcycle accidents. Top-of-the-line models of motorcycles manufactured by Buell, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha still afford less protection than enclosed vehicle models.

These differences are not apparent to most people when considering the consequences of a motorcycle accident, particularly in the legal system. Most claims made by owners of passenger vehicles are taken care of without the necessity of a lawyer. However, for victims of motorcycle accidents and their loved ones, the knowledge of an experienced Texas motorcycle accident law firm may be required. Insurance companies will not want to pay the substantially higher claim resulting from the increased risk of injury and death involved in motorcycling, which may lead to you or your loved ones accepting an offer that is much lower than your claim is actually worth. Our San Marcos motorcycle accident attorneys can help you navigate the legal landscape to secure the financial restitution you deserve after suffering a Texas motorcycle crash.

Some of the more severe injuries frequently suffered by victims of motorcycle accidents are fractured or broken bones. If the rider or passenger in a motorcycle is thrown from the bike with sufficient force, fractured or broken arms, legs, or ankles may occur. If you have suffered from broken bones due to a Texas motorcycle accident, it is paramount to seek medical attention immediately. A successful personal injury lawsuit may be able to recover the financial damages that are incurred by visiting a medical professional. Additionally, victims of motorcycle accidents who lose time from work due to the injury, or those who lose their ability to work due to the accident that caused their injuries, may also be able to seek financial restitution for the wages lost as a result of the accident. This financial restitution may be available by enlisting a Texas motorcycle accident lawyer to assist you with filing a Texas personal injury lawsuit.

The most severe injuries that result from a Texas motorcycle accident may include injury to the brain, spinal cord, or even severe disfigurement. These most severe injuries may lead to the need for a lifetime of medical treatment and care. Some of the most severe common injuries in Texas motorcycle accidents are burn injuries. Burn injuries are a major cause of pain, suffering, and disfigurement following a Texas motorcycle accident. In addition, scarring can occur on the limbs, back, neck, or face of the cyclist due to severe burn injuries. One of the most severe injuries following a Texas motorcycle accident is the loss of a limb or an injury severe enough to necessitate amputation. The motorcycle accident survivor’s quality of life may be greatly reduced as a result of such an injury, in addition to the emotional anguish experienced by such a traumatizing event. You may be able to seek economic reimbursement through a Texas personal injury lawsuit to help you deal with the significant medical costs necessary for your recovery.

If you are under 21 years of age, you are required by Texas law to wear a motorcycle helmet while riding on a motorcycle. If you are over 21 years of age, wearing a helmet is optional as long as you have either taken a Texas motorcycle rider training course or have the ability to prove that you have health insurance coverage for potential motorcycle accidents. For years, the issue of helmets for motorcyclists has been debated, but the benefits of wearing a helmet are nevertheless clear. Those motorcycle injuries with the most severity, including damage to the spinal cord or brain, could be prevented entirely by wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle. Brain and spinal cord injuries can lead to paralysis and other conditions requiring life-long treatment, care, and management. This necessary treatment can then lead to serious debt. Suppose you have suffered from a traumatic Texas motorcycle accident. In that case, you may benefit from legal assistance to help you recover economically from the financial losses you have incurred due to the accident.

The level of seriousness of your injuries determines how long you will require medical treatment to help your condition improve. Unfortunately, the cost of providing medical treatment to survivors of Texas motorcycle accidents can range from thousands to millions of dollars depending on the injuries treated. Because of this, insurance companies will fight tooth and nail to avoid paying the full amount that your case is worth. If this is your situation, you can benefit from the services of our experienced Texas motorcycle accident law firm to ensure that you are fairly compensated for the hardships you have gone through.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, somebody is killed in a fatal motorcycle accident every day. This means that one family in Texas loses a loved one in a motorcycle tragedy daily. Suppose you have lost a family member due to a Texas motorcycle fatality. In that case, the Texas wrongful death lawyers of our Law Offices can help you begin the process of a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident. You have the right to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit to make sure the entities responsible for the accident are held accountable. With a wrongful death lawsuit, financial restitution is available in the form of survival damages and wrongful death damages.

Survival damages are damages that the deceased person would have been able to claim had they remained alive to make a claim. Essentially, one person from the family of the dead acts as proxy for the deceased to claim survival damages. Usually, this person is the spouse of the deceased, but if the wrongful death victim did not have a spouse, survival damages may be claimed first by one of their surviving children, then by one of their surviving parents, and lastly by one of their surviving siblings, even though under usual circumstances siblings may not claim wrongful death damages in Texas. Survival damages that may be claimed in a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Financial restitution for disfigurement
• Property damage
• Wages that would have been lost as a result of the Texas motorcycle accident had the victim survived.
• Pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional distress
• Future loss of wages that would have resulted from the motorcycle accident
• Bills that were paid towards medical treatment before the victim died
• Wrongful death damages are available to be claimed as a way to reimburse a grieving family for the loss of their loved one. Wrongful death damages may be pursued by spouses, parents, and children of the deceased. A single wrongful death lawsuit may comprise many different claims. Wrongful death damages that are available to be pursued for qualifying family members may include:
• Funeral and related preparation costs
• Loss of consortium, which can be described as the loss of the love of a unique person
• Medical expenses related to the Texas motorcycle accident
• Mental and emotional anguish to the surviving members of the family due to the accident that caused the loss of their loved one

Wrongful death lawsuits are quite complex by their very nature. There are many eligible parties who may be able to claim wrongful death damages. Each of their claims may be worth a different amount, depending on how close they were to the victim and the amount of financial support they were provided by the deceased. When you add in the survival damages that the single eligible person may claim, you already have a case that would overwhelm an inexperienced lawyer. Motorcycle accidents, however, make a standard wrongful death lawsuit even more complex. This is because motorcycle accidents may have multiple causes or parties responsible. To successfully pursue a Texas wrongful death lawsuit for your motorcycle accident fatality case, you will need an experienced Texas motorcycle accident law firm. Our Law Offices have twenty years of experience handling cases like these, with a track record consisting of hundreds of successful cases.