Motorcycle Accidents | Wrongful Death | Daytona Beach Attorneys

Almost all motorcycle collisions throw riders off their bikes, exposing them to blunt force trauma injuries from hitting something hard as they come down. So its not surprising that motorcycle accident injuries are very often severe ones. While riders almost always sustain minor cuts and bruises in an accident, many also suffer far more severe injuries from being thrown violently against another vehicle, sliding in the road or hitting the ground or another hard object at very high speeds.

Death is still a tragically common result of a motorcycle accident injury. Where only 20 percent of car and light truck accidents in America result in death, about 80 percent of motorcycle accidents do. And studies show that the majority of those deaths are caused by head injuries. According to a study of crashes in 2001 by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, those whose worst injury was a head injury were much more likely to die, at 10.6 percent of fatalities, than those with other principal diagnoses, at just 0.8 percent. To this, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adds a telling statistic: Helmet use among fatally injured riders is below 50 percent. This trend coincides with helmet law repeals, the AHRQ noted, with helmet use going from 71 percent of riders in 2000 to 58 percent in 2002. Less common causes of motorcycle accident fatalities include spinal injuries and internal injuries.

Despite this grim picture, head and traumatic brain injuries no longer top the list of nonfatal but serious injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash, in part because of helmets. A 2005 study by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality showed that only about 12 percent of non-fatal motorcycle injuries are head injuries. The most common injury in the study, at 29 percent of the injuries, was one or more leg fractures. Following right behind were arm fractures, at 13 percent. Head injuries were next, at 12 percent. Fewer than 10 percent of the patients in the study had spinal injuries or injuries to the internal organs. Two percent of them died of their injuries in the hospital, adding to the deaths on the scene. And 12.7 percent of the patients in the study were sent to another health care facility after release from the hospital, indicating that they needed long-term care for serious, life-changing injuries or permanent disabilities.

Studies Outside the U.S.

A similar study of motorcycle injuries in Tehran, where there is no helmet law and the vast majority of riders do not use helmets, found a similar pattern of injuries. The most common cause of death was head injuries, at 67.9 percent of deaths; these were followed by abdominal injuries (17.9 percent), and thoracic (chest) injuries (7.1 percent). Among those who lived, injuries to the extremities were most common, followed by head, chest and spine injuries. The study, which included only those who did not die at the scene of the crash, also found that:

62.6 percent of patients had only mild injuries, 29.7 percent had moderate injuries and only 7.7 percent had severe injuries.
96 percent of the patients scored very high (above 12) on a scale of head injury severity called the Glasgow coma scale, indicating severe head injury.
Among head injuries, the most common was a skull fracture, at 32.4 percent, followed by a facial fracture, at 21.4 percent; an injury to a specific area of the brain, at 14.4 percent, and an accumulation of blood between scalp and skull (epidural hematoma), at 14.1 percent.
The most common injury to the extremities was a broken leg, arm, hand or foot, at 86.2 percent.
The most vulnerable area of the extremities was the lower leg, which saw 47.8 percent of extremity injuries. The area was most likely to sustain blood vessel damage, followed by a fracture.
The most common chest trauma was broken ribs, followed by a collapsed lung (pneumothorax).

And a study in New Zealand, where helmets are legally required and used by 93 percent of riders in traffic, showed a higher rate of survival, but also a higher rate of serious head injuries. As in Tehran, head injuries were the second most common type of injury requiring hospitalization (at 23 percent). But of those head injuries, 65 percent were considered severe. And 73 percent of those in the New Zealand study who died in the hospital died of a head injury.

Motorcycles and Equipment Damage is a Type of Injury

Many riders injured in an accident wake up thinking not of their own physical injuries, but of the damage to their beloved bikes. Indeed, legally speaking, damage to a motorcycle and equipment in an accident is a type of injury, and it is a common concern in motorcycle accident lawsuits. Even if the bike was not totaled in the accident, repair bills can still stretch to thousands of dollars. If expensive custom work had been done on the bike, that only adds to the severity of the financial injury the motorcyclist sustained. These issues can be very difficult to deal with in court so it is essential you are working with an Experienced Florida Motorcycle Accident Attorney.

Financial Injuries

And riders almost always sustain certain other financial injuries after a motorcycle accident. These include hospital bills, which can be high; the American study showed that just in 2001, motorcycle accidents generated $841 million in hospital bills, with a median charge of more than $15,000. Riders who are hospitalized often also lose income by missing work; some may even lose their jobs because their employers cant keep the job open while they recover. There are sometimes other, secondary costs associated with a motorcycle accident, including renting a replacement vehicle, unfair hikes in your insurance premium and other costs you would not otherwise have incurred. And if you are permanently disabled, severely traumatized or otherwise suffer a long-term injury from an accident that is not your fault, you have the right to ask a court for compensation for your lost quality of life.

What Other Types of Injuries Result from Motorcycle Accidents?

Our motorcycle accident practice includes fatal accidents and more commonly, cases of catastrophic injury, including the following:

Closed head injury
Traumatic brain injury
Severe burns (“road rash” injuries)
Spinal cord damage/paralysis
Broken vertebrae
Amputation
Facial disfigurement

In looking at the bigger picture after a back, neck, head or other serious injury, we work closely with our clients and their families to determine the best course of action. In some situations, the length of time it takes for a personal injury lawsuit to work its way through the court system is impractical. Where this is the case, we will aggressively pursue the right results through mediation, arbitration or other forms of alternative dispute resolution. This can result in still-fair settlement amounts while minimizing time delays and expense.

We understand motorcyclists face unique risks that other automobile drivers do not even think about, including slick surfaces, manhole covers, potholes, puddles and railroad tracks. With little or no protection in a collision, motorcyclists are especially prone to death or serious injuries, including:

Back injuries, including slipped discs, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and facet syndrome.
Head injuries can include surface facial injuries to the head and fractured skulls. These are very common, even if the motorcyclist is wearing a helmet.
Traumatic brain injuries may cause permanent physical and mental disability, even if the skull remains intact.
Spinal cord injuries, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, and spinal cord contusions and compressions.
Neck injuries, including herniated cervical discs, fractures and pinched nerves.
Broken or crushed bones, such as broken arms, legs, collarbones, knees, ankles and feet.
Severed limbs

Wrongful Death Lawsuits- Motorcycle Accidents

The law only provides for a short window for an individual to bring a wrongful death claim. If someone you know or a loved one has died as a result of someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate to talk to one of our motorcycle accident attorneys.
Unlike some states where individuals only get to ride their bikes for a few months out of the year. Florida bikers have the luxury of being able to ride practically year round! It is a joy to do so but it also increases our risks for injuries and deaths. The sad reality about riding a bike is that it is unfortunately more dangerous because of the lack of enclosure, airbags, and seat belt restraint devices. However, this should not stop us from riding. Driving defensive, wearing the right protective gear, and understanding your bikes weakness and strengths is crucial to surviving out on the road.

Many times motorcycle accidents are completely out of the biker’s hands. A drunk driver blows a red light and crushes the biker or a huge semi-truck not checking all of his mirrors makes an abrupt lane change or turn striking the biker and ejecting him from his bike. We hope that you have never had to deal with a fellow biker being killed because of someone else’s negligence. However, the sad reality is that we all know at least one who has died as a result of a crash.

The fatality rate for motorcycle accidents is very high. As a result, many motorcycle accident lawsuits are wrongful death lawsuits. Wrongful death lawsuits are cases in which a family member of the victim chooses to sue the negligent person responsible for their loved one’s death.

If you have a family member who was recently killed in a motorcycle accident and you are thinking about filing a wrongful death lawsuit, you should be sure that the following can be proved before going forward:

The death was caused, in whole or part, by the conduct of the defendant
The defendant was negligent or strictly liable for the victim’s death
There is a surviving spouse, children, beneficiaries or dependants
Monetary or emotional damages have resulted from the victim’s death

The types of damages that can be sought in a wrongful death lawsuit vary a fair amount from those of a regular personal injury case. Family members, beneficiaries or dependants involved in the lawsuit may seek damages in the form of:

Any hospital expenses, home care or other medical expenses resulting from medical care for the victim prior to the death.
Sorrow and mental anguish caused by the loss of companionship felt after the death
Compensation for loss of income that was brought in by the victim
Loss of services, protection, care or assistance which were provided to beneficiaries by the victim
Loss of future earnings that would have been made by the victim
Loss of medical benefits
Loss of inheritance
Pain and suffering
Funeral expenses up to a certain point