Texas Defective Motorcycle Attorney

Texas Defective Motorcycle Attorney Michael Grossman Discusses a Motorcyclist’s Rights Following a Bike Crash

There are over 400,000 traveling on Texas roads, which makes the chances for accidents pretty high. Motorcycle wrecks occur in Texas for numerous reasons, ranging from motorcycle defects to driver distractions and serious issues like drowsy or drunk driving. If you’ve been involved in an motorcycle accident in Texas, do you know your rights?

If you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one because of such an event, do you know your legal options to pursue so that you can get justice? This article from Texas defective motorcycle attorney Michael Grossman of Grossman Law Offices will cover these facts and give pertinent information on wrecks caused by Texas defective motorcycles. With 20 years of experience in Texas personal injury and wrongful death cases, Texas motorcycle defect lawyer Michael Grossman is just the person to assist you through this ordeal.

We’ll first look at three factors that can be involved in accidents: Motorcycle defects, Motorcycle product liability and Maintenance of Motorcycles. Then we’ll examine other issues you may encounter or have experienced.

Motorcycle Defects

One reason for motorcycle wrecks are because of mechanical problems stemming from improper maintenance and/or product malfunctions. Usually cars have a some sort of recall or letters are mailed which suggest a small improvement for a known problem. With motorcycles, though, when one thing falls apart, it’s usually serious. Motorcycles present enough challenges already, since it’s up the rider to remain balanced and upright. When there’s a mechanical problem, the rider can quickly lose control and chances are you won’t see a motorcycle gently moving to the side of the road.

Motorcycle Product Liability

It doesn’t happen often, but some motorcycles are sold with hidden defects due to their design or construction. Many more bikes are improperly manufactured where key parts fail under normal pressures and everyday usage. A bad brake proportioning valve, an engine bearing that stops, a chain that snaps, etc., can all contribute to a horrific accident. If such a defect causes the injury or death of a motorcycle rider, state law says the person injured can pursue a liability claim against the manufacturer. Sometimes, numerous parties serve as defendants. Let’s say that a motorcycle is sold by a certain manufacturer and a part (let’s use a brake caliper ) fails, then both the maker and distributor of the bike and the part’s supplier can face legal action. All that is determined by the degree of negligence of both parties.

Product liability claims for defective motorcycles are challenging to handle legally and you can’t go off what you think when filing your claim; you have to gather and carefully maintain tons of evidence. To just say “the throttle cable broke” won’t win your case. It’s up to the plaintiff to clearly show, using evidence, that the failure stemmed from the manufacturer, and so it’s critical to discover the exact cause of the breakdown. A successful claim is reached after a credible engineer does a detailed evaluation on the components in question and then provides an expert analysis that shows exactly where the defect is. What’s also important is that the motorcycle and all the key components have to be kept in a manner where they can be used for evidence in a court case.

Most product liability claims that don’t materialize are due to the person filing the claim not keeping a detailed list, then properly storing evidence to support their claim. An individual who isn’t an attorney doesn’t know the steps and procedures required to properly present their case on their own. Product liability cases aren’t something most attorneys handle anyway, and we strongly discourage any normal citizen proceeding on filing their own claim; it’s extremely important you obtain the services of a veteran Texas motorcycle defect lawyer.

Maintenance of Motorcycles

Sub-par maintenance that’s done by your everyday service shop can also lead to a major injury. Usually with cars, when something acts up, you can drive your car to the shop and it can be fixed in a few hours or couple of days. With motorcycles, however, bad maintenance can result in a major accident that leads to a serious injury and sometimes death. What you need to realize is that not all motorcycle shops have qualified technicians. A mechanic that doesn’t thoroughly check out each part can then set that bike up for issues. In cases like those, a customer can file a negligence claim against that shop that made the error.

Some mechanical problems aren’t just because of negligence. There are instances when a seller or a dealership deliberately sells an unsafe bike, and will cover up the bike’s condition. We recently dealt with one man who bought a motorcycle from a licensed dealer. When he took the bike home, the man realized the motorcycle wasn’t riding normally. He then immediately took the motorcycle to a repair shop for a close look before an accident occurred or he got injured. The workers there found out that the triple tree was cracked (which could have been very dangerous), the radiator wasn’t put on right, and even more serious, that the frame was damaged and covered up with filler and paint. So what happened was that the motorcycle had been in an accident before and the dealership had done some touch up work then tried to sell it like it was a normal bike. Besides violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, this motorcycle could have led to the buyer’s death. In this example, the dealership who put that motorcycle on the market would be found liable for their choices and such an unethical attempt to sell a dangerous motorcycle could also lead to punitive damages.

Motorcycle Accidents vs. Car Wrecks

Examine a site where a motorcycle accident occurred and you’ll quickly see the difference between that and your normal car wreck. Motorcycle wrecks usually lead to more serious injuries and a greater chance of death. Statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation show that two-thirds of motorcycle wrecks in Texas ended in a critical injury or death of the motorcycle rider. In 2009, there were approximately 434 fatalities, which were 14 percent of all traffic deaths that year in the state. Also that year, a total of 5,800 motorcycle riders or passengers got injured. The catastrophic results of most motorcycle wrecks are due to proper protection for a motorcyclist and other riders. Your normal car, just by the way it’s built, gives its passengers considerably more protection when an accident occurs than a motorcycle does to its riders. Even the first-rate and well-built bikes from Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Harley-Davidson, Buell, Triumph and other motorcycle companies can’t stop major injuries from happening due to what would be a minor motorcycle accident just because there’s no outer shell to protect those on the motorcycle.

Because of these differences, many people don’t understand that motorcycle accidents also require a different approach in the legal world. Most car accident claims can be dealt with without either party needing legal assistance, but there are few instances when a motorcycle defect claim doesn’t need the help of a veteran Texas defective motorcycle attorney. Because of the increased chances of major injury and possible death, the total financial amount at stake will lead an insurer to aggressively fight any claims filed by the accident victim or grieving family. Without the help of a solid Texas motorcycle defect lawyer, those victims may not be aware of the extent of their claim and may fall prey to take a small settlement. If you don’t have an attorney watching over you constantly, you may be taken advantage of by companies that are concerned with their own interests and could care less about yours.

Texas Motorcycle Injury Accidents

Motorcycle wrecks can lead to all sorts of injuries. Sometimes there are just cuts and bruises, but then are life-threatening injuries including brain trauma or spinal cord injuries. Often you’ll hear about road rash, which is a common, but minor, injury. If it’s gone untreated, though, that can quickly lead to infection and get worse. Like any personal injury lawsuit, it’s critical for those injured to get immediate medical help so their case isn’t damaged because they didn’t take proper steps quick enough. Going back to the road rash - If someone hurt in a motorcycle wreck doesn’t get medical attention for that quick enough and the rash then mutates into a life-threatening infection, the individual or companies that caused the accident can’t face any discipline for that infection.

Serious injuries that also can occur on motorcycles include broken and fractured bones. Because motorcycles have no covering, riders and passengers are thrown from a motorcycle and sent hurling onto the ground. That speed and impact with the ground leads to broken arms, legs, or fractured bones. Those injuries require medical attention (which cost money), but those injured will also financial burdens since the loss of mobility will hinder their ability to earn money. When a Texas personal injury lawsuit is filed, those hurt in a motorcycle accident can get compensated for income lost.

Major motorcycle injuries may also cause disfigurement, spinal cord injuries or brain trauma. Each issue can lead to incurable conditions that also need constant medical assistance. Burn injuries can lead to severe pain and trauma for a victim, along with obvious disfigurement. There can be lasting emotional and psychological trauma left by scars covering the face, hands, legs, neck or back. A person’s overall quality of life can also be severely altered when there’s loss of limbs like arm and leg amputations. If a personal injury lawsuit is filed in Texas, those effected can get compensated for these matters and have a better chance to heal and handle these injuries.

State law also requires that anyone younger than 21 must wear a helmet while on a motorcycle. Those older than 21 can choose not to wear a helmet as long as they’ve completed a Texas motorcycle rider training course or have proof health insurance. Debate has raged for decades about the pros and cons of motorcyclists having helmets, but it’s hard to argue against the positives of wearing helmets. The worst motorcycle injuries - brain trauma and with spinal cords - can be avoided by simply wearing a helmet. Injuries like these can lead to paralysis and often mean the person injured will need constant care for the rest of their life. The degree of such an injury will also mean that medical bills will pile up at an alarming rate. Those who’ve been involved in serious motorcycle accident injuries may be just the people who need wise legal assistance to examine what their choices are so they can get the proper compensation to help them with their soaring medical expenses that come with brain trauma and spinal cord injuries.

When you break down the level of injury that was sustained, those hurt will need help sometimes for just a day, month, years or a lifetime. That care will include medical costs that can be in the thousands and sometimes millions of dollars. Unfortunately, insurance companies will aggressively fight those instances where they have to pay out huge policies to victims who truly need them. Without the help of a qualified Texas motorcycle defect lawyer there to be with you and take charge with protecting your interests, you may end up choosing a settlement far below what your case deserves.

Fatal Motorcycle Accidents in Texas

Every day a fatal motorcycle accident happens in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Look at this fact from a different perspective: Every day a family in Texas loses a loved one because of a fatal motorcycle crash. If you’ve been among those dealing with the traumatic moments of losing someone in a Texas fatal motorcycle accident, our Texas wrongful death attorneys can help you in gathering facts from an accident scene so everyone who liable can be discovered and held accountable. When an accidental death happens because of someone else’s poor choices, the family members and other loved ones are within their rights to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the business or individuals responsible to get compensation for both wrongful death damages and survival damages.

One family member may pursue survival damages on behalf of the motorcyclist who was killed, but numerous family members may pursue wrongful death damages for the financial losses they’ve been death because of that person’s loss. It should be noted that several wrongful death lawsuits aren’t followed up on for specifically seeking monetary damages. Compensation is a key part of any wrongful death lawsuit and can help hurting families deal with the financial burdens faced during a loss of someone, but wrongful death lawsuits also are a tool used to hold those responsible accountable for their decisions. Prior to issuing a lawsuit, a hurting family can reach out to a fatal motorcycle accident attorney in Texas so they can get an independent investigation done to determine which liable parties were involved in the fatal bike accident. The Texas motorcycle defect lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have 20 years of experience in investigating defects in motorcycles that led to major accidents. We know how to break down and examine difficult vehicle accident scenes and know how to look even closer to totally discover who all is responsible for your loved one’s death. Through our hard work and your assistance, we can make sure all those liable are brought to justice for creating such a painful and traumatic tragedy.

Drunk Driving Motorcycle Accidents in TX

Just like with drunk driver wrecks involving cars, drunk driving motorcycle accidents can lead to lawsuits being filed against bars or restaurants. Thanks to the Texas dram shop law, a bar or other establishment that over-serves alcohol to a customer can be found partially responsible for a drunk driving accident when that customer passes the .08 BAC level, then leaves and harms themselves or other citizens. For example, a first party dram shop cause of action can occur if a motorcyclist is drunk, then wrecks their bike and is injured. A third party dram shop cause of action occurs when a drunk driver in a car hits someone on a motorcycle. In both matters, if the drunk driver was intoxicated because of being over-served at the bar or restaurant they were at before the accident, then the person injured can seek damages from the business that served the alcohol. In a third party dram shop cause of action, the person injured can get compensation from the driver and the negligent business. These same guidelines apply when it comes to wrongful death cases. Anyone who’s not experienced in handling these cases will have a difficult time will face problems when trying to prove a person was over-served at a bar before a drunk motorcycle accident happened. The Texas drunk driving accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have two decades of experience in drunk driving accident cases in this state. We are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the Texas dram shop law and can assist in making sure all those involved are held responsible for their actions.

Adjuster and Jury Bias in Texas Motorcycle Accident Cases

Motorcycle riders can encounter biases when it comes to their accidents they have. Often, the general public stereotypes motorcyclists as wild, crazy and reckless, which then lead insurance adjusters and defense attorneys to only play into this with jurors so they can paint a picture of the motorcyclist being the primary reason for their own accident. That means veteran insurance adjusters will take this stereotype and use it to put the blame squarely on the motorcyclist. If an adjuster can sway a judge or jury to believe it’s the motorcyclist who’s primarily at fault, then that adjuster could eventually save his or her company a ton of money.

The sad part is that even if a motorcyclist was critically injured in a Texas motorcycle wreck, an adjuster will do everything within their power to deny that claim even when that motorcyclist needs to get fairly compensated. This is why any motorcycle rider who’s been injured should reach out to a Texas motorcycle lawyer before trying to handle their claim or case by themselves. With so much at stake (that can be geared to paying past and impending medical bills, property damage costs, loss of income, pain and turmoil), choosing to self-represent or go with sub-par legal assistance is a decision you can’t make. By getting help from the Texas defective motorcycle attorneys at Grossman Law Offices, we can fight off any possible biases that an adjuster or defense attorney may try and use against you or a loved one.

Our motorcycle accident attorneys realize that the majority of motorcyclists are safe individuals. They like to take their hogs for a spin on lovely weekends, or travel to fun rallies each year. Thousands throughout the state favor motorcycles for their primary transportation simply because of how cost effective they are. People like these take their own safety into account, as well as their passengers’ and others nearby while they’re riding. But to try and just say an individual involved in a motorcycle accident has always been known as a safe driver won’t fly with a judge or jury. Pertinent evidence from the motorcycle accident scene must be gathered and handled in a fashion that will allow it to be used in a trial. By using these materials, plus eyewitness testimony (and those of experts, when needed), our lawyers can help you handle the burden or proof that comes with showing a negligent party caused your wreck. Without having those facts and pieces of evidence, your statements have zero credibility and will not result in any form of compensation. Evidence is essential if you want to fight off biases that are being thrown at a motorcycle accident victim.

Aggressive Insurance Adjusters

As mentioned before, insurance adjusters involved in motorcycle accident claims could lose tons of money for their company if those claims are eventually given to victims. That’s not the outcome they want, even if a victim truly deserves compensation. Sometimes they are bonuses or raises awaiting if adjusters can save their company money. So there are cases when an adjuster may have selfish motives involved in their job that overpower their desire to do the right thing and help someone who’s been injured, or help a grieving family. That will then lead them to use certain tricks to deny a claim or make sure it becomes much smaller.

For example, an adjuster will try and pin as much blame as they can on anything else except for their client. If the bulk of the liability can be put on a motorcycle accident victim, then the claim will be tossed out. If blame can be shifted to numerous entities, then the adjuster’s client will end up paying far less in compensation. As a result, insurance adjusters will become aggressive and do whatever it takes to take as much blame off their client as they can. They’ll throw tons of questions at a motorcycle accident victim, hoping to cause issues with the facts they remember about the case. Errors like that will be recorded and later used against them to question their validity when it comes to recalling the accident. One other issue is that if an insurance company’s defense team has done an in-depth investigation of the accident scene (and the plaintiff has neglected to have one done for their benefit), an adjuster can use the evidence compiled to build an open-and-shut case against the person injured in a motorcycle wreck. Without critical evidence to support your claims, your chances of refuting claims against you will be very small.

Another circumstance that illustrates this kind of aggressiveness: Sometimes adjusters will give a victim or a hurting family a quick payment. Usually with this payment comes papers that a victim has to sign in order to get this money. This is done however with cost-efficiency in mind. The figure is usually done with a lowball offer in mind that will sound great at the time to a victim that desperately needs money quickly. By taking the money, that victim also at the same time has probably signed away their chances to sue those liable for their injuries. That means that if an insurance adjuster can contact a motorcycle accident victim before they get the chance to get help from a qualified Texas motorcycle accident lawyer, then that adjuster has greater odds at settling this case for as small an amount as possible. If a claim isn’t totally thrown out, then this is the Plan B they usually turn to.

Do I Need a Texas Motorcycle Accident Attorney?

There are countless reasons why you should call Texas motorcycle defect lawyer Michael Grossman if you’ve been injured because of a motorcycle defect or lost a loved one due to a fatal motorcycle accident in the Lone Star State:

• We understand Texas vehicle accident law. With 20 years of experienced involved in 18-wheeler wrecks, car accidents and motorcycle crashes, we know what to pay attention to and who to look for when it comes to any kind of wreck in Texas.
• We also help you obtain proper medical compensation. Often minor motorcycle wrecks can cause serious to major injuries. That means that detailed medical attention will be needed, which then leads to huge medical bills.
• We’ve developed quite a track record as a respected Texas wrongful death law firm. In the past two decades, we’ve been there for many families during tough times so they can see justice is reached against those liable for the death of their loved ones.
• We have additional experience in drunk driving accident cases in the state. Our lawyers are well-versed in dram shop law and are ready to go through the grueling challenges that await so negligent bars and other establishments are held accountable for their choices.
• We are aware of the technical details that come with motorcycle wrecks, especially those involving defective parts. When needed, we get help from experts who can provide expert testimony in specific cases.
• We know that there’s a quiet bias about motorcyclists that is pervasive in some cases. We will patiently and diligently show the truth and the facts surrounding a motorcycle accident to a judge and jury so those liable will be held responsible for the accident.
• *We have acquired a great reputation among aggressive insurance adjusters and defense attorneys. We’ve basically gone up against every major insurer in the United States, and they know our firm and respect it.
• We can help guard you against being manipulated by huge insurance companies. When the Texas motorcycle defect law firm of Grossman Law Offices is hired, we become the only party that deals with insurance adjusters. Since they know they can’t get away with sleazy tactics with our lawyers, we’re able to aggressively defend your rights in any instance.

With extensive knowledge, a proven track record, and a hard-earned reputation, Texas motorcycle accident lawyer Michael Grossman and his Texas defective motorcycle accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices are ready to be there for you during this ordeal. To discover what your legal options are exactly, dial us toll-free at 1-855-338-0170 for a free legal consultation.