Waco Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Waco Motorcycle Accident Attorney Michael Grossman Discusses a Motorcyclist’s Rights Following a Bike Crash

Can you believe that there are over 400,000 motorcycles on the roads of Texas? So of course the chances of accidents occurring are high. Wrecks of motorcycles in Texas can occur for a variety of reasons, ranging from simple negligence by a car driver who hits them, to drunk drivers who run the motor bikers over.

If you have had the misfortune of injuries in a motorcycle accident in Waco, you know your rights under the law, yes? Probably not. If you have lost a loved one due to a fatal motorcycle accident, are you aware of the legal means at its disposal to get justice? Who would be? It’s not something many people have to deal with. The following article from Waco motorcycle accident attorney Michael Grossman and Grossman Law Offices will help you answer these questions, providing relevant information on wrecks of motorcycles in Texas. With two decades of experience in the Texas injuries and cases of wrongful death, Waco motorcycle accident lawyer Michael Grossman can help you through this difficult time.

Why A Motorcycle Accident Is a Unique Tragedy

A motorcycle accident scene offers you an easy to see guide to the differences between car accidents and motorcycle wrecks. Motorcycle accidents often result in more serious injuries and a greater likelihood of death. In fact, according to our Texas Department of Transportation (TDOT), something like two-thirds of all motorcycle accidents in Texas end in serious injury or death to the motorcyclist. There were 434 fatal motorcycle accidents in 2009, representing 14 percent of all road fatalities in Texas for that year. In addition, there were full 5,800 motorcycle riders or passengers injured in 2009. The devastating results of motorcycle accidents are much easier to understand because of the lack of protection for a rider and / or their passengers. A passenger vehicle by nature of its design and construction, offers much greater protection in the event of an accident than a motorcycle would.

Unfortunately many people do not see that this difference leads to a significant difference in how such incidents should be handled in the legal world. For example, while typical car accident claims can be handled without any of the parties probably needing assistance of a lawyer it is a rare occasion when a motorcycle accident doesn’t need the guidance of a law firm experienced in motorcycle accident law in Texas. Because of the increased risk of serious injury or death, the amount of compensation that may be involved cause an insurer to fight aggressively against the interests of an injured victim or a family to survive. Without the help of an experienced Waco motorcycle accident attorney, a victim will not understand the full value of their claims, and may be likely to accept a lowball offer.

Texas Motorcycle Injury Accidents

Motorcycle accidents can cause a wide range of injuries. Motorcycle accident injuries can be mild, such as bruises and scratches or cuts, to life-threatening, such as head trauma or injury to the spinal cord. Road rash is a common minor lesion. However, if a road rash is not treated in the right amount of time, the injury can worsen from the infection. As is the case with all personal injury trials, it is important that the victim received medical attention so their claim does not suffer from a lack of them not mitigating the damage. For example, if a motorcycle accident victim does not seek medical help for Road Rash and the infection becomes a life-threatening, the party or parties responsible for motorcycle accidents can not be responsible for the infection from the untreated injury. It’s on you to get treated.

Serious motorcycle accident injuries are broken bones and fractures. As the nature of a motorcycle is not enclosed, the drivers and passengers are often ejected from the motorcycle and was thrown to the concrete. The brute force of such a collision with the ground often leads to broken arms, broken legs and fractures. Although these injuries require medical attention with subsequent medical costs, the victim of a motorcycle accident with a broken bone can also suffer financial losses due to loss of mobility, which could seriously compromise their ability to earn a living. Through the personal injury claims law in someone injured on a motorcycle may claim compensation for lost wages.

Serious motorcycle injuries include disfigurement, spinal cord and traumatic brain injury. Each of these injuries can lead to medical conditions requiring round-the-clock medical care. Burns can occur causing both pain and suffering for a sacrifice and disfigurement. The scars on the face, hands, legs, neck or spine can leave permanent reminders of a harrowing ordeal. The loss of members, such as amputation of the arm, or leg amputation, can seriously reduce the quality of a person's life. In addition, each of these issues can cause a victim to suffer extreme emotional duress.

Texas law requires that motorcycle helmet are worn by people under 21 while riding a motorcycle. 21 year olds and older have the opportunity to wear a helmet, as long as they have completed a motorcycle rider training course or can prove to have medical insurance. While the arguments for and against motorcyclists to wearing helmets have been going on for years, the benefits of helmet use is difficult to be refuted. The most serious injury motorcycle accidents, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury can be avoided by the use of a motorcycle accident. These injuries can cause paralysis and often results in a life-changing medical condition that requires constant attention. With such a serious injury is substantial medical debt.

Depending on the severity of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, the victim may require medical attention for days, months, years, or life. This observation is involved in medical expenses, you can begin to thousands or millions of dollars. Thus, any insurance have to pay exorbitant amount, even justly deserves, and they will defend their policies with great zeal. Without the help of experienced Waco motorcycle accident injury attorney on your side, who can be just as aggressive to protect you rights, you might settle your claim for a lot less than what your case is probably valued at.

Those who have suffered a serious motorcycle accident injury can be the need to find a good Waco motorcycle accident attorney to review your legal options, so the full and fair compensation could be sought which can help cover the astronomical medical expenses often associated with traumatic brain injury and spinal cord problems.

Deadly Motorcycle Accidents in Waco

Texas Department of Transportation reports that a fatal motorcycle accident in Texas happens every day. This sobering fact sounds even worse like this: A family loses a loved one every day, somewhere in Texas due to a fatal motorcycle accident.

If you had the unfortunate tragedy of losing a loved one in a motorcycle accident in Texas, our Waco motorcycle accident injury attorneys can help you discover the truth about the accident scene, making sure each responsible party can be properly identified and brought to justice for their negligent behavior. When an accidental death occurs due to the negligence of another party, the surviving members of the family have the right to bring a civil action for the wrongful death against the negligent party or parties to claim compensation for damage to both death damages and survival damages.

Although only one family member can seek damages on behalf of the motorcyclist survival damages, several members of the family can claim damages for wrongful death when they suffer financial losses due to the death of their loved one. However, many causes for wrongful death are pursued in order to apply specifically to compensation. While compensation is a necessary part of the process of such a claim, and works to help bereaved families dealing with financial losses experienced in the wake of the loss of a loved one, wrongful death claims also serve to share responsibility among all liable parties for their actions. Before accepting any settlement, a grieving family should contact an experienced Waco motorcycle accident injury attorney, so that an independent investigation is carried out, which can be used to investigate the deadly accident, so that all parties are held responsible. Each party will then be named for their special role in causing or contributing to a deadly accident.

In the case of death, trained Waco motorcycle accident attorneys like the ones at Grossman Law Offices have two decades of experience in the investigation of a fatal accident scene. So, we are able to understand the complex scenes of road accidents, and know when to dig deeper to ensure that all parties responsible for the loss of a loved one can be found. Thanks to these efforts, we can work together to ensure that negligent parties to justice, and I will make a lot of pain and loss.

DUI Motorcycle Accidents in TX

As in drunk driver accident involving cars, motorcycle accidents caused by drunk driving can lead to a lawsuit filed against the bar or restaurant that was negligent. Due to the DRAM shop law in Texas, a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol, excessively to a patron so as to exceed the 0.08 blood alcohol level, when that patron then causes damage to themselves or others, the bar or restaurant can be held partially responsible for the drunk driving wreck. For example, if a drunk biker wrecks causing injury to themselves the bar that over-served him can be held responsible. The same is true if a drunk driver hits the motorcyclist. In both cases, if the drunk driver was intoxicated due to alcohol abuse is served at the bar or restaurant before causing the accident, the injured party may seek compensation for negligent service of alcohol.

A case dram shop case can also involve when am injured party seeks compensation from both the drunk driver and negligent bar or restaurant. The same question also applies to cases of wrongful death. Proving that a person has been served more alcohol in a bar before a drunken motorcycle accident can be a challenge for those without prior experience in proving such cases. The Waco motorcycle accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices have 20 years experience in drunk driving accidents in Texas. We have a comprehensive knowledge of DRAM shop laws in Texas and can help ensure that all responsible parties are held accountable for their negligence.

Motorcycle Defects

Another source of motorcycle accidents are mechanical failures due to lack of maintenance or products that have defects. Most cars have some sort of service that recommends tune ups, or that alerts the driver to problems. But as the old saying goes, when something goes wrong on a motorcycle, it will definitely go very, very wrong. When the bikes work well, they are very fragile, requiring a significant contribution of effort to control it by the driver. When mechanical failure occurs, the driver can quickly lose control of the bike, and unfortunately, it is less likely the bike will only be able to coast along the road in these conditions.

Even the bikes the most well-designed and built such as your Harley-Davidson, Buell, Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, and other motorcycle manufacturers can not prevent serious damage caused by a motorcycle accident.

Product Liability

Although rare, some bikes come with the drawbacks due to poor design or engineering. Many others are simply negligent manufactured so that a vital component fails in the real world costs and expenses that come with their intended use. A brake line fails, a bearing gets loose, a drive cable breaks, etc. can all cause catastrophic damage. In the event that such an error results in injury or death of a motorcyclist, Texas law allows victims to file liability complaints against the product manufacturer. In some cases, several parties can be accused. For example, if a motorcycle is sold by a particular manufacturer, and some components (a brake caliper for example) fail, a producer or seller of the motorcycle and supplier of each part is responsible. It obviously depends whether the extent of the negligence of both parties which is difficult to determine.

Products liability law for motorcycles involves complex legal issues, and you can not base a portion of your claim on speculation, you must obtain and retain a significant amount of evidence. You just telling the jury "It's a broken throttle cable" is not enough. Applicants must demonstrate that failure is the result of negligence on the part of the manufacturer, and it is therefore essential that the precise cause of error is detected. To succeed in such an application, a detailed assessment of failed components of a qualified engineer, will supplement the expert report detailing the exact nature of the error. In addition, motorcycles and all accessories should be stored so they can be used as evidence in the trial.

Through the use of such evidence, in addition to evidence (and expert testimony if necessary), our lawyers help you carry the burden of proof by showing how a party negligence was to blame for your accident. Without such evidence, your words will seem empty. Evidence is needed to refute the imbalances that may be working against a victim of motorcycle accident.

Most liability claims that do not materialize because the person filing the complaint did not sufficiently document and preserve the evidence to support his claim. Someone who is not a lawyer simply does not have sufficient knowledge of the procedural issues discussed in this case to adequately represent their own case. The product liability cases are even more than most lawyers are equipped to handle, and we recommend that you do not try to put a person to lead a products liability action who has no experience.

Buying Used, Bad Repairs and Shoddy Maintenance

Shoddy maintenance services at a repair shop can also contribute to serious injury. Again, when something goes wrong in a car, the car can often limp back to the shop where it can be repaired. However, mechanical failure on a motorcycle because of poor maintenance can cause a catastrophic incident resulting in serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, not all repair shops bike hire well-qualified technicians. A mechanic who is not industrious can make a mistake that leads to failure. In such cases, a negligence action brought against the mechanical shop in question.

Some things are not the result of mechanical control at all. In some cases, even a private seller or formal dealer knowingly sells a motorcycle which is in poor mechanical condition. We know that some go so far as to hide the extent of the bad conditions. For example, our company was recently contacted by the gentleman who purchased a motorcycle from a dealer. It was a used model. When riding a motorcycle at home, the buyer has discovered that the bike does not behave properly. Fortunately, he took a motorcycle repair shop for inspection before he had an accident or injury. The workshop soon learned that the control yoke was fractured, the radiator was improperly installed, and the frame was compromised and cracked, and disguised with putty filler and spray paint. In short, this was an already destroyed motorcycle that the dealership made cosmetic repairs on and sold as if it were in good condition. Without legal help from his side to defend their interests at any time, he could have been exploited by an opposition that works for its own sake, not the injured parties.

Not only does this violate the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, this bike could easily have claimed the life of the buyer. In this case, of course, the dealership that sold the bike would be responsible for their negligence, misleading practices and trying to sell a motorcycle can be dangerous, all of which would involve punitive damages.

Insurance Adjusters are Not Your Friend

Innocent motorcycle riders may face bias in the context of a motorcycle accident. The general public may have picked up the idea of bikers as a group of wild, reckless in manner and very much uncontrolled. The insurance adjusters and defense attorneys will be able to stoke the fire of this bias that the jury may be compelled to see a motorcyclist injured more often complicit in his own accident. In other words, insurance experts play on this false perception as much as possible to blame the motorcyclist. After all, if an adjustor can compel a judge or a jury to essentially see a motorcyclist as to blame for their own wreck, it will likely save their company a substantial amount of money.

Unfortunately, while a motorcyclist is seriously injured due to a motorcycle accident in Texas, an insurance adjuster will probably still work to have a claim denied despite the obvious need for a motorist hurt chances of receiving fair compensation. This is a major reason why any injured rider would do well to consider talking to a Waco motorcycle accident attorney before trying to manage their plea on their own. With much to lose any compensation (which can be put to such matters as past and future medical bills, costs of property damage, lost wages, pain and suffering), the decision to work alone or with inexperienced legal representation is a bad idea. With the help of legal counsel from the Waco motorcycle accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices you can take action against a jury bias and against aggressive adjustors.

Our Waco motorcycle accident lawyers understand that most motorcycle drivers are safe drivers. They enjoy riding their bike in a weekend or down through Hill Country or out on the open roads of West Texas. Thousands of Texans will appreciate the convenience of using a motorcycle as a primary means of transportation, especially given these gas prices. These riders will look out for their own safety, the safety of passengers' and the safety of those around them while riding the bike. However, simply telling the judge or the jury that the motorcyclist who was involved in an accident is known to be a safe driver is not sufficient evidence to convince a judge or jury. Relevant evidence at the scene of an accident must be in motion, and this evidence was properly so that it is admissible in court.

Moreover, if one of the defense lawyers or insurance adjusters conducted a thorough investigation of the accident scene (and the plaintiff has failed to conduct a study on their own behalf), an insurance adjuster can use these evidence to create a open and shut case against the victim of a motorcycle accident. If you offer no relevant evidence to support your story, you stand little or no chance of being able to rebut the allegations against you.

Aggressive Insurance Adjusters

As mentioned above, insurance adjustors who handle motorcycle accident claims, stand to lose a significant amount of money if such a case goes in favor of the victim. This is the last thing they want to happen, regardless of the actual needs of the victim adequate compensation. In some cases, a raise or bonus can be attached to the amount of money that an insurance adjuster can save their company. Thus, an insurance adjuster can work harder towards their own good, and the victim or the bereaved family be damned. As such, they are often used in a variety of tactics to deny or diminish a claim.

For example, an insurance adjuster will try to blame as much as possible of any other entity other than his client. If most of the blame can be placed in a motorcycle accident victim, the application will be rejected. If the blame can be placed into several parties, the client of the insurance adjustor pays less compensation. As a result, aggressive insurance adjusters do everything possible to divert blame to others. They have been known to badger the victim of a motorcycle accident with questions, hoping to cloud the victim's memory of an accident. These errors will be recorded and used convincingly against a victim in court to deny the validity of the memory of the accident victims in their testimony.

As another example of aggressive behavior such, an insurance adjuster offers an injured victim or surviving family a settlement. More often than not, this compensation comes with signing papers to receive this amount. But this tactic is a movement cleverly calculated taking into account only company profitability. The adjustors will most likely be a lowball offer, an amount that may be tempting to a victim who is in need of money quickly. But accepting such a settlement without mediation means that the victim also waives their right to file a lawsuit against those responsible for their damages and injuries. Essentially, if an adjustor comes to a victim of motorcycle accident, before the person has had the opportunity to discuss their legal options with an experienced Waco motorcycle accident attorney, the adjustor is often more likely to resolve the case for as little money as possible.

Do I Need a Waco Motorcycle Accident Attorney?

There are many reasons why you should consider contacting counsel for your Waco motorcycle accident. Attorney Michael Grossman can help you if you have been injured in a motorcycle wreck, or if you have lost a loved one due to a fatal motorcycle accident in Texas:

• We seek compensation for medical expenses. Even a relatively small motorcycle wrecks can cause serious injury. These injuries may require extensive medical attention due to, resulting in higher treatment costs.
  
  
• We understand the accident law in Texas. With 20 years of relevant experience examining semi truck wrecks, automobile accidents and motorcycle accidents, we know what and above all, how to seek compensation for motor vehicle accidents in Texas of all types.
  
  
• We have proven track record in wrongful death lawsuit in Texas. In the last 20 years we have walked many families through difficult times.
  
  
• We are aware of the technical details involved in motorcycle accidents, including those caused by defective parts. When necessary, seek the help of experts who can provide valuable evidence of experts, in some cases.
  
  
• We have extensive experience in drunk driving accidents in Texas. Our lawyers understand the dram Shop Law. We can hold negligent bars and restaurants in accountable for their actions.
  
  
• We are working hard against the insurance adjusters and we have an aggressive reputation against defense lawyers. In fact, we met almost all major insurance companies in the country in court. They know us and they fear us.
  
  
• We know that the undercurrent of prejudice against motorcyclists. We try to show the judge or jury through the relevant evidence, the case's truth, that the motorcycle accident can happen to even the most responsible riders.

We can help you avoid being taken advantage of an insurance company. When the Waco motorcycle accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices are hired, we become the entity that deals exclusively with an insurance adjuster. Because they know they won’t be able to take advantage of our attorneys, they run. They know we are able to fight more aggressively for our clients rights at all times.

Waco motorcycle accident attorney Michael Grossman and his Waco motorcycle accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices are ready to help you and your loved ones at this difficult time. For more information on all of your legal options, contact us today toll-free 1-855-338-0170.