While only around 2 percent of registered vehicles in Georgia are motorcycles, about 11 percent of traffic fatalities are motorcycle riders. This is partly due to a lack of safety features on motorcycles – while car riders have airbags and seatbelts to keep them safe, a biker can easily be ejected from their bike, resulting in severe injuries.
However, motorcycle fatalities in the state have also increased in recent years, rising 22 percent from 2017 to 2019. Even more people suffer non-fatal injuries in motorcycle crashes, and some may be very serious.
Common injuries in motorcycle crashes include:
- Broken bones. It’s easy to suffer a fracture when you’re violently thrown from your bike in an accident. Broken arms, legs, hands, feet, and even ribs often happen in these accidents and can lead to months of painful recovery and time off work.
- Road rash. The name is something of a misnomer – road rage isn’t a rash but a stripping or breaking of the skin due to contact with the pavement or ground. Large areas of skin may be scraped off from the impact, and in some cases, gravel or debris might be embedded in the wounds. Prompt medical treatment and debridement at a hospital can reduce but not eliminate the risk of scarring. Wearing heavy clothes and boots designed for motorcycle riding can help prevent road rash in some situations.
- Head injuries or traumatic brain injury (TBI). One of the best ways to reduce the risk of head injuries and their severity is to always wear a helmet when you ride. A properly-fitting helmet can reduce the risk of death by 37 percent and the risk of head injury by 69 percent. However, serious head injuries are still possible, especially in crashes where at least one vehicle moves at a high speed. Some patients recover fully, but others may have long-term issues after a brain injury, like difficulty with speech, movement disorders, cognitive or memory problems, chronic headaches, mood or personality changes, epilepsy, and other neurological problems.
- Face and eye injuries. These commonly co-occur with head injuries and may include facial fractures or foreign debris in the eyes. In some cases, the rider might even suffer permanent scarring or vision loss. The best way to reduce the risk is to choose a helmet carefully – a full-face helmet offers the most protection, including shielding your eyes and face.
- Back, neck, and spine injuries. In severe cases, a back injury can lead to permanent paralysis and disability. In other situations, a back or neck injury could cause chronic pain, which may interfere with work and leisure activities. Even soft tissue injuries like whiplash don’t always heal fully and might require extended treatment.
- Internal injuries. Sometimes, when a rider is ejected from their bike, they suffer internal bleeding or bruising, which could require surgery.
Do You Need a Kennesaw Motorcycle Accident Attorney?
If you or a loved one have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you will likely have medical bills and may have missed some time at work. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could be looking at months of recovery time and possibly permanent disability or disfigurement.
The at-fault driver’s insurance should pay for these and other damages, but unfortunately, the insurance adjuster won’t be eager to pay the total value of your claim. In many cases, the insurance company undervalues the injured person’s damages, or they simply refuse to pay at all.
A motorcycle accident attorney will work to protect your rights and fight to obtain all the compensation you need for your recovery.
What if the Other Driver Claims You Were At Fault?
Unfortunately, this is one of the more common issues we see in motorcycle accident cases. In general, it’s not unusual for an at-fault driver to blame the other party.
In motorcycle accidents, sometimes the other driver has an idea that motorcyclists are “reckless,” and may imply that the biker was speeding or driving carelessly. Of course, the reality is that most motorcyclists are very careful drivers who appreciate the increased risk they face in an accident and do their best to avoid collisions.
Don’t Forget About the Insurance Adjuster
The other driver isn’t necessarily your only problem, either. In fact, even when the other driver admits fault, their insurance company can still say you were partly to blame. In Georgia, both drivers can be partially responsible for an accident or injury, but the more responsible party is considered liable.
If you are at least 50 percent responsible, you can’t collect any damages from the other driver, but if you are less than 50 percent to blame, you can. Your damages will be reduced by your own percentage of fault.
This is a system called modified comparative fault, which allows injured people to collect damages even if they made a small mistake that contributed to an accident. But it does have one drawback – insurance adjusters understand the system and will exploit it every chance they get.
They aim to either avoid paying the claim entirely or to pay as little as possible. If the adjuster argues that you were partly at fault, they can justify paying a lower amount or none at all if they can make a case that you were more than 50 percent responsible.
Here’s an example: Let’s say a car driver pulls out of a parking lot in front of your motorcycle, causing a collision. This is a very common cause of motorcycle accidents.
The driver admits they pulled out in front of you but says they didn’t see you. This is also a frequent occurrence with bike crashes.
The police will probably cite the other driver for failing to observe the right of way. You exchange insurance information and get medical care for your injuries.
In a situation like this, you might think it would be easy to secure compensation from the other driver’s insurance company. However, the insurance adjuster may look at your claim and start asking questions.
What was the weather like? Was it a cloudy day? Was it nighttime? Did you have your headlamp on?
The next thing you know, the insurance adjuster is saying that the driver didn’t see you because you didn’t use your headlight in a situation where you should have, and you are partly to blame for the accident.
It might not be true – you may have had your headlamp on. However, the insurance adjuster could have asked the other driver if they remembered seeing your headlight, and the driver might have said no because they didn’t bother to look both ways before turning.
In other cases, the insurance adjuster may call the injured motorcyclist and ask if they had their headlight on or what the weather was like. If the biker admits they don’t remember (which is not unusual after head injuries, surgery, or the use of strong prescription pain medication), the insurance adjuster may again blame the biker.
How Can You Prove That You Weren’t at Fault?
First, don’t talk to the insurance company’s adjuster before speaking with a lawyer. The above is only one of many examples of ways insurance adjusters can twist your words to fit the narrative that you were at least somewhat to blame.
We recommend contacting a motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible following your collision. While the insurance company is conducting its own investigation and trying to show you were at fault, our team will also investigate the accident, searching for evidence that you were not to blame or had a very low percentage of fault.
We’ll talk to witnesses, seek out video from doorbell or security cameras, request data from the vehicle’s event data recorder or EDR (most modern vehicles have them), and more.
Will Your Case Be Decided in Court?
Probably not. We’ll prepare to argue your case at trial, but most accident cases are resolved out of court.
Usually, once we explain the evidence in your case to the insurance adjuster, they don’t want to spend time and money arguing in court only to lose. Then, we can negotiate for a fair settlement that covers all your damages.
Get Help From a Kennesaw Motorcycle Accident Law Firm Today
When you’ve been hurt in a motorcycle accident, you need help with your medical bills and other damages, but the insurance company adjuster will look for every excuse not to pay. The sooner you get legal advice, the easier it will be to secure the settlement you deserve.
Please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free, confidential consultation. There is no obligation, and if we take your case, you won’t have to pay anything until we win or settle it.
Attorney Ali Awad founded the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm just a few years ago and has since turned it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country, recovering millions of dollars for injured people and their families. When he’s not negotiating with insurance companies or arguing a case in court, he can be found on social media, sharing informative yet entertaining posts about legal topics.
Work with the CEO Lawyer’s expert team by calling (470) 323-8779 today.
