By: Personal Injury Lawyer Kathy McArthur, 2024 Super Lawyers Cover Story attorney in Georgia (see image below) and a motorcycle accident lawyer since 1980
It is crucial for drivers to be vigilant and always check their surroundings before making a turn to prevent these types of accidents from occurring. Every year thousands of motorcycle riders die in highway crashes. Statistics show that solo riders are (by far) the largest identifiable category of bike riders, since the wrecks often happen where no one is available to try to help that crashed biker.
The Georgia State Patrol has a special unit to investigate a fatal motorcycle crash in GA if occurring on one state roadways or federal interstate highways. The National Safety Council gives this important information about motorcycle riders:
“The fatality rate decrease in 2022 is a result of a 21% increase in miles driven (see additional details below). Over the last 10 years, deaths have increased 32%, while death rates have increased 13%.”
If a Georgia motorcycle accident occurs, victims may find themselves facing significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges. In order to recover fully from their losses, the biker suffering motorcycle injury needs to hire legal counsel to file her or his motorcycle accident lawsuit.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately one-third of multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes occur when other drivers turn into the path of the motorcycle. This type of collision is particularly dangerous for motorcyclists, as they have less protection than drivers in enclosed vehicles.
If you are facing one of these situations, because our legal warriors provide a FREE consultation, and advance any and all costs to investigate and litigate cases a motorcycle accident lawyer at MLF can accept, call now to make sure you are not missing any statute of limitations, or other types of pre-suit legal notices. Since our Firm has over a century of legal experience, you can be assured that this no-cost interview will be worth your time.
When to File a Motorcycle Accident Claim to Get the Compensation You Deserve
If a crash happens, a motorcycle accident lawsuit may be needed for victims to get full compensation for their losses. By pursuing a civil lawsuit, victims can hold the at-fault party accountable for their actions and ensure that they receive the financial support they need to move forward with their recovery in a motorcycle lawsuit.
Understanding who is liable following a motorcycle accident and the problems that can surface in motorcycle accident lawsuits is crucial for motorcyclists and other road users. This article provides more insight into some of the many regulations and laws that are applicable after a crash.
When a fatality occurs, that deceased rider’s closest family members, under Georgia law, have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. For the states that refuse to require helmets to be worn, the chances of death for cyclists without helmets are exponentially higher. See this NHTSA quote from the 2021 study:
“In States without universal helmet laws, 55 percent of motorcyclists killed in 2021 were not wearing helmets, as compared to 9 percent in States with universal helmet laws.”
News reports commonly advise of the motorcycle rider not surviving when colliding with a larger vehicle, such as this news headline: Georgia 113 fatal motorcycle accident.
While personal injury lawsuits focus on recovering medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages resulting from the crash, the wrongful death legal action only focuses on the value of that deceased rider’s life. Under Georgia law, spouses and children are to be the recipients of any proceeds recovered by the deceased driver’s family, or (if no spouse or children) to other close relatives, if a motorcycle crash lawyer is retained to file and litigate that legal action in a timely manner.
Additionally, a successful lawsuit can help prevent similar accidents from happening in the future by promoting safer driving practices and holding negligent parties responsible for their actions. The costs of medical care after a motorcycle crash can be staggering, so your motorcycle accident law firm must be adept at finding ways to negotiate or settle those medical claims, if possible.
Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Near Me in Georgia
All drivers on the highway have a responsibility towards other road users, including those on motorcycles. When an accident happens, it’s crucial to ascertain if any driver breached their responsibility by not adhering to traffic regulations or driving their vehicle recklessly. Success in a motorcycle accident lawsuit depends on proving another motorist’s negligence caused the crash.
If a driver does not meet their legal obligations, they are deemed negligent according to the law. In the majority of states, a negligent driver is required to reimburse accident victims for:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income while recovering and possibly for diminished future earning capability.
- Physical and mental discomfort (also called “pain and suffering”)
- Psychological trauma created by the crash circumstances
- Damage to property
Insurance firms usually aim to identify the party liable for an accident. The insurer of the driver deemed at fault frequently proposes a one-time payment to the accident victim to resolve the case. If the insurance companies fail to agree on the fault or if the victim considers the settlement offer inadequate, it can lead to a motorcycle accident lawsuit.
Special considerations for fatal motorcycle crashes. When a driver fails to see or misjudges the speed of an oncoming motorcycle, it can lead to devastating consequences for the motorcyclist. These types of crashes often result in serious injuries or fatalities for the motorcyclist, highlighting the importance of increased awareness and caution from all road users.
Settlement Factors for Motorcycle Accident Lawsuits
Accident victims may need to file a lawsuit for a motorcycle accident, but most cases have a decent chance of settling when your lawyers present all the compelling evidence to support that recovery method. Most accident cases in America are settled outside of a courtroom, for certain.
A settlement takes place when a person injured in an accident agrees to accept a compensation offer from an insurance company, promising not to seek any further claims in return for the payment. Several factors will influence the value of each case, (whether at trial or by negotiating a fair and full pre-trial settlement amount), such as:
- Whether the accident was a result of multiple negligent parties or solely one driver’s fault
- If some fault is attributable to both vehicle operators, the degree of fault (if any is determined) by our potential client, in the roadway collision.
- The degree of damage caused by the accident, since our firm only handles grievous bodily injury (e.g., scarring, spinal injury, broken bones, brain injury, traumatic amputation) or fatality cases.
- The coverage limits available from the at-fault driver’s insurance policy or policies, since sometimes two drivers are jointly responsible.
In situations where both motorists share some blame, certain states (such as North Carolina) prohibit victims from filing any claim for accidents occurring within their jurisdiction. These states enforce stringent contributory negligence laws that deny victims any form of compensation if they were even minimally (1%) accountable for a motorcycle accident.
Most jurisdictions, though, have rules using comparative negligence guidelines. Such laws exist that permit accident victims to obtain a recovery but to have that case value number lowered somewhat if the motorcyclist was partly to blame. Alternatively, they could file a claim even if they were primarily at fault in states that adhere to pure comparative negligence, but Georgia is not that liberal.
Under Georgia tort laws, victims may be able to file a claim even if they are not more than 50% at fault. In the Peach State, if a jury finds the biker to have been more at fault than the other motorist, then zero recovery is possible. So, if our seriously injured biker had never bothered to obtain his Georgia motorcycle license, if that client had driven 50,000 miles already without any accidents, the lack of this license should never mean that the injured driver was 50% or more liable, just for that issue.
Under the comparative negligence system, a victim’s damages are diminished in proportion to their own degree of fault. For instance, a driver who was 10% at fault for the accident could potentially receive compensation for 90% of their losses.
Motorcycle Accident Case Defenses and Other Potential Legal Claims
In a motorcycle accident lawsuit, the injured party must establish the other driver’s fault. The burden of proof lies with the victim to establish fault and quantify the degree of loss for a successful outcome in a motorcycle accident litigation.
However, the defendant can employ several defenses (or barriers to compensation, as previously mentioned if the motorcyclist is largely to blame) to evade responsibility for damages. This short list lets you know why a skilled injury attorney near me is needed.
Some examples include:
- Not admitting fault or being unable to find witnesses or camera footage of the crash to show the other motorist’s dangerous driving: The other driver could try to argue that the motorcycle crash was in fact the fault of the motorcycle rider.
- Reduced damages: The driver might contend that the motorcyclist, who suffered severe injuries, exacerbated the accident due to their own driving behaviors (i.e., not wearing a helmet), thereby suggesting that the driver should not bear complete responsibility for such losses.
- Limitation Period for Filing Legal Actions: The driver might argue that too much time has elapsed since the incident, asserting that the limitation period has expired. In addition, certain pre-lawsuit “notices” must be sent to any type of governmental unit (city, county, etc.) if their government employee is the defendant, and was on the job.
Design Defects or Manufacturing Flaws: Product Liability Litigation
In some cases, a motorcycle accident is not the fault of any driver but occurs because of a manufacturer defects (or, sometimes a dealer repair error of some type), which is an unexpected problem with the motorcycle itself. This could happen if the brakes were faulty or installed incorrectly.
If such a “product defect” led to a crash, then your defendant is not another motorist. A product liability lawsuit goes against the manufacturer, or the dealer for that manufacturer, or both possibly.
Should a motorcycle accident be caused by a design flaw or manufacturing error, the injured party would have to file a product liability claim to seek damages. In such a motorcycle accident litigation, the injured party must demonstrate that they were harmed while using the product as it was meant to be used. Manufacturers can be held accountable for faulty products even without the injured party having to prove negligence in the design process.
Three (3) Reasons You Need to Talk with Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Near Me
Although you can handle your own case following a motorcycle mishap, a highly trained attorney will routinely secure a more substantial settlement for you. This is the first and best reason. In fact, having years of experience and resources to tap into for information on the value of these claims is what permits your legal professionals to get top-dollar awards in these cases without having the extra stress and costs of conducting trials.
Second, if we accept your case, you PAY NOTHING until we win your case. That means no fees unless we win and that our Firm advances all costs, which will be collected once the case is resolved.
Third, but not least, the call or in-person interview with our legal team is FREE, meaning that you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by contacting us.
A lawyer can assist in both settlement negotiations and in filing a lawsuit related to a motorcycle accident. Those affected by the crash should seek a legal representative with a history of handling motorcycle accident cases and a demonstrated record of successful claims for injured clients.
What are you waiting for? Call our national toll-free line, 1-855-WARRIOR or 1-855-927-7467.
