​How a Lawyer Can Help After Suffering a Brain Injury After a Motorcycle Accident?

Motorcyclists and their passengers are vulnerable to suffering from severe injuries in a traffic crash. Because motorcycles do not have the coverage that other passenger vehicles do, if a biker gets into an accident, they risk injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, concussions, and other head injuries.

Treating a brain injury can quickly get expensive. Paying for another driver’s negligence does not end after a victim gets out of the hospital. A brain injury can cause lasting effects, including permanent disability. In that case, the victim will be paying for the effects of the crash for months or years to come as they learn how to walk, deal with the emotional trauma, and cope with lost income.

A brain injury attorney can help you understand your rights after a motorcycle crash and help you recover compensation for your injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury after a motorcycle crash, contact a motorcycle accident attorney in your area immediately after an accident.

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Motorcycle Accident Statistics

Motorcycle safety is a concern for people across the country. According to the United States Department of Transportation, 5,579 motorcyclists lost their lives in traffic crashes across the nation in a recent year. In the same year, motorcyclist deaths accounted for nearly 15 percent of all traffic crash fatalities.

Motorcyclists who wore helmets while operating their bikes did not fare much better after an accident. The DOT reported that 60 percent of all fatally injured motorcyclists were not wearing helmets at the moment of impact. Helmet use was lower for passengers on motorcycles, at 40 percent.

Alcohol was a factor in many of the crashes that occurred in recent years. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or higher caused 672 deaths during the day and 764 deaths at night. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.15 percent or higher caused 422 deaths at night and 438 during the day.

Head Injuries Are the Most Common Injury in Motorcyclist Accidents

One NCBI study followed a cross-section of motorcyclists admitted to the hospital. They accounted for accident type, accident time, and injury pattern. The study found that head injuries are the most common type of injury for motorcyclists that get into traffic crashes.

The NCBI stated that motorcyclists were the most vulnerable groups of motorists and tended to become accident victims most commonly.

The NCBI reported:

• 4,205 motorcyclists went to the hospital after a crash
• Collisions between cars, pedestrians, and motorcyclists were the most common cause of injuries.
• Accidents between cars and motorcyclists accounted for 68 percent of all accidents studied.
• Accidents between pedestrians and motorcyclists accounted for 22 percent of all accidents studied.
• Head injuries accounted for 59.7 percent of the injuries for motorcyclists who needed hospitalization.
• 85.4 percent of the motorcyclists who lost their lives in the accidents studied suffered from severe head injuries.

Potential Injuries in a Motorcycle Accident

Motorcyclists are much more likely to suffer from serious injury than other motorists.

Motorcycles do not have the same protection as other passenger vehicles, so motorcyclists and their passengers are more vulnerable to severe injuries, including:

• Road rash
• Disfigurement
• Broken bones
• Facial fractures
• Burns
• Spinal cord injuries
• Amputations
• Paralysis
• Brain injuries

Brain injuries are a common type of injury motorcyclists may experience after a crash. Brain injuries can be expensive to treat, leaving the victim with life-long injuries.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a head injury that can leave the victim with a permanent disability. TBI happens due to blunt force trauma or a violent jolt to the head. After suffering from this injury, a patient may experience symptoms that can include unconsciousness, blurry vision, trouble concentrating, and confusion. TBI requires a medical diagnosis.

You will need emergency medical treatment after a hit to the head. The treatment you receive after a TBI depends on the severity of the harm. Some patients may require surgical or non-surgical treatment to properly heal from harm.

Surgical treatment for traumatic brain injuries helps the patient in emergencies. Examples of surgical treatment include placing a stent inside a patient’s skull to repair cracks and prevent further damage to the head and surgery to remove blood clots that can potentially detach and move to other areas of the body, placing the patient at risk of death.

Non-surgical medical treatment for traumatic brain injuries includes using medications to reduce pain and the risk of progressive injuries.

A TBI patient may receive some of the following medications to treat injuries that do not require surgical intervention:

• Muscle relaxers
• Diuretics
• Blood thinners
• Stimulants/steroids
• Antidepressants, anxiety medications, or other mental health medications

How Do You Calculate Brain Injury Damages?

Each motorcycle accident case is different. The facts of your case will determine how much your case is worth. An experienced motorcycle accident attorney can help you identify your damages and build your case to increase the possibility of receiving maximum compensation.

Factors that may increase the value of your traumatic brain injury claim may include:

• If your injuries were particularly severe. Typically, the more severe the injuries are and the greater the likelihood that the victim will suffer long-term effects, the more valuable the settlement.
• If you had a high income. If you are a high earner and are unable to work, it will likely increase the value of your claim,
• Long-term disabilities. If you have disabilities that are going to keep you from working, pursuing a career in your chosen field, or engaging in activities you once enjoyed, it will likely increase the value of your motorcycle accident claim.

Factors that may decrease the overall value of your settlement can include:

• Prior medical conditions may decrease the value of your settlement. If you have a previous head injury, insurance companies will argue that the crash was not the cause of your injuries or not the primary cause to reduce the amount of money they pay in a settlement.
• The state where you filed your claim. State law may limit the amount of money available in your claim. For example, some states may not permit recovery for punitive damages.

Settlement Negotiations

A motorcycle accident attorney can help you navigate settlement negotiations with the insurance company. Many insurance companies place their bets on accident victims wanting to resolve their cases and foregoing hiring legal counsel quickly. Insurance companies may offer a fast, lowball settlement to avoid paying out large claims that will cover a victim’s losses. When counsel represents a victim, insurance companies do not play those games.

Hire an Expert Witness to Explain Your Head Injury

Knowing the extent of your harm after a head injury can be difficult. After an accident, some motorcyclists make the mistake of refusing medical care after hitting their heads. That is a mistake. Anytime you rock your head, you may have suffered a brain injury.

The severity of some injuries may not be readily apparent. An accident attorney can enlist the services of an expert witness to substantiate your injury and the way in which it will affect your life. Expert witnesses are often vital at trial because they can thoroughly explain your harm to a jury and describe how the injury will affect your life moving forward.

Help You Focus Solely on Recovery

There is a two-prong recovery process after a motorcycle accident. Injury victims must recover physically and financially. The physical recovery part of a brain injury is tough enough. You may need to recover from surgery, adjust to new medication, or participate in physical therapy and rehabilitation. That is enough work for you to do.

An accident attorney will take the burden of pursuing financial recovery off you.

Your attorney and their team will handle the legal side of things. They will ensure that your case complies with all applicable state and local procedural rules, so a judge does not dismiss it.

Help You Tell Your Story

As your case progresses, you will be required to tell your story to a lot of people. Many people tend to downplay their injuries after an accident. Victims want to appear stoic and strong. Your attorney will help you highlight the areas of your story that are the most compelling so an insurance adjuster, a judge, or a jury can see how much the accident has affected your life.

Prepare You for Trial

If your case does not settle during negotiations with the insurance company, it will move forward and go to trial. The thought of a civil trial can be overwhelming, especially if it is your first time being at trial. Plaintiffs that represent themselves tend to have a more difficult time getting the compensation they need – if they can obtain any compensation at all.

Get Quality Legal Advice

Having a motorcycle attorney means avoiding endless online searches about your legal rights. A communicative attorney knows you will have questions while your case is pending. If you ask your attorney, you can trust that you will receive the correct information to make informed decisions about your motorcycle accident case.

How to Choose the Best Motorcycle Accident Attorney?

Choosing the best legal team is essential for the success of your case. The best way to choose the right legal team is to review the attorney’s qualifications and assess how well you will work together. Here are some things to look for as you choose an attorney:

Experience

An experienced attorney can get you the best results on your claim. You will need an attorney experienced in handling motorcycle claims. They will know the unique challenges that you will face and the arguments insurance companies will income against your claim.

The Attorney’s Track Record

Check the attorney’s track record for successful outcomes in motorcycle crash cases. You can find this information by speaking to past clients, reading client reviews, talking to loved ones who have used the attorney previously, or asking the attorney about their experience during your initial consultation.

Make Sure You Feel Comfortable Working With the Attorney’s Team

Most civil cases, including motorcycle accident claims, take a long time to conclude. You want to ensure you have a legal team you feel comfortable communicating and sharing parts of your life with. Think about it; these people will review your medical records and learn more about you. You should feel good about your team.

Make Sure You Agree to the Attorney’s Payment Structure

Different attorneys have different payment structures, which often depend on the type of case. For civil accident cases, many attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee agreement works by allowing a client to defer payment for legal fees until the end of the case and ensuring that they can obtain legal representation regardless of their ability to pay.

Most contingency fee agreements let clients avoid paying a fee unless they obtain a settlement or an award at trial. Lawyers usually take a percentage of the final settlement as payment for their services. Speak to your attorney regarding the details of this payment arrangement.

Contact a Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today

You need an attorney if you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a motorcycle accident. There is no reason to try to face the legal process alone, and trying can easily result in getting far less than your case is worth.

Retaining the best legal team means you are in the best position to get maximum results from your motorcycle accident lawsuit. Contact a personal injury lawyer in Tampa today and start pursuing fair compensation.

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Boohoff Law, P.A. — Auto Accident Lawyers – Tampa Office

829 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd,
Tampa, FL 33603
Phone: (813) 725-5606