Because of Fort Lauderdale’s incredible weather, bikers here ride their motorcycles throughout the year. Unfortunately, motorcyclists are subject to harsher injuries in motor collisions since their vehicles don’t have the same mass as cars and trucks. Reach out to a Fort Lauderdale motorcycle accident lawyer.
After a motorcycle accident, the legal team at Blakeley Law Firm PA can collect fair compensation for your injuries and suffering.
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The Dangers of Motorcycle Accidents in Fort Lauderdale
Motorcycles are smaller and more compact than your average vehicle. They also lack an exterior body to keep drivers and passengers safe from collisions.
In addition, motorcycles often travel at high speeds. Crashing into another vehicle at these extreme speeds, and without protection, can cause a slew of painful injuries and long-term complications.
Unfortunately, these scenarios happen all the time. What’s even sadder is that most of them happen because of driver negligence. Drunk and aggressive drivers acting carelessly on the road can place your life in danger at a moment’s notice.
The good news is that if you’ve been involved in a serious motorcycle accident because of another driver’s negligence, you can file a motorcycle accident claim.
The legal team at Blakeley Law Firm PA can help you build an air-tight claim and maximize your chances of success.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
Some motorcycle victims ponder whether or not they should hire a lawyer. If your injuries were the direct cause of another driver’s negligence, you should absolutely contact a motorcycle accident lawyer in Fort Lauderdale.
An attorney can help you collect a maximum settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. In addition, they can provide representation if your claim goes to court.
Hiring a lawyer is the best way to ensure that your claim has the highest possibility of success. If you want to move forward with your motorcycle accident claim, schedule a free consultation with Blakeley Law Firm PA today.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
Many motorcycle accidents are caused by driver error and negligence. For example, someone speeding through a red light and hitting another driver is the epitome of negligence.
Here are the common causes of motorcycle accidents across the country:
- Car Doors: Motorcyclists may not react in time to car doors that open suddenly in their path.
- Reckless Driving: Running red lights and stop signs are a few examples of reckless driving.
- Head-On Collisions: Drunk and distracted drivers are more likely to commit head-on collisions since they’re not focused and able to drive properly.
- Lane Splitting: Lane splitting is illegal in Florida, but that doesn’t stop bikers and other drivers from splitting lanes on the road.
- Lane Switching: Illegally switching lanes without switching is a common cause of hitting bikers who are in a blind spot.
If a motorcycle accident injures you, chances are one of these scenarios happened to you. Contact Blakeley Law Firm PA today to learn more about how we can help your case.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Motorcycle accidents can result in catastrophic injuries. The most common motorcycle accident injuries include:
- Lower Extremities: These injuries are the most common since bikers have their legs exposed while riding. This can lead to soft tissue injuries and broken bones.
- Upper Extremities: In many motorcycle accidents, bikers are ejected into the air. Using their hands to brace the fall, they can suffer from broken bones and even permanent nerve damage.
- Thorax: The thorax encapsulates the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Blunt-force trauma from a motorcycle accident can cause lacerations to internal organs, as well as internal bleeding and broken ribs.
- Head: Concussions are normal in motorcycle accidents. In severe accidents, a victim may be diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- Face/Neck: Road rash and blunt-force trauma can cause injuries to the face and neck. Examples include missing teeth, broken jaws, and whiplash.
- Abdomen: Internal injuries are typically harder to detect than physical injuries. Severe motorcycle accidents can injure vital organs, such as kidneys, livers, and spleens.
- Spine: The spinal cord is one of the most important organs in the body. Motorcycle accidents can cause temporary and permanent paralysis, which will almost always require long-term medical treatment and rehabilitation.
As you can see, most motorcycle accidents can contribute to substantial injuries and chronic pain. If you sustained any of these injuries, hire a motorcycle accident injury attorney to file a claim.
This way, you can collect a fair settlement to satisfy your expensive medical bills, as well as pain and suffering.
Proving Liability and Fault
If you want to receive fair compensation for your motorcycle accident, the first step is filing a motorcycle accident claim. A major component of a successful motorcycle accident claim is proving fault and liability.
That is establishing that another driver was responsible for the accident because of their negligence. As a result, they must pay for the damages to your body, mind, and property.
In motorcycle accident claims, the burden of proof is solely on the plaintiff. Since you filed the claim, you must prove your allegations with a preponderance of evidence.
First, you’ll need to prove that the other driver (and additional parties) caused your accident. You do this by submitting photographic and video evidence from nearby traffic cameras.
Finally, you’ll need to prove they were negligent. Obtaining a police report will help establish what the driver was doing to cause the accident. Your medical report can also be used to determine the severity of your injuries and evaluate your settlement’s value.
Ultimately, by hiring a motorcycle accident attorney in Fort Lauderdale, you can obtain sufficient evidence to prove your claims. Blakeley Law Firm PA is experienced in helping motorcycle accident victims create rock-solid claims with a high probability of success.
Compensation for Motorcycle Accident Victims
Motorcycle accident victims are eligible to receive economic and non-economic damages for their injuries.
Economic damages are connected to the financial losses you suffered because of a motorcycle accident and include:
- Medical and Rehab Bills: If your insurance provider doesn’t cover specific medical treatment and rehabilitation services, you could be on the hook to pay for them yourself.
- Lost Wages: Major injuries could keep you away from work to earn a living. Thus, you could sue for lost wages to recover all the money you missed out on in the aftermath of a motorcycle accident.
- Property Damage: If your property was damaged during a motorcycle accident, you have grounds to get reimbursed. For example, you could sue for damages if your smartphone was destroyed because of a collision.
Non-economic damages normally include pain and suffering. This is the mental and physical anguish you experienced because of a motorcycle accident.
For example, let’s say that a victim suffered from a spinal cord injury that limits their ability to walk normally. They also experience chronic pain that’s only slightly reduced by pain medications.
This person can sue for their pain and suffering from a motorcycle accident caused by another driver.
Motorcycle accident victims have the potential to collect massive settlements depending on the severity of their injuries and the financial losses they’ve endured.
If you want to begin your accident claim, our legal team would be more than happy to assist.
Statute of Limitations for Motorcycle Accident Claims
The statute of limitations for motorcycle accident claims is two years. This means that you have two years from the date of your accident to file a claim.
The state of Florida even gives claimants an additional year to file if the defendant doesn’t have insurance. As a result, victims don’t have a lot of time to gather sufficient evidence to build a solid claim on their own.
By hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer, you can streamline the claims process and possibly win a market-value settlement to cover your lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
How Much is My Case Worth?
Determining the value of your possible settlement depends on a variety of factors. These factors are:
- Severity: The more severe your injuries are, the higher your settlement can be. For example, if you were left as a quadriplegic because of an accident, you can potentially win a massive settlement compared to a victim suffering from minor injuries.
- Fault: Florida is a comparative fault state. This means that the victim can share a percentage of the fault in a motorcycle accident. Thus, your settlement’s value can be determined by your percentage of fault, if any.
- Financial Losses: If you have expensive medical bills piling up, in addition to lost wages, you can boost your settlement’s value to cover these bills.
Ultimately, you won’t know the expected value of your claim until you speak to a Fort Lauderdale motorcycle accident lawyer. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and talk about your case.
Why You Should Hire Blakeley Law Firm PA
Hiring a Fort Lauderdale motorcycle accident lawyer is your best chance at winning a fair settlement for your injuries. Here are several reasons why you should choose us for legal representation.
You Could Go to Court
Granted, most civil cases are settled out of court. Nonetheless, every claim is different and there is no guarantee that your claim will be resolved without a trial.
If you have to go to court, you’ll be at an incredible disadvantage without a lawyer. Insurance companies have reputable lawyers on retainer and will welcome the chance to take you to court.
If you hire us, we can level the playing field and make sure that you’re fully prepared should your claim enter court proceedings.
We Can Help Determine Your Claim’s Value
The truth is that the average person has no idea about determining a motorcycle accident claim’s value. We have handled thousands of successful motorcycle accident claims.
When you choose to work with us, our legal team will assess the facts of your case and determine a fair market value for your injuries and financial losses. We’ll then issue a demand letter to the defendant and wait for the next steps.
You Could Win a Higher Settlement
By hiring a motorcycle accident attorney, you could likely win a higher settlement. This is because a motorcycle accident lawyer can help you determine fair market value for your claim.
If you work alone, chances are, your claim will either be too high or low. In either case, you could jeopardize its chances of success. Also, if you hire us, we can make sure that your claim is taken seriously by the defendant’s legal team.
Our Services Come at No Initial Cost
Like many motorcycle accident lawyers, we work on a contingency basis. This means that we don’t get paid unless you win. If you’re already struggling with debt and painful injuries, this may be a breath of fresh air for you.
In addition, we’re very selective about the cases we take on. If we decide to take on your case, it means we strongly believe it can win either at the settlement table or in court.
When you choose to hire our motorcycle accident law firm, our legal team will get to work right away to fight for fair compensation.
Schedule a Free Consultation
Overall, motorcycle accidents often have dangerous and deadly consequences. You shouldn’t be left to suffer and pick up the pieces, especially if you didn’t cause the accident to happen. Reach out to a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer.
If you’re ready to file a motorcycle accident claim, look no further than Blakeley Law Firm PA. We have many years of experience handling straightforward and complex claims, generating millions of dollars in settlements for our clients.
If you’re ready to take the next step in filing a claim, we’d love to speak with you. Give us a call at (954) 253-9445 for your free, 24/7 consultation.