Motorcycle, Harley, Sportbike, Dirt Bike and Scooter Injuries
Central Florida is a great place to ride a motorcycle. The weather is perfect and Daytona Beach, Florida, is the home to events such as Bike Week and Biketoberfest. These festivals draw hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts, weekend riders, Harley owners, and sportbikers. However, unfortunately, each year numerous bikers fall victim to Florida's dangerous roads. Often times these victims are experienced riders involved in the accident that was the fault of another driver.
Liability and Causes of Accidents
Motorcycles, sportbikes, dirt bikes, and scooters are much smaller than other vehicles on the road, and the riders do not have the protective shell that an automobile driver has to protect them; thus bikers are at a much higher risk of sustaining serious injuries in a collision. A hard fall during an accident can result in numerous debilitating injuries that often prevent riders from returning to work or living the life they had previously enjoyed, and the victims are often required to undergo extensive medical treatment, surgeries and physical therapy.
Sport Bikes and Dirt Bikes offer all the freedom and excitement related to road bikes, but with the added adventure of exploring an off-road trail deep into the wilderness. However, the conditions and environments in which these dirt bikes are operated make them even more dangerous. Mud, steep grades, sandy dunes, and lush vegetation are extreme elements that most motorcycles rarely encounter. Because of the off-road nature of dirt bikes, broken backs, cracked vertebrae, closed head injuries, broken wrists, ankles and legs are common. Reckless Dirt Bike drivers who neglect to respect other riders, or fail to follow basic safety procedures often times cause injury to themselves and others.
Accidents are not always caused by driver negligence. Although motorcycle equipment is subject to safety testing, sometimes below-standard equipment makes its way onto the street. Defective tires or defective brakes can cause riders to lose control of their bikes, putting them at dangerous risk of accident and even death. Defective helmets may fail to protect motorcyclists from head injury, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Also, unmarked road construction, slippery roads, dangerous speed limits, and dangerously winding roads can all contribute to motorcycle accidents.
Common Injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Bikers that are the victim of an accident often
times are prone to receiving serious head injuries, resulting in a TBI, which is a serious brain injury that can affect
personality, speech, cognitive thinking, motor skills, and all other abilities.
Many patients with TBI can no longer work, need full-time care, or suffer
extreme financial hardships as a result of mounting medical bills. The
emotional trauma resulting from TBIs often affects the victim's family as
well. Although it is legal to ride a
sportbike, Harley or other motorcycle without a helmet, it puts the rider at
risk of a TBI. Most TBI's are caused by
accidents which are due to the negligence of others. See also catastrophic injures and wrongful death.
- Road Rash. Although a biker may wear thick, durable clothing such as denim or leather, painful skin injuries, bruises, skinned knees, cuts with gravel in them and Road Rash may be the result of a fall, slide/roll, or a crash. "Road Rash" is similar to a second degree burn and without proper treatment can become seriously infected.
- Bone Fractures. A fall or slide/roll during a crash may also result in sprain or bone fractures. A broken bone is particularly painful and will require a lengthy recovery in a cast. These physical injures can impede a biker's day-to-day life, hindering the ability to work or ride their bike.
- Permanent Disfigurement. Hard falls, collision impacts, bone breaks, burns, and other injuries can cause permanent disfigurement. This disfigurement is not only emotionally difficult to accept, but it can affect the victim's ability to function normally in society.
- Spinal Cord Injury and Wrongful Death: Bikers are also often times the victim of more serious injuries and death. A spinal cord injury is a very debilitating and long-term injury. Most victims need full-time care, and may never work again. Distracted, aggressive drivers are prevalent on our highways, and accidents are an everyday occurrence. Motorcycle riders are often the victims of someone else's negligence or recklessness. The loss of a loved one is tragic enough, but when that loss is someone else's fault, pain is intensified. A drunk driver who kills a motorcyclist, a semi-truck driver who injures a motorcyclist by not paying attention, or a hit-and-run driver can all be held liable in cases of Wrongful Death. See also catastrophic injures and wrongful death.
Contact the Kane Law Firm, P.A.
It is important to contact a motorcycle attorney because motor bike laws are different from automobile accident laws. Motorcyclists are not required to carry PIP insurance and do not receive those benefits. Therefore, if they are injured in a motorcycle crash in Florida, they need not prove that their injuries are permanent in order to receive pain and suffering compensation. An experienced attorney can also represent family members who have lost a loved one in a fatal motorcycle accident.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a sportbike, Harley, dirt bike, scooter or motorcycle accident, please call the Central Florida Motorcycle, Harley, Sportbike, Dirt Bike and Scooter Accident Attorneys at Kane Law Firm, P.A. in Orlando, Florida, at (407) 898-9130, submit a contact form on our website, or email us at Info@KaneInjury.com.
We offer a free initial consultation, and if we agree to take your case, we will work on a contingency basis. This means we will get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds.