The Oxnard motorcycle accident lawyers at Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC, are ready to stand with local motorcycle collision victims. We want to hold at-fault drivers fully responsible so that injured riders get the care they need without having to worry about enormous medical bills.
Contact our office to schedule a free and confidential case consultation. This meeting comes with no obligation. If you feel we can maximize the motorcycle accident settlement you receive, you won’t need any money now. We don’t get paid unless we win your case, and then our fee comes out of the award you and your family receive.
Oxnard Motorcycle Accident Dangers
Any kind of motor vehicle accident is dangerous, but a motorcycle crash carries an 80% risk of injury or even death. That’s because motorcycles don’t have a steel frame surrounding the rider to protect him or her or a seat restraint systems to buckle that driver up. Most riders are going to do whatever it takes to prevent an accident, but you can’t guarantee that other drivers on the road will respond accordingly too.
When cars and motorcycles do collide, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that it’s usually the fault of the driver who violates the motorcyclist’s right-of-way. Two-thirds of the time, that occurs in an intersection, and the motorcyclist has about two seconds to attempt to avoid the collision. This results in devastating consequences for the rider, while the driver of the car gets out uninjured and asks what happened.
Motorcycles Have Narrow Profiles
Motorcycles have smaller and narrower profiles, and they tend to blend in with traffic, even in broad daylight if the bike is all lit up. Weather, glare, and other road conditions also reduce visibility. Here in Oxnard where bikes are on the road nearly 365 days of the year, drivers still need to be aware of motorcycles, especially at intersections.
Unfortunately, some drivers are distracted, in a rush or even intoxicated, and these are ways that crashes occur, both during daytime and nighttime. That’s when a motorcyclist needs Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC to recover damages from the party who caused the crash. Those damages might be substantial too.
Recoverable Damages in an Oxnard Motorcycle Crash
As per California law, an injured motorcyclist is entitled to seek the following damages from the person who was at fault for the crash:
- Current medical bills and future medical bills if you haven’t fully recovered yet.
- Lost wages or diminished earning capacity.
- Physical and mental pain and suffering for your injuries and damages.
- Any permanent physical disability or disfigurement.
- Wrongful death in the event of a fatality resulting from the collision.
- Property damage to the motorcycle.
Some Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
If a victim is fortunate enough to make it through a motorcycle accident, it’s likely that he or she is still confronted with serious injuries. Those might include the following:
- Traumatic Brain Injury: These injuries might be penetrating or non-penetrating. A penetrating injury might involve a piece of the skull that becomes imbedded in the tissue of the brain. A non-penetrating brain injury might include a severe concussion.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Much of this injury depends on what level it was suffered at and whether it was incomplete or complete. An incomplete injury will render a person a quadriplegic, and a complete spinal cord injury will render him or her a quadriplegic.
- Internal Injuries: The heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs can be injured in a motorcycle crash. Surgery could be required to repair any such injuries.
- Fractures: A fracture might be simple, or it might be a compound fracture sticking through the skin requiring surgery and rehabilitation. Some people suffer multiple fractures, both simple and compound.
- Joint Damage: Joints may become dislocated, requiring surgery to hold them back in, with permanent disability.
Overcoming Bias in Motorcycle Accidents and Insurance Company Tactics
There are three common biases and prejudices that operate against motorcyclists. The first is that motorcyclists are difficult to see on the roadway. That’s easily overcome if the car’s driver was paying attention to his rather than being distracted.
The next bias is that the motorcyclist was driving too fast. That’s linked to noise equaling velocity. Motorcycles are sometimes loud, but that has no bearing on how fast it was traveling. Lastly, is the gang member prejudice. That’s overcome with friends and the motorcyclist’s own family. They’re people just like you and me who want to go to work and get home to their families safely.
Contact an Oxnard Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
If you were injured or lost a loved on a motorcycle in an accident in or around Oxnard, contact us at Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC, for a free consultation and motorcycle crash case evaluation. We won’t tolerate low settlement offers. We know what you expect, and we deliver.