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If you or a loved one was recently injured in a motorcycling accident in Arlington, you may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering, your medical bills, your financial losses, and other hardships you faced as a result of the crash. The Texas personal injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm are ready with more than 20 years of experience to put to work pursuing the maximum compensation for your accident.
When you work with a lawyer on your motorcycle case, you walk into the courtroom with decades of experience on your side. Whether your case ends up being settled or going to trial, our experienced Arlington motorcycle accident lawyers can represent you, fight the insurance companies and defendants in your case, and work to get you the compensation you deserve. Walking into insurance negotiations and lawsuits without a lawyer is often going to set you up to be taken advantage of or to get low payouts that fail to cover your needs.
Let The Queenan Law Firm’s Arlington motorcycle accident lawyers deal with settlement negotiations so that you do not have to go through the stress and anxiety of fighting the insurance company while you are recovering from an injury. We are proud to provide quality representation for injured bikers and motorcycle passengers in Arlington and will fight vigorously with the goal of holding the at-fault driver accountable for your suffering and expenses. To talk about your Arlington motorcycle injury claim in a free consultation, call our law offices at (817) 476-1797 today.
What Are Some Common Motorcycle Injuries?
As any motorcyclist can tell you, little compares to the thrill of riding the open road beneath a vast Texas sky, especially during the pleasant spring and fall months when temperatures are ideal for outdoor activities. Unfortunately, the freedom and excitement of motorcycling in Arlington can be destroyed by careless or reckless drivers, who are responsible for many of the motorcycling injuries that occur on Arlington’s highways, city streets, and quiet suburban roads.
While a person can be badly injured in any type of auto accident, motorcycle accidents are particularly notorious for having high rates of deaths and serious injuries. To quote the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclist fatalities occurred 26 times more frequently than passenger car occupant fatalities in traffic crashes” during 2013.
Main Areas of Injuries
Studies on injury patterns have shown that when crashes occur, motorcyclists often sustain injuries to their lower extremities, such as leg injuries, knee injuries, foot injuries, and ankle injuries. Bone fractures, crush injuries, and large lacerations leading to massive blood loss are common. Limbs can be traumatically amputated during an accident, or, may need to be medically amputated later if the tissue damage is too severe to repair.
It is also common for motorcyclists to suffer debilitating, sometimes fatal head injuries and brain injuries, particularly in cases where a helmet was not worn. Head and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are sometimes accompanied by neck injuries, which can damage the upper spinal cord and lead to paralysis and loss of sensation.
List of Common Motorcycle Injuries
Other types of injuries that can result from motorcycle crashes include:
- Abdominal Injuries
- Back Injuries
- Burn Injuries
- Degloving Injuries
- Internal Bleeding
- Joint Dislocations
- Severe “Road Rash” (Skin Abrasion)
- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Sprain Injuries
- Strain Injuries
- Whiplash
Any of these injuries could range from mild to severe. In cases where victims of motorcycle crashes only face minor injuries, they could still be entitled to damages for their injuries, especially if they needed medical care or missed work because of them. Severe injuries could be life-altering, potentially requiring years of expensive surgeries, physical therapy, and other care. All the while, victims could be out of work and unable to support themselves, justifying high dollar damages.
Even more minor or moderate injuries like whiplash could lead to long-term pain and suffering, even if the injuries do not otherwise require medical care. Long-term pain can also justify damages in a personal injury case for motorcycle accident injuries.
Injuries Unique to Motorcycle Crashes
There are some injuries that are more likely in motorcycle crashes than any other type of auto accident or personal injury case. Most of these injuries are the kinds of things that motorcycle riders specifically prepare to prevent, but the law might not go so far as to require safety gear for each of these potential issues.
Head injuries are commonly associated with motorcycle accidents. Whether these injuries are skull fractures, concussions, or traumatic brain injuries, people often assume that these injuries are some of the most common injuries in motorcycle accidents. While head injuries do happen, most riders wear helmets to prevent serious head injuries, reducing the actual rate of head injuries for motorcycle riders.
Motorcycle crashes are commonly associated with “road rash” injuries as well. These are the abrasions that riders get on their hands, legs, or any other body part that contacts the road during a slide. Riders are often forced into slides during crashes if they lose stability and fall. Without proper motorcycle leathers or padding, road rash injuries can be very serious, potentially leading to additional complications or requiring a long healing process.
Other injuries to the limbs are common, as mentioned when riders fall and the bike lands on top of them or pins their limbs to the ground or other objects. These kinds of injuries are more common in motorcycle crashes because the limbs are outside of any protective enclosures, unlike cars and trucks, which have the driver inside the walls of the vehicle.
How Much Compensation Can You Get for a Motorcycle Crash in Texas?
Victims of motorcycle crashes often wonder how much their case will be worth. The answer to this question depends on a multitude of factors that vary from case to case, including but not limited to the following:
- The extent to which your employability, earning capacity and general quality of life will be affected
- The nature and severity of your injuries
- Whether your injuries caused or will cause permanent scarring or disfigurement, especially if the scar is in a prominently visible location such as the face
- Your medical treatment
Because every situation is unique, it is essential that you speak with an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Arlington in order to get a clearer idea of whether you have a claim, and if so, how much it may be worth. We will put your accident under a legal microscope, carefully analyzing every scrap of evidence, to first calculate your short-term and long-term losses and expenses, then aggressively pursue the full amount of compensation to which you are entitled.
Compensation may be available to you if the other driver was at fault for your accident due to recklessness or negligence. Potential examples include the following:
- Driving while distracted by text messages, phone apps, or other distractions
- Driving while intoxicated
- Failing to signal properly when turning
- Falling asleep at the wheel
- Ignoring stop signs or running red lights
- Speeding excessively, especially in poor weather
How Long Does a Motorcycle Accident Claim Take to Settle?
The vast majority of personal injury cases, including motorcycle accident lawsuits, end in settlement. More often than not when the evidence is on your side, the defendant in your case will ultimately make an offer that fairly compensates you for your injuries. Getting to that point will often take hard negotiations, especially when the other side is represented by an insurance company whose financial motivations might pressure them to keep settlements low. Because of the steps involved in a case and the difficult pressures on defendants to avoid settlement, settlements can often take some time to be finalized.
Most settlements occur at the end or towards the end of the “discovery” phase of a personal injury case. This is the stage where both sides are able to request evidence from the other, schedule depositions, and send “interrogatories” (questionnaires) to gather information about the accident. By the end of this stage, all of the “legwork” is essentially finished, and both sides will have a good idea of what evidence they have to prove (or argue against) fault in the case.
Usually, by this stage, defendants will know how highly the evidence is stacked against them, pressuring them toward settlement. In some civil cases, a good defense lawyer might be able to get some evidence struck from the record or sway the jury with arguments, but it is often more likely that the defense will want to settle to avoid drawing out a case they are going to ultimately lose.
At this point, you could be a few months into the case. Scheduling and carrying out depositions can often take a few weeks for each deposition, so the quicker these interviews can be scheduled and carried out, the quicker your case can often move toward meaningful settlement negotiations. Talk to your lawyer about the specifics of your case to learn more about how long your case is expected to take to settle.
Cases sometimes settle after a trial has already been scheduled – or even after the trial has started. Cases that settle at this stage could be around a year into the case.
Should I Settle My Motorcycle Accident Case with Insurance in Arlington?
Your first thought after a motorcycle accident case may be to handle it through the insurance companies. After all, most people carry auto insurance for exactly these kinds of issues, and insurance has to be there for a reason, right? Unfortunately, many insurance claims are not paid at the full amount that the victim deserves, leading victims to end up filing lawsuits anyway.
Texas law gives you the option of whether to file with insurance or file a personal injury lawsuit in most cases. When you file in court instead of through the insurance company, the case will be heard by a neutral judge and jury instead of being decided by insurance companies whose main concern is often their bottom line. However, in court, the defendant will often get a lawyer supplied by their insurance company and damages will be paid by the insurance company anyway – so it is often in the victim’s best interests to go to court.
Consult with a lawyer to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of insurance claims as compared to lawsuits.
Arlington, Texas Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Handling Personal Injury Claims
Whether you were the person who was injured or you are the injury victim’s loved one, coping with the aftermath of a serious motorcycle wreck can be a financially, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting process that demands all of your time, strength, and energy. When you are adjusting to the profound life changes brought on by a motorcycle crash in Texas, you shouldn’t have to additionally handle the aggravating, complicated task of fighting for the compensation you may be rightfully owed.
Allow our team of experienced motorcycle crash lawyers in Arlington to pursue justice and compensation on your behalf, so that you can focus on healing, resting, and putting your life back together. The Arlington motorcycle attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm are available to skillfully and efficiently handle Arlington motorcycling accident claims arising from all types of crashes, including but not limited to the following:
- Head-On Collisions
- Intersection Accidents
- Rear-End Collisions
- Side-Impact (“T-Bone”) Crashes
- Sideswipe Accidents
We are highly familiar with the local roads where crashes are commonplace and can assist the victims of motorcycling accidents that occur in or on Arlington streets, parking lots, parking garages, or highways, such as the following:
- I-20
- I-30
- I-820
- SH-180
- SH-360
- US 287
Arlington Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
At The Queenan Law Firm, we are passionate about upholding justice for injured motorcyclists. Do not hesitate to contact us for a free and confidential discussion of your claim. To learn more about whether compensation may be available for your accident in Arlington, call our Arlington motorcycle accident lawyers at (817) 476-1797 right away.