Fort Worth Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

First Question – Who Hit You? Did They Have Adequate Insurance Coverage?

For this discussion, we are going to assume that the person who hit you was at-fault. There is no question that the driver that caused your motorcycle accident claim was responsible, so we now need to know if they had bodily injury liability insurance coverage. In Texas, you must have at least $30,000 in liability coverage for each injured person, up to $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. This basic coverage is called 30/60/25. These coverage amounts include recovery for all damages associated with lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.  As you can see, receiving injuries in a motorcycle accident usually are more severe than in a fender bender in a car or truck, and the damages sustained can easily exceed $30K.

What if a high net worth individual with an umbrella policy, a corporate or commercial vehicle, an 18-wheeler, or an Uber or Lyft driver hit you? From a liability insurance perspective, this is the best-case scenario for a motorcycle accident claim in Texas. Why? Because these drivers have higher insurance policies that will protect you for a greater amount of recovery.

An umbrella policy is additional insurance that protects beyond existing limits and coverages of other policies. It can also cover specific injuries, property damage, certain lawsuits, and personal liability situations.

For example – many umbrella policies will provide a $500k – 1-million-dollar coverage policy. Umbrella policies protect high-net-worth individuals from a subsequent lawsuit that could reach their personal assets to pay for damages caused by their negligence in an accident. The same holds with a commercial driver. Most commercial or corporate insurance policies provide a higher policy limit.

What if a truck driver collided with your motorcycle? Truck drivers in Texas must adhere to the minimum liability insurance requirements established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Commercial liability insurance covers the costs of financial damages sustained by the truck accident victim. This insurance coverage will help cover your medical bills, repairs to your motorcycle, compensation for your pain and suffering, and future medical bills. The primary reason the law requires truck drivers to have this insurance coverage is to protect victims that have sustained serious injuries from the negligent actions of truck drivers.

The minimum insurance for truck drivers depends on the vehicle’s weight and the type of load being hauled. For example, trucks that weigh over 10,001 pounds that carry non-hazardous materials must have $750,000 of liability insurance. Trucks of the same weight that carry hazardous or explosive materials, on the other hand, must obtain $5,000,000 in liability coverage.

What If The Driver Who Hit You Didn’t Have Enough Insurance Coverage?

Are you out of luck? Not necessarily! You must then look to your policy to see if you can recover under uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage pays you for pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical care that the at-fault driver’s insurance company did NOT cover due to your motorcycle accident.

What if you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage on your motorcycle? You should now check your other vehicle insurance to see if you have uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is “stackable” in Texas. Stacking uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may permit a person to add together either insurance coverage from several auto policies or insurance coverage from family members. This coverage will allow you to provide recovery for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Also, if you did not own the motorcycle you were driving at the time of the accident, uninsured motorist coverage will pay for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Not sure if you have uninsured motorist coverage on your motorcycle or auto insurance policy? Look at your declarations page on your insurance policy. This should be easily found online or on your insurance app.

Additionally, if the driver that hit your motorcycle doesn’t have sufficient insurance coverage, you should also look to make sure that there may not be coverage elsewhere. In other words, was the person driving the vehicle doing it for the economic benefit or with authorization from a business or entity? Sometimes, your motorcycle accident lawyer may be able to find coverage from another source to help you recover from your motorcycle accident.

Second Question – Did You Have Minor Injuries? Did You Seek Immediate Medical Attention?

As a general rule for all personal injury cases, the extent of the injuries determines the extent of the recovery. This applies just as much to motorcycle cases as to car accident cases. Here is one big difference: how some people view motorcycle riders. If you were riding on a motorcycle and you were not badly injured, you can sometimes run into prospective jurors during a jury trial who are biased against motorcyclists. In other words, they just don’t have much sympathy for people that get injured while riding a motorcycle. If you run into this situation, a juror that is biased against you as a motorcyclist might not agree to a large payout on a jury verdict. Unfortunately, some people view people who ride motorcycles as reckless and worthy of whatever injuries they receive because they assumed the risk when they got on the bike. However, under Texas injury law, that is not the case.

Vehicle drivers are regularly prejudiced against motorcyclists for reasons beyond the actual truth. Motorcyclists ride for reasons ranging from improved fuel economy to leisure. No method of transportation should be seen as reckless when obeying the precautions in place to ensure a driver’s safety.

How Can You Tell If Your Motorcycle Injuries Were Major Or Minor?

When we say minor injuries, we talk about neck pain, back pain, elbow pain, or other bruising or light scrapes resulting from the accident. Suppose you suffered a broken bone, major road rash, or other injuries that required surgery or more extensive medical treatment. In that case, there is little doubt that you suffered an injury worthy of a more substantial settlement amount. For example, death, permanent disfigurement, or a substantial loss of use of your body (crippled, blind, etc.) would be cases that you would expect a full value recovery for a motorcycle accident case.

Third Question – Can You Prove Fault?

What if you suffered severe injuries due to a motorcycle accident in which you were the only person involved? Single vehicle accidents pose a serious problem for recovery. To get money for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, the cause of the accident must be someone other than yourself. Note that, someone other than yourself does not always mean another driver. It could be a government entity, such as a city, for allowing a pothole to degrade to the point of causing injury to the public. It could be a power company that negligently installed a powerline.

How do we determine who is at fault? One source we look to is the police department’s crash report to outline the cause and determination of the accident. However, be careful not to rely solely upon this piece of evidence. It is critical that you have an experienced and aggressive motorcycle accident lawyer examine the totality of the facts to determine if you can prove that another party was at fault.

Hopefully, if someone else was involved in the accident, a police officer should have written them a ticket, citation, or arrested them if they attempted to leave the accident scene. This will provide a strong presumption that they were negligent and the cause of the accident. Additionally, take photos at the accident scene and record all relevant details that could help determine who is at fault. Relevant details include intersection description, coordinates, direction at which the drivers were traveling, and photos of the scene and the outcome of the accident.

What Are The Most Common Causes Of Motorcycle Accidents In Fort Worth?

The most common cause of motorcycle accidents in Fort Worth is distracted drivers. This means that people are driving while talking on their cellphones or texting.

Vehicles driving erratically or violating traffic laws are another common cause of motorcycle accidents in Fort Worth. Unfortunately, you can’t avoid accidents when they involve other distracted drivers.

But you can do your part to avoid these kinds of accidents by wearing protective clothing and staying alert in traffic. And if you find yourself in an accident due to another driver’s neglect, then an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can help you recover damages.

What Are The Most Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries?

Motorcycle riders are 27 times more likely to die when they are in an accident than are drivers and riders in cars, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). People riding motorcycles are also ten times more likely to be severely injured in a crash compared to people in cars.

Injuries from motorcycle accidents are usually very severe in those cases where the rider survives the crash. Multiple fractures or loss of limbs are frequent in motorcycle crashes. Typically, all injured riders suffer “road-rash” in a motorcycle crash. Road-rash is a term that fails to describe how terrible these injuries are. Several motorcycle accident victims have said the road-rash was more painful than the fractures and other injuries from the accident.

Understanding and recognizing that car accidents and motorcycle accidents are not the same is the first step for injured riders to protect their legal rights after a motorcycle crash.  The second step is hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer who understands the differences between the two and is prepared to present a motorcycle accident case in a strategic and compelling way to an insurance company, or to a jury if needed.

Minor injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents in Fort Worth can include road rash, scrapes, bruises, and other crash effects.

But some injuries are more serious, including broken bones and internal injuries. Some riders are killed instantly or die later due to their injuries.

Accidents on motorcycles are often very significant because they involve many more injuries than when you’re in a car.

It is essential to work with an experienced Fort Worth motorcycle accident lawyer if you are involved in an accident.

What Should You Do After A Motorcycle Accident?

The first thing you should do is analyze your surroundings and current situation. Are you in harm’s way? Are you badly injured? If possible, remove yourself from the roadway and out of traffic. Check to see if anyone else was involved in the accident and help them get to safety as best as possible.

If you are involved in an accident, it’s essential to contact the police immediately. This way, they can conduct their investigation and write up a report.

You may be in shock, and the adrenaline may be preventing you from feeling any pain or injuries. Always keep this in mind and wait for paramedics to arrive before removing your helmet and other gear to avoid worsening your injuries. Allow medical professionals to provide you with a thorough examination. This will make it easier for everyone when building your case.

Even if you don’t think you’re injured, it’s always best to get checked out by a medical professional after an accident. Serious injuries may not be apparent right away, and sometimes, it will take days, weeks, or months for symptoms to appear. If you were on a motorcycle during the accident, you are highly susceptible to broken bones and severe internal damage and bleeding. Simply put, get checked anyway.

When filing your claim, you’ll also need the information provided in the police report if you decide to hire an attorney in Fort Worth because they will look at the police records to investigate the accident.

Also, take down witness names and phone numbers in case they have helpful information regarding what happened when the motorcycle accident occurred. Finally, you should call your insurance agent if damage or injury is involved.

Another important tip is to keep conversations with witnesses, victims, and drivers to a minimum. It may be tempting to speak with the other drivers after a collision. However, it is wise to keep conversations brief and polite.

Often, emotions run high after a motor vehicle collision. Even if the other drivers seem angry or agitated, do not respond emotionally. Be polite and collect the necessary information from those involved. You should never discuss the crash at length with the other drivers.

When the police arrive, provide them with brief and factual statements for the accident report. Never speculate about who is to blame for the collision. Even if you believe that you caused the accident, you could be wrong. Accepting fault for the crash will make it difficult to recover the financial compensation that you are due.

Finally, you should make your insurance company aware that you were involved in a crash. Provide your information to the insurance adjuster in a factual manner. As with other conversations, you should never admit fault to your insurance agent. Still, contacting your insurer in the aftermath of a crash can help to secure a favorable outcome in your motorcycle accident case.

What Should You Do If You’re Hit By A Motorcycle?

Motorcycles have become dangerous due to negligent drivers who don’t pay attention while driving their vehicles on roads and highways. If you have been hit by a motorcycle, the severity of the crash will depend on whether you were in a vehicle or not. When a motorcycle hits your car or truck, you might only experience minor injuries. However, if you are hit by a motorcycle as a pedestrian, the likelihood of severe injury is high. No matter the circumstances of your collision, you will probably think, “I need to know what to do if I was hit by a motorcycle.” In the aftermath of such a crash, it is vital to contact a reputable personal injury firm.

If you’ve been hit by a motorcycle that was not adequately driven or maintained, contact an experienced Fort Worth personal injury attorney.

They can provide you with information regarding your legal rights and options for pursuing financial recovery for injuries, damages, or even wrongful death.

Our law firm’s Fort Worth personal injury attorneys have recovered millions in compensation for their clients, so they know how to best approach your claim. Get in touch with our team today.

How An Experienced Tarrant County Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Can Help

The attorneys at Fulgham Hampton Personal Injury Attorneys have the tenacity and proven experience taking cases to trial that puts insurance companies on notice that a lowball settlement offer is unacceptable.  Our clients find comfort in the fact that we have taken over a hundred cases to trial, with many being argued before a jury.  Our experience has enabled us to hone skills needed in conducting a thorough investigation of the facts, analyzing relevant documents, identifying key legal issues, conducting appropriate legal research, effectively negotiating with insurance companies, and presenting compelling arguments to a judge or jury.

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident because of the negligence of another party, you cannot trust the other party’s insurance company to protect your interest.  Although many insurance adjusters seem friendly and helpful, their role is to ensure you receive the smallest sum of money possible for your injuries.  We work with a team of investigators, accident reconstruction experts, medical experts, and others to facilitate the most persuasive case possible for serious injury victims.  We conduct our own crash analysis because we know the police report typically will be slanted in favor of the passenger car’s driver.

Financial Recovery For Serious Motorcycle Accident Injuries

When you experience a catastrophic injury or loss of a loved one in a devastating motorcycle collision, the compensation obtained in a personal injury or wrongful death claim might shape your financial future.  Although no monetary award can give you back the ability to walk or hug your child, a maximum damage recovery can provide funding for the best medical care, supportive services, lost household income, and more.  Because of the vulnerability of motorcyclists, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal organ damage, amputated limbs, paralysis, and broken bones are common.  If you or a family member is injured in a motorcycle crash, the types of damages you are entitled to receive will depend on the facts and circumstances.  Some of the types of damages the court might award include:

• Medical bills and hospital costs
• Past lost wages
• Diminished future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Property damage, like vehicle repair or replacement
• Disfigurement
• Loss of companionship of a spouse or guidance of a parent
• Burial/Funeral (Wrongful death)
• Punitive damages (egregious conduct)

Conclusion – Work With An Experienced Fort Worth Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

These simple strategies will prepare you for safe motorcycle riding. They also help decrease your chances of being part of a tragic accident where someone is hurt or killed due to another driver’s negligence.

If this does happen, meet with an experienced Fort Worth motorcycle accident lawyer so they can get started on your case immediately. It’s crucial to find a good injury law firm because their experience and knowledge of state laws can be vital against negligent drivers and insurance companies.

Texas law firms that handle motorcycle accident settlements and litigation typically do so on a contingency basis, which means they are paid a percentage of any recovery in a personal injury claim.  As experienced Fort Worth motorcycle accident attorneys, Fulgham Hampton Personal Injury Attorneys can assess your case and advise you of your legal rights and best legal strategies.  Fulgham Hampton Personal Injury Attorneys has helped hundreds of people in Fort Worth and the surrounding areas of Tarrant County recover compensation.  Call us today at (817) 697-4400 or contact us online for a free consultation.