Titusville
Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Coastal scenery, lots of open roads and plenty of good weather make Florida attractive to bikers. The popularity of motorcycle riding in the state is evident in its high number of registered motorcycles. With over 500,000 registrations, the state ranks second in the nation for motorcycle ownership. Many enthusiastic motorcycling tourists visit Titusville and other popular destinations throughout the year. Bikers, however, face a high risk of accidents and injuries. In 2019, the state recorded 8,880 motorcycle crashes resulting in 7,722 injuries and 535 deaths. Motorcycle injuries tend to be serious, and victims often need legal representation when pursuing compensation for their injuries. A motorcycle accident lawyer at Couture Law P.A. will work hard to maximize the value of your insurance settlement.

Causes of motorcycle accidents

You may have heard the slogan “Look Twice and Save a Life.” This refers to the persistent problem that bikers face due to their reduced visibility compared to larger passenger vehicles. Drivers responsible for motorcycle accidents often make their mistakes because they never saw the biker.

Common motorcycle accident scenarios:

• Someone backs out of a driveway into a motorcycle going down the road.
• Someone makes a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle.
• Someone pulls out from an intersection in front of a motorcycle that had the right of way.

As you can see, a failure to yield reflects the primary cause behind many motorcycle crashes. Although the drivers involved in such errors surely never meant for something bad to happen, they remain at fault and potentially liable for your damages.

High medical costs

The fact that you are physically exposed on a motorcycle means that you risk direct contact with other vehicles, the road and other objects in a crash. As a result, motorcycle accident victims often suffer serious or life-altering injuries.

Common motorcycle crash injuries are:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Paralysis
• Broken bones
• Organ damage
• Disfigurement
• Neck injury
• Spinal injury
• Severe lacerations
• Road rash

Recovery times lengthen in accordance to the seriousness of injuries. Medical expenses naturally rise in comparison to recover times. Many accident victims go through long periods of rehabilitation care.

Motorcyclists’ deaths are also a common sight in Titusville headlines. In September 2020, a 33-year-old man died on the Mabry Highway when he hit the car of a woman making a U-turn. These unhappy events can at times warrant a wrongful death claim.

Insurance for motorcycle accidents

As a motorcyclist, you are obligated to carry at least $10,000 in medical payment insurance. You can use such a policy to cover your expenses but may still desire legal assistance when seeking compensation from your insurer.

Unlike drivers of passenger vehicles in Florida, motorcyclists’ insurance policies do not include personal injury protection (PIP). Because PIP will not apply to your motorcycle accident, you will not be held to the restrictive standards imposed on car accident victims by PIP regulations. Unconstrained by PIP rules, motorcyclists have more freedom to pursue both economic and non-economic damages.

What are economic damages?

Economic damages are your losses that can be quantified in clear dollar figures. Your lawyer could assist you with tallying these damages by collecting and organizing the documentation that will support your claim.

Economic damages include:

• Medical bills
• Physical therapy expenses
• Lost income
• Lost future earning capacity
• Property damage
• Transportation costs when traveling for medical care
• Home remodeling to accommodate your disability

What are non-economic damages?

The details of each accident case influence whether or not a claim may justifiable include non-economic damages. These are losses that are not clearly quantifiable with actual receipts. They reflect an attempt to place a financial figure on your suffering and life-altering consequences of the motorcycle accident.

Non-economic damages include:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Loss of consortium

Whether you recover or remain disabled, some injuries involve prolonged periods of pain before you heal. Chronic pain that never really goes away is also a common outcome of a motorcycle accident. These experiences amount to pain and suffering. A lawyer negotiating with an insurer or arguing your case before a jury may communicate the details of what happened to you and describe your difficulty. Making clear what you had to endure may sway an insurer or jury to assign a monetary figure to your suffering.

Similarly, mental anguish accounts for the emotional toll exacted by the accident. An accident can also overturn the lives of those close to you. The mental anguish experienced by your close family members could influence your claim.

Loss of consortium describes the permanent impact of your injuries on those close to you. If you are married, then your spouse may suffer loss of companionship as well as the ability to be intimate with you.

Lawsuits against the at-fault driver

When accident expenses exceed your insurance coverage, you may file a personal injury lawsuit against the person who was at fault for your crash. Speaking with a motorcycle accident attorney could clarify whether you can file such a lawsuit. The attorney may need to investigate the case further to determine the viability of a lawsuit.

Whenever possible, insurers for at-fault drivers will try to cast some or all of the blame on you for the accident. Florida operates under the legal concept of comparative negligence. This means that your damages could be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you. A lawyer for the at-fault driver might argue that you were speeding or otherwise acting recklessly. We will defend you from these blame-the-victim tactics to whatever extent it is possible.

Legal help during a difficult time

After a sunny ride in Titusville sends you to the hospital, you will be confronted by both medical and legal challenges. We can help you understand how to collect insurance benefits and file a lawsuit when necessary. Our accident investigation could collect evidence critical to winning a settlement that relieves your financial hardship. Before you talk to an insurance company, make sure that you know and understand your legal position. You can have a free consultation with a motorcycle accident lawyer. Contact our office today.