Getting Help for a Motorcycle Accident
While, especially in urban settings like Albany, a motorcycle makes a lot of sense with fuel efficiency, ease of parking, the ability to cut through traffic, and other advantages, it’s also a far higher risk of transportation-related injury as well. The simple fact, a motorcycle doesn’t come with all the metal body and safety-reinforced framework available in a car or SUV. That means, when there is an accident, a motorcycle rider is more likely to be seriously injured than a car driver, 9 out of 10 times.
A Top Category in Annual Traffic Safety Statistics
Motorcycles have long been a statistic tracked by the federal government when it comes to highway & road safety. Much of that is due to the fact that the given mode of travel has a much higher incidence rate of serious head injuries, serious body injuries, and fatalities than any other form of transport. However, what is also known in the statistics but less widely discussed is the fact that the high majority of motorcycle accidents and injuries also happen because of mistakes by parties other than the rider himself.
Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
The high majority of accidents involving two-wheels and regular cars or trucks are due to:
- General reckless driving endangering others immediately nearby
- Drivers turning without looking, cutting off a motorcyclist
- Similar to above, unsafe lane-changing
- Going to fast
- Drunk or influenced drivers are unable to function clearly
- Flat-out disobeying traffic laws and rules
- Going backward without looking first
- Opening a side door into a street without looking first
- Road rage
There is no question that a motorcycle inherently comes with more risk of being exposed than driving a vehicle, but the above issues collectively skyrocket the danger to riders and due entirely to drivers in vehicles being at fault.
Motorcycle accidents also often come with little warning and, as a result, riders have little time to react. That produces a high frequency of traumatic brain injuries, even with helmets being used, as well as a high number of serious body injuries to the arms, legs, and body core. Even mild head injuries can produce lasting problems with vision, hearing, speech, ongoing headaches and cognitive disabilities. The most serious body injuries are, of course, damage to the neck or spine, which can result in paralysis.
Recovery is More Than Just Immediate Payment of Medical Bills
Aside from immediate response in an emergency room by an experienced trauma team, the number one resource available for injured motorcycle riders to obtain full recovery for their loss, especially with life-lasting injuries, is the legal system under personal injury.
A lawsuit not only provides the means for immediate medical and property loss recovery; it also provides the means to be able to secure long-term support for injuries that could have been prevented but have now become life-changing after an accident. For example, ongoing rehabilitation, disability adjustments, lost income and more add up considerably. Simple one-time insurance claim settlements don’t take care of these ongoing expenses resulting from what could have been avoided in the first place.
Get Help So You Can Focus on Healing
If you or someone you know in Albany has been in a motorcycle accident recently, it’s important to consider all your options available versus just a quick settlement offered by an insurance company. Find out more by visiting this website. Your full recovery may depend on informing yourself completely.
Frequently, motorcycles are given second fiddle by insurance companies, other parties involved, and even medical providers in Albany because motorbikes are considered culturally questionable and looked down on. Don’t let intimidation block you from your rightful recovery. Get help right away!