Motorcycle Accidents Lawyer
in Houston, Baytown and Galveston, Texas
Two interesting facts about motorcycle accidents:
1. Of the traffic accidents that cause severe injuries such as:
- Paralysis
- Brain injury, and
- Crushed bones
motorcycle accidents account for a disproportionally high percentage.
2. In most motorcycle accidents, the fault lies with a negligent automobile driver:
- Driving with a high blood alcohol level
- Turning in front of an oncoming motorcycle
- Failing to stop at a red light or stop sign
- Failing to look both ways after being stopped at an intersection
For whatever reasons, such drivers just don't seem to see the motorcycle.
Bikers are vulnerable
The appeal of motorcycles is widespread and easy to understand: wind in your face, the sun on your back, and fast acceleration.
Not all states require riders to wear helmets, which is a welcome freedom for those riders. It's also an increased danger.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) report for 2003 found that more than 323 motorcycle rider deaths occurred in Texas. Of those, more than 200 riders were not wearing helmets.
- Most, if not all, studies find that where helmet laws exist, there are fewer motorcycle fatalities
- A Department of Transportation (DOT) study in 1994 found that helmets don't impair the rider's ability to see traffic in adjacent lanes, or the ability to hear traffic sounds when riding at highway speeds
- Helmets give some protection from weather
- Full-face helmets protect your face and eyes from bugs and debris
- They protect the skull against direct impact, but not the neck from sudden head movement. Let's say you're wearing a helmet and are thrown from your bike, hitting your head on a rock. Your skull has protection, but if your head, carrying the extra weight of a helmet, is abruptly jerked forward or back, or to one side, your neck can sustain severe injury. Upper spinal injuries can lead to total paralysis.
- Where helmet laws mandate their wear only by riders under 18, it's been found that less than 40% of those minors actually wear them. The law is hard to enforce.
- Helmet laws attract a lot of opposition from the motorcycle community, including legal battles
Helmet or not?
In Texas, only riders under 18 are legally required to wear a helmet. After 1997, when the universal requirement was lifted, motorcycle deaths rose 31%.
Without any helmet law, only about half of all riders voluntarily wear a helmet.
Helmet law advantages
Helmet law disadvantages
Bikers contribute to some accidents
Safe riding is the responsibility of the rider, and the best way to cut down on accidents. Even if we have to take it as a given that many truck and auto drivers won't see the riders, for whatever reasons, riders can still protect themselves to a large extent by riding safely.
- Look carefully before changing lanes and always signal
- Avoid sudden accelerations without signaling
- Avoid riding in between 2 large trucks, as they can displace a lot of air and destabilize you
- Observe the speed limits
- Keep your bike in excellent shape
- Attend safety classes
- The motorcycle rider was expected to operate the bike with reasonable caution, the same way auto drivers are
- The motorcycle rider failed to do that
- This failure contributed in part to the accident then the vehicle driver's liability can be reduced and the rider's compensation may be reduced too.
Contributory negligence
In a lawsuit, if the vehicle driver can show that:
Even in states like Texas where a helmet isn't required of adults, the vehicle driver might be able to convince the jury that the rider's failure to wear one contributed to his injuries, if not to the accident itself, and thereby might get the rider's compensation reduced.
Compensation
If you've been hurt in a motorcycle accident in Houston or anywhere in Texas, or lost a loved one that way, consider hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer to work for you. We can examine the circumstances and if negligence can be proved, you will potentially be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical bills and/or funeral costs
- Cost of any therapy
- Cost of long-term care
- Property damage
- Loss of income
- Pain and suffering
Contact us at Marc Whitehead & Associates for a free legal consultation. We understand the pain and stress that can follow a motorcycle accident and can take care of your legal issues while you focus on healing.
If you're too injured to come to us, we can go to your hospital room or home.
Free Motorcycle Accident Consultations in Houston
Providing Comprehensive Legal Representation to Clients in
Houston and Throughout the Texas Gulf Coast
Marc Whitehead & Associates – Attorneys at Law, L.L.P.
5300 Memorial, Suite 725 | Houston, Texas 77007
Houston: (713) 228-8888
Fax: (713) 225-0940
Toll Free: (800) 562-9830
