Many bikers in and around the parish seat of Terrebonne enjoy the freedom of riding a motorcycle on the open roads and in the city. However, those who are stuck by a vehicle are vulnerable to life-altering and even fatal injuries due to a motorcycle’s inherent lack of protection for the rider.
When bikers get into wrecks with other motor vehicles and suffer severe injuries, they will likely require immediate medical intervention and significant time off work to recover from or adapt to any new limitations. Between unexpected medical bills and lost wages, a collision could cause significant financial hardship for an injured motorcyclist.
If your motorcycle accident injuries resulted from another party’s negligence, you could seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. Let a Houma and Terrebonne Parish motorcycle accident lawyer explain your legal rights and help you recover all your losses from responsible parties.
Life-Altering Injuries Resulting from Motorcycle Wrecks
Motorcycle riders are completely vulnerable to the elements when their bikes crash and unfortunately comprise a disproportionate number of the nation’s annual highway deaths. When a biker survives a collision with another motor vehicle, they often suffer catastrophic injuries, including but not limited to:
- Scrapes, cuts, and friction burns to the skin (road rash)
- Fractures, especially of the lower legs, wrists, and collarbones
- Facial trauma
- Amputations
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Paralysis
Recovering from motorcycle accident injuries is often an extended process that requires hospitalization and rehabilitation over weeks or months. Some injuries might leave a biker permanently disabled. Even when a motorcyclist appears to have made a full recovery, they often continue to suffer lingering physical pain and psychological effects.
Collecting Damages After a Motorcycling Collision
The right to collect damages is based on a theory of negligence, meaning an injured motorcycle rider would need to prove that someone’s carelessness caused their otherwise avoidable injury. If found liable, the negligent party would be ordered to pay for the losses they caused the motorcyclist to suffer.
Damages awarded in a successful motorcycle collision lawsuit could cover a rider’s medical costs and any income they missed while recovering, as well as pain and suffering, emotional trauma, disability, and other subjective consequences of the crash. An attorney serving Houma and Terrebonne Parish could help an injured motorcyclist calculate the true cost of their damages and demand an appropriate sum to compensate for all their losses.
However, a negligent motorist who causes a motorcycle accident may allege that a biker was following their vehicle too closely or cutting between lanes to shift blame onto the injured party. Louisiana courts follow the pure comparative negligence doctrine, which allows a negligent plaintiff to collect damages from other negligent parties regardless of their respective degrees of fault.
In the pure comparative negligence system, each party is responsible for paying the damages they caused. An experienced lawyer like Damon J. Baldone could counter this tactic by gathering and presenting evidence that demonstrates the defendant motorist’s total liability for an injured biker’s losses.
Work with a Houma and Terrebonne Parish Attorney after a Motorcycle Accident
If you were hurt while motorcycling in the parish seat of Terrebonne, you may need a strong advocate to stand up for you in court and get you the compensation you deserve. Insurance companies and defense lawyers may assert that you are to blame for your injuries, but an aggressive attorney could present evidence of otherwise to maximize your available damages.
A Houma and Terrebonne Parish motorcycle accident lawyer is prepared to fight for a fair settlement offer or take the wrongdoers to court. Reach out today to schedule a case review.
