Motorcycle Accident

As a member of the Greater Muhlenberg Chamber of Commerce, Flora is in your community helping in the schools, charities, and fundraising events. We frequently travel to schools in Muhlenberg County recognizing students for their achievements which include Greenville Elementary and presenting Muhlenberg North Middle School with Poppy’s Leadership Award Grand Prize. If you’ve been out and about, you might have seen her firm mascots, Poppy and Pixie along with Flora making a difference in your community.

Some statistics on motorcycle accidents in Kentucky, including Muhlenberg County, and throughout the nation paint a dire picture.

• Motorcyclists are almost thirty times more likely to die in a traffic crash than passenger car occupants.
• Over half of motorcyclists who die in accidents in Kentucky are not wearing helmets (even though helmet use can reduce motorcycle rider fatalities by nearly 40%).
• Recent years have seen higher motorcyclist death tolls on U.S. roads than the previous decade.
• Two people were killed in a motorcycle wreck in Muhlenberg County when the operator of a truck was unable to avoid hitting them.
• A motorcyclist was killed in a Muhlenberg County crash when he was hit by a car.
• A motorcyclist ran into the side of a big rig in In Muhlenberg County and later died from his injuries.

In short, motorcycle accidents cause catastrophic, devastating injuries and fatalities every day, across the nation, including right here in the Bluegrass State and in Muhlenberg County.

Worse, many, if not most, of these crashes should never happen. They result from human error, more often than not on the part of motorists who fail to pay attention or to yield the right of way to motorcyclists, or to government agencies that put motorcyclists in danger by failing to maintain safe roadways.

How Motorcycle Accidents Happen

Clients who come to Flora Templeton Stuart after sustaining severe injuries and losses in a motorcycle accident uniformly describe a terrifying, traumatic experience. Though a motorcycle crash can happen in a wide variety of ways, many occur in one the following instances:

• Left-Turn Accidents (Failure to Yield the Right of Way). Anyone who has ridden a motorcycle for long enough has a story about getting cut off by a vehicle making a left hand turn across the motorcyclist’s lane of traffic. All-too-often, the turn happens too late for the motorcyclist to avoid a collision. Many of these accidents happen at intersections or wherever vehicles turn left across a lane of oncoming traffic. Vehicles can also put motorcyclists in danger by turning left from a right-hand lane, cutting off a motorcyclist traveling the same direction in the lane to the vehicle’s left.
• Lane changes. On highways with multiple travel lanes flowing in the same direction, motorcyclists face risks of vehicles merging into their lane. Accidents happen when motorists fail to check their blind spots, or check but fail to see a motorcycle there, and then change lanes, running a motorcycle off the road or causing a dangerous sideswipe accident that sends a motorcyclist tumbling.
• Rough road conditions. Far more so than for cars and trucks, rough roads pose heightened dangers for motorcycles. Grooved pavement, sandy or gravelly roads, and potholes can cause motorcyclists to lose control, or can even throw motorcyclists from their bikes altogether.
• Rear-end collisions. Motorcycles can come to a quicker stop than many larger vehicles. In heavy traffic conditions or when vehicles follow motorcycles too close, a sudden need to stop can put a motorcyclist at risk of a rear-end collision.

Although these factors account for many Greenville motorcycle accidents, they do not cover the gamut. No matter how a motorcycle crash occurred, Flora Templeton Stuart and her team have the resources and experience to make sure crash victims recover the compensation they deserve.

Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries

Motorcycle riders frequently wear protective gear, including helmets (which Kentucky law requires for some riders), eyewear, back protectors, and rash-resistant clothing. This equipment can provide a measure of protection in a crash scenario. However, the sad reality is that even when they wear safety gear, motorcyclists can all-too-easily suffer catastrophic and fatal injuries in a crash. Some of the most common injuries bikers risk sustaining include:

• Traumatic brain injuries. Wearing a helmet substantially reduces the risk of a motorcyclist suffering a fatal head injury in a crash. Still, even with a helmet, a rider thrown from a bike against a hard surface or object can sustain serious brain damage. A traumatic brain injury can result from any violent blow or jolt to the head, which helmets can reduce but not eliminate. Damage to brain tissue leads to a host of devastating health complications, including death, coma, semi-consciousness, and motor, cognitive, and emotional impairments that can last a lifetime.
• Spinal cord injuries. The violent impact of a motorcycle crash can also inflict massive damage to a biker’s spinal column and the bundle of nerves within it, known as the spinal cord. Swelling, bruising, pinching, or tearing of the spinal cord frequently leads to permanent paralysis, and forces the motorcyclist to adapt to a life utterly transformed by reliance on wheelchairs and other assistive devices.
• Severe road rash. Although the name of this injury makes it sound minor, the injury itself is a major concern for motorcyclists. In a collision at any speed, a rider thrown from a bike may slide a hundred feet or more on a road surface. The friction can burn and wear away the rider’s protective clothing (if any), and then do the same to the rider’s skin underneath. Severe road rashes combine thermal burns, abrasions, and lacerations in a single wound. They frequently leave dirt, grime, and debris deeply embedded in a rider’s skin tissue, posing a risk of deadly infection. Road rashes have roughly the same agonizingly slow and painful healing timeline as a severe burn. Even when healed, a rider may end up with a discolored, potentially disfiguring scar known as a “traumatic tattoo”.
• Major orthopedic injuries. In anything but the most minor crash, a motorcyclist can count on suffering some sort of orthopedic injury, be it a broken bone, a dislocated joint, or torn or sprained ligament or tendon. Some of these injuries heal with time, rest, and proper care. Others have longer lasting complications, leaving injured riders with chronic pain and significant disabilities.
• Internal injuries. Some of the worst injuries from a Greenville motorcycle accident can happen to a rider’s vital organs, such as the lungs, liver, and kidneys. These injuries do not necessarily show symptoms immediately, but can prove fatal if not caught in time. Even when treated, damage to vital organs can inflict long-term health complications.

These are just some of the injuries a motorcyclist can sustain in a Greenville motorcycle crash, of course. No matter what kind of injury a rider suffers, the rider deserves meaningful compensation when the injury results from someone else’s careless or reckless actions. Flora Templeton Stuart and her team can help.

Liability for Greenville Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists injured in preventable accidents in and around Greenville come to Flora Templeton Stuart knowing that someone should pay them compensation for the harm done to them in a crash. They do not always know who that “someone” is, however. One of the most important jobs our team has in any motorcycle accident case is to identify any and all individuals and entities who may have legal liability for our client’s injuries.

As a general rule, anyone whose bad decisions or careless actions led to a crash that harmed our client could have legal liability for money damages. Every Greenville motorcycle accident has its own unique circumstances, of course, but when we represent a motorcycle crash victim we often suspect the following “usual suspects” may have liability:

• A motorist. Car and truck drivers owe motorcyclists the same care and respect as anyone else who uses Kentucky roads. Unfortunately, many motorists treat motorcycle riders as second-class citizens. They fail to yield the right of way to motorcyclists, and frequently try to excuse an accident by claiming they just didn’t see a motorcyclist in their rear-view mirrors in an oncoming lane. Flora Templeton Stuart and her team hold motorists accountable when their careless actions leave motorcyclists badly injured, or worse.
• A business. Motorcycle accidents involving commercial vehicles can saddle owners and operators of those vehicles with legal liability. Businesses typically have a legal duty to answer for the actions of their employees, and may have liability for their own actions if, for example, they made decisions that increased an accident risk for motorcyclists.
• A manufacturer. The public has the right to expect that vehicles, motorcycles, and parts installed in them, will operate as expected. Manufacturers who sell defective products that pose an unreasonable danger to the public by failing and causing a crash, can have legal liability to anyone harmed as a result.
• A government entity. Motorcyclists, in particular, rely on government agencies to maintain roads in safe condition. Rough and uneven pavement puts motorcyclists’ lives at risk. Our firm has the resources and know-how to hold government agencies accountable for failing to design, build, and maintain safe thoroughfares for motorcyclists.

The most reliable way to know who may have liability to victims of a Greenville motorcycle accident is to work with skilled lawyers. Speak with Flora Templeton Stuart today to learn who may owe you money damages for your motorcycle crash injuries.

Compensation for Greenville Motorcycle Crashes

Our team can never guarantee an injured motorcyclist or grieving family member that they will recover compensation for their injuries after a crash. Every case differs. However, in our experience, many motorcyclists can seek to recover significant damages after an accident caused by someone else’s careless or reckless actions. These damages can include compensation for:

• Medical expenses. The cost of medical care after a Greenville motorcycle crash can rise to astronomical levels, and quickly. Experienced motorcycle accident injury lawyers seek to recover all of those costs from parties with legal liability and their insurance companies. This includes not just the cost of hospitalizations and doctor visits, but also for ambulance rides, medications, medical equipment, and long-term therapy.
• Lost wages and earning potential. Greenville motorcycle accident injuries often keep riders out of work for weeks or months while they recover. Some injured crash victims find they can never return to work in the same capacity, or at all. Flora Templeton Stuart fights to make sure motorcycle accident victims recover the full value of the past and future wages they lost because of a senseless, preventable crash.
• Pain and suffering. Financial costs represent just one of the ways Greenville motorcycle accident victims suffer harm. Injured motorcyclists and their families also endure profound physical pain and emotional suffering after a crash turns their lives upside down. That harm deserves compensation, too. Flora Templeton Stuart and her team work closely with injured clients to understand the full scope of the damage done to their lives by a motorcycle crash, so that the money damages they receive truly reflect the harm they have been forced to endure.

The amount of damages a motorcyclist might recover for crash injuries can vary widely from one case to the next. As we said, no lawyer can guarantee an outcome. However, Flora Templeton Stuart and her team can promise to take the time to learn about an injured client’s life and needs, and to build a case to get that client as much money as possible.

Money cannot turn back time and erase the trauma inflicted by a Greenville motorcycle accident, but it can give crash victims the resources they need to recover their health and regain their lives.

A Lawyer for Greenville Motorcycle Accident Victims

For decades, Flora Templeton Stuart has worked on behalf of motorcycle crash victims and their families to help them rebuild after a tragic, senseless traffic accident. Her compassionate, hard-working team treats every client like a member of the family, deserving of respect, compassion, and the full-measure of the team’s commitment to justice.

If a Greenville, Kentucky motorcycle accident has caused havoc in your life, you may have the right to recover substantial compensation from anyone whose decisions or actions caused you harm. Do not wait to seek skilled, experienced, caring legal counsel. The sooner you act, the better your chances of obtaining the compensation you need and deserve. Contact Flora Templeton Stuart today online or at 888-782-9090 for a free case evaluation.