Over 80,000 dedicated motorcycle riders suffered injuries in devastating motor vehicle accidents each year. Despite having the same rights to share the road as drivers, motorcyclists often pay the highest price during multi-vehicle accidents. Determining liability in mass casualty cases, especially involving groups of riders and complicated helmet laws, requires the assistance of an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer.
Not every legal professional has the capacity to handle complex liability cases. You should always reach out to an attorney near you who's not afraid to file multiple claims and pursue necessary litigation.
Understanding Fault in Multi-Vehicle Motorcycle Crashes
Determining liability after multi-vehicle collisions is difficult in most cases, but it can be especially complicated when motorcycles are involved. The first step in holding negligent parties accountable for chain-reaction accidents is identifying the triggering event. Consider the following common causes of pile-up accidents:
- Hydroplaning: Bad weather is one of the leading causes of chain-reaction crashes, as it reduces the friction between the roadway and tires. Drivers must slow down in bad weather as required by law to avoid hydroplaning. This loss of vehicle control often propels high-speed cars across multiple lanes of traffic, causing pile-up accidents.
- Jackknifing: Any vehicle with a trailer, generally semi-trucks or SUVs, is subject to jackknifing. Jackknife accidents occur when the trailer slips out of alignment with the tractor, often blocking multiple lanes of traffic. Improper braking, speeding, drunk driving, texting, and poor roadway conditions often contribute to jackknife accidents. When trailers block multiple lanes of traffic, motorcycle riders may have no choice but to execute emergency falls. These maneuvers frequently result in painful friction burns and spinal cord injuries.
- Speeding: Most multi-vehicle accidents involving motorcycles occur on high-speed roadways where drivers do not have enough time to react to the roadway obstruction. Attorneys might hold liable drivers responsible for both speeding and failing to keep a safe distance between vehicles after chain-reaction crashes.
- Driving Under the Influence/Fatigued Driving: Tired driving can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Drunk and fatigued drivers may drift into another driver's lane, forcing the other driver to stop short. In many cases, the inebriated driver overcompensates for the drifting and subsequently loses control of the vehicle, resulting in serious and unpredictable pile-up accidents.
- Roadway Obstructions: In some cases, chain-reaction crashes are not the driver's fault. Dangerous roadway conditions, such as potholes, debris, or falling trees, may unexpectedly block lanes. Poorly designed highways might also cause multi-vehicle collisions. Experienced attorneys can help motorcyclists injured on dangerous roads obtain damages from negligent contractors or state highway departments.
Depending on the triggering event, the driver that struck you might not bear primary responsibility for the crash. This further complicates liability determinations in chain-reaction accident cases involving motorcycles. A dedicated multi-vehicle collision lawyer will first analyze the triggering event to determine the accident's cause and then trace that triggering event to your injuries. Even if five drivers are liable for the crash, a reputable law firm might fight to hold them all accountable for your damages.
Motorcyclist Injuries Seen in Multi-Vehicle Accident Cases
Unlike vehicle passengers, riders involved in multi-vehicle collisions are often propelled from their motorcycles and into oncoming traffic. This lack of protection commonly results in double- or triple-impact injuries. For example, the initial strike can push the rider into the hood of another vehicle, causing a secondary injury, and this second impact might subsequently force the rider onto the hard pavement, causing additional damage.
An experienced personal injury attorney might hold multiple parties liable for the following catastrophic motorcycle accident injuries:
Amputations/Fractures
Because motorcycle riders are exposed, multi-vehicle accidents may force the rider into the path of another oncoming vehicle. This second driver may run over the rider, resulting in significant crushing injuries to the rider's legs and arms. When these bones fracture into multiple pieces, doctors may have to amputate the limb to save the rider's life. Compassionate legal counsel might demand substantial damages for your pain and emotional suffering if you lost a limb in a motorcycle crash.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
Motorcycle riders often sustain serious head trauma – including concussions, fractured skulls, brain bleeds, and potentially fatal diffuse axonal injuries – when they strike the pavement. Although helmets might prevent fatal injuries, they do not prevent head trauma. A dedicated personal injury law firm can recover damages for a TBI after a motorcycle accident, regardless of whether you were wearing a helmet.
Internal Bleeding
Runover accidents can also cause chest cavity trauma, including broken ribs, crushed lungs, and heart damage. This crushing may result in sudden internal hemorrhaging, requiring immediate medical attention. You might recover damages if you lost full or partial use of an organ system after a multi-vehicle motorcycle accident.
Spinal Cord Damage
Back and neck injuries commonly occur in high-speed motorcycle accidents, as the force of multiple impacts may cause the vertebra to fracture. Many motorcycle riders suffer from paralysis below the area of damage, and many others are disabled due to disc herniations and nerve pain. You might require lifetime medical care after a serious spinal cord injury, necessitating legal help to recover needed financial damages for you and your family.
Friction Burns
Friction burns occur when your body rubs against the road hard enough that the heat generated from the friction damages your skin and underlying tissues. These painful burns may result in significant scarring and frequently occur when a rider is thrown from his bike at high speeds. The force of a high-speed impact will cause his body to continue along the pavement, causing serious friction burns. You might recover damages for pain and suffering, including any disfigurement if you suffered from burns in a multi-vehicle motorcycle accident.
Options for Obtaining Damages in Complex Chain-Reaction Motorcycle Accident Cases
Most personal injury claims settle with the liable auto insurance company. However, many law firms do not accept chain-reaction crash cases because motor vehicle insurers often fight over liability. Before an insurance company will pay a motorcycle accident claim, the injured claimant must show that the insured was liable for the accident. This means proving that the insured's unlawful conduct, such as failing to keep a safe distance, caused the crash and resulting injuries.
But what happens when the driver who hit you claims she was forced into your lane when someone hit her? She may disclaim liability for the crash, leaving you to go after the first driver for damages. While you may file a claim with both drivers' insurance companies, they might each refuse to pay.
Dedicated car crash lawyers might speed up the liability determination process by retaining a private accident investigator or, if necessary, taking the case to court. Filing litigation, often necessary in complex accident cases, allows a judge to determine liability after a multi-vehicle collision. This takes the case out of the adjusters' hands.
Many personal injury cases settle once the judge makes a liability determination, with each company generally paying its fair share of your financial damages. Although suing all the drivers involved in a multi-vehicle collision takes time, it may be the only way to obtain compensation in your case.
Financial Compensation Available After Devastating Chain-Reaction Motorcycle Crashes
Motorcycle riders involved in complex multi-vehicle accidents might recover personal injury damages. In most jurisdictions, this means you can obtain compensation for the following:
- Lost income, including standard income, overtime, commission, and bonuses
- Value of lost business opportunities and workplace promotions
- Lost workplace benefits, including pension contributions and health insurance
- Medical expenses
- Rehabilitation costs
- Medications and medical equipment
- Household modifications
- Lost enjoyment of life
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Loss of spousal companionship
- Damage to the motorcycle
Experienced motorcycle accident attorneys know that riders who sustained catastrophic motorcycle accident injuries will continue incurring medical expenses and lost income. As such, you may demand damages for both past expenses and future anticipated losses. Reputable law firms will engage medical and economic experts to calculate the true value of your claims and demand compensation from liability insurers.
File Motorcycle Accident Claims Quickly to Avoid Insurance Exhaustion
Mass casualty crashes, such as pile-up accidents, frequently result in multiple victims. It's essential to file a claim for damages quickly in these cases, as insurance compensation is limited. All insurance policies have 'event' limits, meaning there is a maximum amount insurers are obligated to pay out after a chain-reaction crash. If the crash resulted in two fatalities and seven serious injuries, but the driver only carried the minimum $50,000 worth of accident insurance, one claimant may exhaust the entire policy.
An attorney may help injured riders go after third parties, such as negligent trucking companies or municipalities, for the remaining damages. Personal injury lawyers might also help injured motorcyclists obtain damages from their underinsured motorist insurance (UM/UIM) policies, which are mandatory in some states.
Settling your claims is different than exhausting an insurance policy, and how you structure your settlements can impact your entitlement to future compensation. Do not accept any money from an insurance company without first speaking with an experienced multi-vehicle collision lawyer.
The Benefits of Retaining a Chain-Reaction Accident Litigator
If you were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident involving multiple vehicles, you're probably struggling with significant pain, medical expenses, and lost income. You likely have neither the time nor money to trace liability, file multiple insurance claims, and fight for rightful compensation. A reputable motorcycle injury lawyer can fight to obtain needed compensation for your damages while you focus on your physical recovery.
Tracing Liability
Every state has a unique system of determining liability after chain-reaction crashes. A local motorcycle accident attorney can review the evidence – including the police report, photographs, witness testimonies, and video footage – to determine liability under state law. In complex accident cases, your law firm might retain an accident reconstruction specialist to render an expert opinion on fault.
Filing Insurance Claims
After determining liability, legal counsel will file strong insurance claims with all liable insurance companies. This might include fighting for your rights to UM/UIM benefits or demanding damages from negligent state entities. You should do this quickly after mass casualty accidents to obtain your fair share of limited damages.
Defending Your Rights
Insurance companies commonly shift blame onto innocent motorcycle riders to reduce their overall financial exposure. They may do this by claiming you should have been wearing a helmet or take other evasive maneuvers to divert fault. Dedicated legal counsel will fight against any attempt to shift blame for the accident to you and, if necessary, take your case to court.
Suing Negligent Parties
In multi-vehicle accident cases involving motorcycles, it's often necessary to file personal injury litigation. This allows the judge, not insurers, to make liability determinations under state law. Many reputable law firms file litigation immediately after mass casualty motorcycle accidents to ensure their clients' rights are protected. The attorney may initially sue all involved drivers and subsequently settle certain lower-value claims, dismissing these drivers from the litigation. This can provide you with needed compensation as the court determines primary liability for a chain-reaction crash.
Maximizing Compensation
Many injured riders do not know how to claim UM/UIM insurance policy benefits or demand damages for anticipated future medical expenses. Experienced personal injury attorneys can maximize your damages so you can get the full compensation available to you under the law.
Offering Contingency Fees
Reputable motorcycle accident lawyers may offer these services and more without charging injured clients any upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs. Most personal injury firms accept viable cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning they don't get paid unless they recover needed financial damages in your case. There is no financial risk associated with calling a motorcycle accident attorney to discuss your claims after a chain-reaction crash.
Retain a Local Multi-Vehicle Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Immediately
If you suffered an injury in a chain-reaction crash, you should immediately contact a law firm with experience litigating complex liability cases involving motorcycles. Acting quickly can ensure you get your fair share of limited insurance compensation. Do not be surprised if, as the motorcycle rider, adjusters try to reduce your compensation. Call a local motorcycle accident law firm that's not afraid to tackle complicated chain-reaction crash cases immediately.