A motorcycle accident can be physically and emotionally devastating for injured victims. It can also be financially draining. While dealing with expensive medical bills, catastrophic injuries, and negotiations with insurance companies, contact a San Antonio motorcycle accident lawyer for guidance. The Law Offices of Maloney & Campolo offers free consultations to accident victims. A personal injury attorney can take over complex legal actions and represent your best interests during a personal injury lawsuit in Texas.

Why Choose Us?

  • Our law firm has more than 20 years of experience representing clients in all matters of personal injury law.
  • Our lawyers have a proven record, securing more than $150 million in verdicts and settlements over the years.
  • Our San Antonio trial attorneys encourage communication with clients by taking calls 24/7 to answer questions and concerns about a case.
  • Our firm only makes accident victims pay for the services we render if we secure financial compensation on their behalf.

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How Can a Motorcycle Accidents Lawyer Help?

A San Antonio motorcycle accident attorney will know exactly how to protect your rights and go up against distracted or negligent drivers in pursuit of fair compensation. Your attorney will have years of experience in motorcycle accident law working to your benefit. You do not have to take on your case alone. Hiring an attorney can give you peace of mind and allow you to focus on your physical and emotional recovery.

Common Injuries Sustained During Motorcycle Accidents

When a motorcycle crashes, its rider can suffer severe and even fatal personal injuries. The rider striking the asphalt, the motor vehicle, or another object in a crash can injure virtually any part of the body. Although wearing protective gear can help, motorcyclists can still sustain life-changing physical injuries. Common injuries include:

  • Broken bones
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Road rash or lacerations
  • Traumatic brain injuries
  • Facial injuries
  • Neck and back injuries

The face and head, as well as the lower extremities, are most at risk in a motorcycle accident. Even while wearing a helmet and/or protective body gear, a motorcycle riders can suffer serious injuries in a collision. Depending on the severity of the impact, a motorcyclist could also suffer severe spinal cord injuries. A San Antonio spinal cord injury lawyer can help you recover compensation to cover for your medical expenses. If the other driver or a third party caused or contributed to the motorcycle wreck, the injured biker will have the right to pursue compensation for injuries and property damage through a civil claim in the state of Texas.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Even if you are a safe and vigilant motorcyclist, it is not always possible to avoid an accident. Distracted and negligent drivers may put your life at risk every time you hit the road. Driver error is the leading cause of motorcycle accidents and related injuries. Drivers who text and drive, drive drunk or drowsy, ignore rights-of-way, and break traffic laws put everyone else on the road at risk. Dangerous, distracted, careless and reckless drivers cause some of the worst types of motorcycle accidents in Texas.

  • Left-turn accident. A motor vehicle driver may fail to see an oncoming motorcycle and turn left into or in front of the motorcyclist. Driver inattention, distraction, blind spots and poor judgment can cause these accidents.
  • Lane-change accident. The same risk factors – driver distraction and blind spots – can also cause lane-change accidents. Unsafe merges and lane changes on top of motorcyclists can cause serious accidents.
  • Rear-end collision. A rear-end collision into a motorcyclist could be fatal. Speeding, tailgating and distracted driving are common causes behind a driver rear-ending a motorcycle.
  • Head-on collision. A distracted or reckless driver could strike a motorcyclist from the front if he or she turns in front of the motorcyclist or drifts into oncoming traffic. A head-on collision can easily be fatal for an unprotected and vulnerable motorcyclist.
  • No-contact accident. Sometimes a negligent driver can cause a motorcycle crash without actually colliding with the vehicle. If a driver forces a motorcyclist to react in ways such as jerking the handlebars, leaving the road, making an unsafe lane change or laying down the bike, the driver could be responsible for a crash even without actual contact.

Other potential causes of motorcycle accidents besides dangerous drivers are unsafe roads and motorcycle defects. A roadway with hazards such as loose gravel or potholes could contribute to a single-vehicle motorcycle accident. If the city reasonably should have repaired the hazard before your wreck, it could owe you compensation for your damages. Defective motorcycle parts, such as bad brakes or steering problems, could lead to a product liability claim against the bike manufacturer. A San Antonio car accident attorney will be able to determine liability for your accident.

What To Do After a Motorcycle Accident

It is normal to feel scared, angry or confused after a serious motorcycle accident. Try to remain calm, however, and protect your rights as best you can. Taking the right steps can be important for the upcoming claims process. Your future may depend on what you do immediately following a San Antonio motorcycle crash. When in doubt, contact our law office for assistance from the beginning with the steps you should take after a motorcycle accident.

  1. Got to the hospital. If you were involved in an accident it’s important to seek medical care, even if you’re not in pain. After an accident, your body experiences a flood of adrenaline, which can momentarily hide pain.
  2. Do not flee the scene. Remain at the scene of the accident and gather any evidence you are able to, take pictures if it is safe to do so and gather information from witnesses and the other driver involved in the crash.
  3. Call the police. Dial 911 while at the scene to report the wreck. Do not admit fault for the collision to the police officer. Give your side of the story and allow the officer to make conclusions about fault after an investigation.
  4. Call an insurance company. Texas is a fault state. Contact the at-fault driver’s insurance company to file your initial claim. Do not say you do not have any injuries until a doctor has officially cleared you. Wait to accept a settlement until you have spoken to a lawyer.
  5. Contact The Law Offices of Maloney & Campolo. You can call us 24/7 to speak to a motorcycle accident attorney in San Antonio. We can help you negotiate a fair insurance settlement, get medical care and deal with the aftermath of a serious crash.

Two of the most important calls to make after a motorcycle accident are to call the police so they can draft a police report, and contact a lawyer to seek a fair settlement for your accident. Making these two calls can protect your rights during the claims process. Do what you can to document the crash and get your side of the story on paper. Then, protect your legal rights to financial compensation by retaining an attorney to handle the rest of the claims process for you.

Do I Have a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit?

To obtain compensation for your motorcycle crash damages, you or your San Antonio motorcycle accident lawyer must prove that the defendant negligently or recklessly caused the crash. This takes establishing that the defendant owed you a duty of care, breached this duty, caused your accident, and that you suffered compensable damages as a result. Your lawyer can help you prove these four elements using evidence such as crash re-creation, eyewitness testimonies, accident experts, photographs of the scene, and medical records.

Working with an attorney on your motorcycle accident claim can optimize your odds of securing compensation from the at-fault party. This party could be a motor vehicle driver guilty of texting and driving, failing to yield the right-of-way, speeding, or breaking another roadway rule. It could also be the manufacturer of a defective motorcycle part, or the City of San Antonio for failing to fix a roadway defect. Identifying the defendant is one of the first steps your lawyer can take on your behalf. Then, your attorney can bring your motorcycle accident claim within Texas’ two-year statute of limitations.

Determining Liability in a Motorcycle Accident

Understanding who is liable – or legally and financially responsible – for your motorcycle accident in San Antonio can be difficult. While motor vehicle drivers often make errors that result in motorcycle accidents, a driver is not the only possibility in terms of liability for your crash. Various other parties may have played a role in your motorcycle accident or the extent of your injuries. Examples include:

  • The driver: drivers in Texas are required to carry minimum amounts of liability insurance to pay for accidents caused by their negligence. You may qualify for bodily injury and property damage liability insurance coverage from an at-fault driver’s policy.
  • A business: if the driver who caused your crash was working at the time of the collision – such as a commercial truck driver, delivery driver or government agent, you may be able to hold the employer vicariously liable.
  • A part manufacturer: if a defective vehicle part contributed to your accident or the extent of your injuries, you may be able to file a product liability claim against the manufacturer or distributor.
  • The government: motorcycle accidents caused by road defects, such as potholes, loose gravel, dangerous construction zones or uneven shoulders, could point to government liability for failing to maintain a safe roadway.

Determining liability often involves a comprehensive investigation of the collision. Investigators may return to the scene of the crash, interview witnesses and review the police report to learn the cause of the motorcycle accident. An attorney may also hire qualified experts and accident reconstructionists to prove fault. With help from a lawyer, you can identify all liable parties in your motorcycle accident case to improve your odds of making a full financial recovery.

Types of Compensation Available to Motorcycle Accident Victims

At Maloney & Campolo, we know that our clients are not only after financial compensation when they file injury claims. No amount of money can reverse serious or catastrophic injuries. Filing a claim seeks justice and accountability that can help an accident victim move forward. However, we are also aware of how much a fair financial recovery can help a motorcycle accident survivor. A fair settlement or judgment award could allow a victim to pay for necessary medical care and plan for the future with greater peace of mind.

Holding someone financially responsible for your motorcycle accident could result in compensation for the following losses, and more:

  • Medical bills: any past and future health care costs incurred by your motorcycle accident injuries, including hospital stays, surgeries, follow-up appointments, medications, rehabilitation and physical therapy.
  • Property damage: coverage to pay for necessary repairs for damage done to your motorcycle, or the full pre-crash value of your motorcycle if it was totaled in the accident. You could also be reimbursed for damage to your helmet, gear and other personal property.
  • Lost wages: compensation to reimburse you for wages lost between the date of your accident and the date that you file a claim. You may also qualify for lost future capacity to earn if you suffered a disabling injury.
  • Pain and suffering: intangible losses caused by the trauma of the motorcycle accident, which may include physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder or loss of enjoyment of life.
  • Wrongful death damages: costs associated with the loss of a loved one’s life in a fatal motorcycle accident, such as reasonable funeral and burial expenses, medical bills, and lost wages or inheritance.

Discuss the potential value of your motorcycle accident claim with one of our attorneys before accepting a fast insurance settlement. An insurance company may try to underestimate how much your case is worth, but our attorneys are committed to maximizing your payout. We know how physically, emotionally and financially devastating a motorcycle accident in San Antonio can be. We will strive for the case results that you deserve.

Request a Free Case Evaluation With Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

You do not have to navigate the motorcycle accident claims process by yourself. Hiring an attorney will give you access to top resources to strengthen your claim. A San Antonio motorcycle accident attorney can help you hold a negligent party accountable for causing you or a loved one’s serious personal injuries and handle negotiations with the insurance companies. Find out whether you have a case, and what it could be worth, during a free legal consultation in San Antonio. Call us or complete our online form, we represent accident claims in Bexar County and throughout Texas.

Discuss your motorcycle accident with our San Antonio car accident attorneys during a free initial cosultation.