The Differences Between Auto and Motorcycle Accidents and How it Can Affect Your Claim

A dramatic increase in motorcycle accidents nationwide has recently been reported by the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration.

If you're an avid motorcycle rider you may wonder, why? Motorcycle accidents are so much more often fatal, which is the reason for this. Also, motorcycle accident injuries tend to be more severe than accidents that involve cars. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this:

Vulnerability

There are some obvious design differences between motorcycles and cars. On a motorcycle, unlike with a car, your entire body is exposed. This makes the rider more susceptible to severe leg injuries, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. Motorcycles also don't have built in protection like seat belts or airbags. There is also no build in head protection, which is why many states have enacted helmet laws.

Visibility

The fact that motorcycles are smaller than cars also creates some unique hazards. Motorcycles are more likely to remain in blind sports or may be harder to notice even if they are in view. 77% of motorcycles in two vehicle crashes are hit from the side or front. What this indicates is that cars moving sideways hit them.

Complexity

Human, vehicle, and environmental factors all play a part in motorcycle accidents. It is far easier for a rider to be ejected from a bike than it is for a driver to be ejected from their car. It's this addition of environment that makes these accidents so much more complex. It's the fact that there's a much higher probability of striking a fixed object such as a guard rail or decorative road boulder when being ejected from your bike. Asphalt is not helping anything either. Road rash is something that even novice riders know to try and avoid.

It is because of these natural dangers that the environment poses that even solo bike accidents can be serious. These types of accidents are often causes by defective equipment, negligence, or road hazards.

How it all impacts your claim

Rehabilitation can be much longer with motorcycle accidents because the injuries in these accidents can be so much more sever. What this means is that on top of more lost wages and time from work than normal, you will also probably be paying for extra physical therapy. There are other problems as well, such as eyewitness testimony. Eyewitnesses often tend to overestimate the speed of a motorcycle, this can be potentially damaging to your claim.

Because these situations can be so complex your insurance adjuster may try to confuse you. The insurance adjuster's main job is to save the company money. If they can get you to admit you are "fuzzy" about some of the details they'll have an easier time adjusting your damageswhich means they'll pay you less money.


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James Brown is a Missouri injury lawyer based in St. Louis. Before you are hurt in a car accident you need to know the most common mistakes car accident victims make when talking to the insurance adjuster that ruin their accident claims. You can request a free copy of his Missouri accident guide, "I Survived! The Crash Victims Guide to Surviving the Aftermath" at his website http://www.themissouriinjurylawyer.com