Riding a motorcycle offers a sense of freedom and adventure that many in Richmond, Virginia, cherish. However, the open nature of motorcycles also exposes riders to significant risks. When accidents occur, the consequences can be severe, leading to substantial physical, emotional, and financial burdens. If you or a loved one has been involved in a motorcycle accident someone else caused, seeking guidance from an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Richmond can help you secure the compensation you deserve.
Our Richmond motorcycle accident lawyers at the law offices of Emroch & Kilduff, PLLC want to meet with you. We can review your case for free and provide you with a list of your options moving forward.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Due to the limited protection motorcycles provide compared to passenger vehicles, riders often sustain more severe injuries in collisions. Common injuries include:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): Even with helmet use, riders can suffer concussions or more severe brain injuries that may lead to long-term cognitive issues.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the spinal cord can result in partial or complete paralysis, significantly altering a victim's quality of life.
- Fractures and Broken Bones: The impact of a crash can cause fractures in the arms, legs, ribs, and pelvis, often requiring extensive medical treatment.
- Road Rash: When a rider slides across the pavement, severe skin abrasions known as road rash can occur, potentially leading to infections and scarring.
- Internal Injuries: Blunt force trauma can cause internal bleeding and damage to organs, necessitating immediate medical intervention.
These injuries not only require immediate medical attention but may also demand ongoing care, including future medical treatment and rehabilitation.n the motorcyclist is hit with a significant amount of force. Tragically, many motorcycle accidents are fatal.
Top Causes of Richmond Motorcycle Accidents
Understanding the common causes of motorcycle accidents can help in identifying liable parties and pursuing a motorcycle claim. Many motorcycle crashes in Richmond are attributed to:
- Distracted Driving: Motorists engaging in activities like texting or adjusting in-car systems may fail to notice motorcyclists.
- Failure to Yield: Drivers who neglect to yield the right of way at intersections or during lane changes can collide with motorcycles.
- Impaired Driving: Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs impairs judgment and reaction times, increasing the risk of accidents.
- Speeding: Excessive speed reduces a driver's ability to react to sudden changes, making collisions more likely and more severe.
- Left-Turn Accidents: A significant number of motorcycle accidents occur when a vehicle makes a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle, often due to misjudgment of the motorcycle's speed or distance.
Identifying the at-fault party is essential in pursuing full and fair compensation for damages incurred.
Your Duties as a Motorcyclist and How It Affects Liability
As a motorcyclist in Richmond, you have a number of responsibilities and duties. Generally, you have the duty to operate your motorcycle with a reasonable degree of care, or the degree of care that a reasonable person would exercise. Specifically, you are obligated to:
- Wear a protective helmet
- Wear a face shield or safety glasses or have the motorcycle equipped with safety glass
- Hold a valid motorcycle classification designation on your driver's license
- Follow all traffic signals, signs, and laws, such as refraining from lane-splitting or riding while intoxicated
It is important that you uphold all of your duties as a motorcyclist. If you do not, you are putting yourself at a higher risk of harm by increasing your chances of being involved in an accident. Further, you are also increasing the risk of losing out on your right to compensation if you are in an accident, even if the other driver was mostly responsible for your crash. This is because Virginia maintains a system of pure contributory negligence. This means that when a plaintiff in a civil action contributes to his injuries in the slightest, he is barred from holding a defendant liable for his injuries and seeking damages.
Steps to Take Following a Motorcycle Accident
If you're involved in a motorcycle accident in Richmond, taking the following steps can protect your health and legal rights:
- Seek Medical Attention: Prioritize your health by obtaining immediate medical care, even if injuries seem minor. Some conditions, like internal injuries or head injuries, may not be immediately apparent.
- Document the Scene: If possible, collect evidence at the accident scene, including photographs of the vehicles, your injuries, and any relevant road conditions or signage.
- Gather Witness Information: Obtain contact details from any witnesses, as their accounts can support your motorcycle claim.
- Report the Accident: File a report with local law enforcement to ensure there's an official record of the incident.
- Notify Your Insurance Company: Inform your insurer about the accident promptly, but be cautious in your communications and avoid admitting fault.
- Consult a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer: Contact a motorcycle lawyer who can guide you through the legal process, handle communications with insurance adjusters, and advocate for your right to full and fair compensation.
An experienced motorcycle accident attorney can handle all aspects of your case so you can focus instead on your recovery.
Emotional and Psychological Impact of Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents in Richmond often result in more than just physical injuries; they can have long-lasting emotional and psychological effects as well. Many motorcycle accident victims experience conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression after a motorcycle crash.
- These mental health challenges can disrupt everyday life, making it difficult for injured riders to return to work, engage with family, or enjoy activities they once loved.
- The trauma from the accident, including severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries, often leads to lingering emotional scars.
- Motorcycle accident victims may face constant fear, flashbacks, or overwhelming anxiety when they think about riding or driving near other motor vehicles, including car and truck drivers.
These psychological effects can make it difficult to focus on recovery or manage day-to-day tasks. Some survivors of motorcycle crashes also deal with feelings of anger, frustration, or helplessness, particularly if their motorcycle accident injuries result in permanent disabilities or drastically change their lifestyle.
Importance of Medical Attention
After a motorcycle accident, it's important to seek medical attention immediately—not just for physical injuries like broken bones, road rash, or traumatic brain injuries, but also for psychological symptoms.
A qualified medical treatment professional, such as a therapist or counselor, can help motorcycle accident victims address their emotional trauma and develop strategies for coping.
The emotional toll of a motorcycle crash is not something to ignore, and seeking help is a key step in the overall recovery process.
An Attorney Can Help
In Richmond, motorcycle accident lawyers understand that emotional suffering is a significant part of the damage caused by a motorcycle accident.
Richmond motorcycle accident attorneys can help victims recover compensation not only for their physical injuries and medical bills but also for the emotional and psychological harm they endure.
Virginia law allows motorcycle accident victims to file a motorcycle accident claim for damages related to emotional distress, therapy costs, and long-term mental health treatment.
An experienced Richmond motorcycle accident lawyer will work to maximize your compensation, ensuring that your motorcycle accident case addresses all aspects of your recovery, including the psychological impact.
If you've been involved in a motorcycle wreck, don't hesitate to contact a motorcycle accident injury lawyer in Richmond, VA. Our experienced legal team offers a free consultation to discuss your motorcycle accident injury claim and help you recover fair compensation for both your physical and emotional injuries.
We Help You to Prove Fault and Maximize Your Compensation Amount
A situation like the one described above—where a motorcyclist is unable to recover compensation for his injuries because he contributed to them through a minor act of fault—may seem unfair, but it has happened in the past and will surely happen again in the future.
The pure contributory negligence rule in Virginia is one of the primary reasons why you need our experienced legal team on your side after a motorcycle crash. We build your claim in a manner that proves that your injuries would not have occurred but for the actions of the other party, and therefore, that your claim deserves to be paid in full. We will investigate your accident and negotiate for a settlement. We also have significant trial experience, so if an out-of-court settlement cannot be reached, we are prepared to file a lawsuit and bring your case to trial.
We will negotiate with your own insurance company when you are seeking compensation under your medical payments (MedPay) coverage, which pays for medical expenses in an accident regardless of fault. We can also help you to determine whether there are any other potential insurance companies involved from which you can seek recovery.
How Much Compensation Could I Recover?
That depends on the severity of your injuries, among other factors. At a minimum, you may obtain economic damages, including past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, replacement or reimbursement for repairs of personal property damaged in the accident, and funeral and burial expenses. Even if you can go back to work, but you are not able to earn the amount you once earned because your injuries caused you to change your line of work, you may obtain future lost wages for the difference between the lower-paying job and your old job.
You could also receive non-economic damages, sometimes referred to as general damages. Non-economic damages are those that do not have a fixed price and are usually awarded for long-term injuries.
General damages could include:
- Pain and suffering;
- Emotional suffering, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or depression;
- Disfigurement;
- Loss of use of a body part;
- Loss of a bodily function, such as your eyesight;
- Inconvenience;
- Loss of consortium;
- Loss of companionship; and
- Scarring.
Don't discount the emotional effects of a serious motorcycle accident. Some people could develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and / or depression if the accident was bad enough. Physical, cognitive, and psychological therapy is also included in a claim for medical expenses. As soon as you notice symptoms of any psychological issue, you should see a mental health professional as soon as possible.
Richmond Motorcycle Accident FAQ
In a recent year, Virginia saw a staggering 2,119 motorcycle crashes. Of those, 108 were fatal, and 1,670 involved injuries. Of those injuries, 708 were serious injuries. Only 8 percent of the wrecks were on interstates; the balance of the accidents was on non-interstate roads. Surprisingly, 43.9 percent of the crashes involved only the motorcycle.
While few modes of transport can match the freedom of a motorcycle, because motorcycles offer little protection compared to passenger vehicles, people tend to suffer more serious injuries in a motorcycle wreck.
What are the motorcycle laws in Richmond?
You must have a motorcycle designation on your license to drive a motorcycle in Virginia, including in Richmond. The state also requires that drivers and riders wear helmets for additional protection. You should also wear protective clothing.
While you might be careful enough, you can never predict what others on the road will do; thus, you could be injured in a wreck that you didn’t cause or can not avoid. The helmet and protective clothing will minimize injuries to a certain extent and could mean the difference between life and death.
I’m injured and can’t work or pay bills. How can I afford a Richmond motorcycle accident lawyer?
How much does a lawyer cost? It does not cost you anything to retain our services. The consultation is free, and our fees and costs come only out of any settlement or trial award secured on your behalf.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in Virginia?
Virginia generally allows two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, insurance claims often need to be filed much sooner—sometimes within days—so don’t wait to reach out for legal help.
What if I wasn’t wearing a helmet?
Virginia law requires helmet use. Not wearing one could hurt your case, but it doesn’t automatically mean you’re barred from recovering damages. A Richmond motorcycle accident lawyer can evaluate your situation and advise you on your options.
Can I still recover compensation if the other driver wasn’t ticketed?
Yes. A traffic citation isn’t necessary to prove fault in a civil claim. Evidence like eyewitness testimony, crash scene photos, and vehicle damage can be used to show who caused the accident.
What if the other driver doesn’t have insurance?
You may still be able to recover compensation through your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Your attorney can help identify all available insurance options to support your recovery.
Contact Richmond Motorcycle Accident Lawyers at the Offices of Emroch & Kilduff, PLLC Today
If you are involved in a motorcycle accident, your life may never look the same again. Even if you do regain mobility and cognitive abilities, you may be left with thousands of dollars in medical expenses, lost wages, and lingering psychological harm.
We know that Virginia’s negligence laws can make it difficult to recover what you deserve, but we don’t want these laws to deter you. If you are in a crash, or if you lose a loved one in a fatal motorcycle accident, our caring Richmond motorcycle accident attorneys will be here for you. We can review your claim for free, provide you with the legal advice that you need, and represent you in the claims process if you so choose.
Our law firm cares about you. Learn what we have to say about what steps you should take next by calling us today. You can also chat with us online, fill out the contact form on our website, or send us an email at info@emrochandkilduff.com.
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