Crash in South Austin Kills Motorcyclist
A front-end crash between an SUV and a motorcyclist has left one man dead and one woman with “potentially life-threatening” injuries. The driver of the SUV was attempting to avoid hitting a vehicle that suddenly stopped in front of him on East Oltorf, and instead swung into traffic, striking the motorcyclist. The young man was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries, while the woman’s condition is unknown as of this writing. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon in accidents involving motorcyclists, as they have so much less protection to rely on in the event of a crash. If you have been injured in a crash with an automobile, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Motorcyclists Are at Greater Risk
Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimate that motorcyclists are roughly 28 times more likely to die in traffic crashes than automobile drivers or passengers. In Texas, fatal crashes involving motorcyclists made up approximately 10 percent of the total, even though motorcyclists only make up around 5 percent of drivers at any one time. There are multiple reasons for this, and very often, the fault does not lie with the motorcyclist.
Causes for motorcycle crashes are legion, but many of them revolve around inattention or ignorance on the part of an automobile driver. For example, one of the most common fact patterns in motorcycle accidents is for an automobile driver to turn left, not seeing the motorcycle in their blind spot. Another common scenario is being unaware of a motorcyclist’s presence at all, whether due to cycles’ small sizes or to another type of carelessness.
If You Are Hurt
If you have been injured in an accident and were lucky enough to survive it, your medical bills may still be very high, just because of the sheer amount of weight being involved in an accident with an automobile. You have the same rights as a motorcyclist that any driver on Texas roads has, and if those rights are infringed on, you may be able to allege that the person who struck you was negligent. Essentially, every driver has a duty to exercise ‘reasonable’ care toward the other drivers on the road, and if they do not, it may be enough to show that they should be liable for your injuries.
Keep in mind that Texas law allows you to recover even if you turn out to have been partially at fault for your own injuries. Texas recognizes what is called comparative fault, which holds that as long as you are less than 50 percent liable, you can still recover, but your award will be lowered by that percentage. So if you are held to have been 20 percent liable for your own injuries, a jury might still hold the defendant liable, but your award would be 20 percent less than it would have otherwise.
Call a New Braunfels Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
While it is unfortunately too late for the male victim on East Oltorf Road, you may have more options if you have been involved in a motorcycle crash. Contacting an experienced New Braunfels motorcycle accident attorney at the Bettersworth Law Firm is a good first step toward seeking the compensation that can help you focus on recovery. Call our office at 888-392-0039 today to schedule a free consultation.
Sources:
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190613/austin-police-id-motorcyclist-killed-in-south-austin-on-monday
https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycle-safety
