North Side Motorcycle Crash Sends One to Hospital
Just after midnight going into May 22, a motorcyclist was injured when he was struck by a vehicle heading westbound on Loop 410. While the driver appeared to be uninjured, the motorcyclist required hospitalization. As of this writing, nothing is known about his present condition, but San Antonio law enforcement stated that fault for the crash was unclear. Unless a determination is later made that the motorcyclist was predominantly at fault, they would do well to bring suit against the vehicle that struck them, because too many drivers are not held accountable for their carelessness in such accidents, and motorcyclists’ injuries can be extremely severe.
Fatality Rates Are High
2017 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimate that approximately 5,200 motorcyclists were killed in traffic crashes nationwide, which represents a 3 percent drop from the previous year. The same data estimates that motorcyclists are a whopping 28 times more likely to die in motor vehicle accidents than passenger car occupants. They make up approximately 14 percent of all road deaths, even though motorcyclists are only around 3 percent of those on the road at any given time.
There are multiple reasons for these trends. Some of them do have to do with rider negligence – the NHTSA estimates that almost 30 percent of cyclists killed in traffic crashes were under the influence of alcohol at the time of their crash. Others are more the fault of automobile drivers – for example, one of the most common crash patterns is when a car will try to turn left, having failed to check their blind spots for motorcyclists. Lack of awareness among automobile drivers is a major cause of motorcycle crashes.
If You Are Injured
If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, your injuries are very often more severe than those sustained by a driver or passenger in a car might sustain, because of the relative lack of protection motorcyclists have. You may require months if not years of medical help, which can, in turn, cause lost wages and loss of quality of life. If you believe that you have been harmed due to someone else’s negligence, bringing suit can help you obtain compensation for some of those bills.
In Texas, you must be able to show that the driver who struck you breached the duty all motorists have to exercise reasonable care and that the breach of duty caused you real harm, without any other intervening cause playing a role. Be advised that under Texas law, you may be able to recover even if a jury finds that you were partially at fault; there is a concept called comparative fault that allows a plaintiff to recover as long as their responsibility is not held to have been more than 50 percent.
Contact a New Braunfels Motorcycle Accident Attorney
While the motorcycle accident on Loop 410 may end up never going to court, that need not be the case for you. If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to try and seek compensation. The skilled New Braunfels motorcycle accident lawyers at the Bettersworth Law Firm can work with you to help determine what your best course of action might be. Call us at 888-392-0039 today for a free consultation.
Source:
https://www.ksat.com/traffic/motorcyclist-hospitalized-after-crash-with-vehicle-on-access-road-of-loop-410
