How Many Motorcycle Accidents Are Fatal?

A significant percentage of motorcycle accidents are fatal. Though motorcycles are only three percent of all registered vehicles in the United States, riders account for 14.6 percent of all traffic deaths. About 60 riders die per every 100,000 registered motorcycles. The fact that riders have no significant protection from injuries beyond their helmet largely explains why riders are more likely to die when involved in a traffic accident.

Motorists have a duty to understand the great risk that motorcycle riders face and to avoid hitting those riders. If you lost a loved one from injuries they suffered during a motorcycle accident, you have endured the worst possible outcome of a traffic collision. Hire a motorcycle accident lawyer to seek compensation for your financial losses and the life-changing emotional and psychological hardship of losing a loved one.

Get A Free Consultation

How Do I Hold Liable Parties Accountable for a Fatal Motorcycle Accident?

There are cases where a fatal motorcycle accident leads to criminal charges. If a motorist is drunk when they strike a lawyer, for example, the motorist will likely face criminal proceedings. However, it’s also true that:

• Many fatal motorcycle accidents do not lead to serious criminal charges for at-fault parties
• Whether or not those responsible for your loved one’s fatal accident face criminal charges, criminal courts may do little to address the damages you have suffered

For these reasons, you should hire a personal injury attorney to address the harm you now face because you’ve lost a loved one unexpectedly. Depending on your circumstances, your attorney can:

• File a wrongful death lawsuit
• File one or more insurance claims in pursuit of death benefits

Let an experienced motorcycle accident attorney weigh all relevant information and form a personalized plan for your case. Be with your loved ones, work through your grief, and do what you must to move forward. Your attorney will handle the stress and obligation of your case and will work hard to see justice done for your heartbreaking loss.

Who Should Pay When Negligence Costs a Rider Their Life?

Fatal motorcycle accidents often happen because of one or more parties’ negligence. Attorneys can quickly spot negligence when investigating a motorcycle accident, as they must identify negligent actions in most cases they handle.

Examples of negligence that can lead directly to a motorcycle collision include:

• Careless driving: When motorists change lanes abruptly, exceed the speed limit, drive closely behind motorcyclists, or engage in other high-risk behaviors, they willfully increase the likelihood of an accident. If a collision occurs from these actions and a rider loses their life, the careless (or reckless) driver can be financially liable.
• Vehicular defects: If a car, SUV, truck, or motorcycle has a defect that plays a role in an accident, someone must be responsible for the defect. The manufacturer and seller are two parties your lawyer will evaluate as they determine liability for the wrongful death.
• Impaired driving: Failure to see a motorcyclist is one of the leading reasons accidents happen. Impairment—whether due to alcohol, lack of sleep, drug use, or other reasons—often reduces one’s ability to see and react to moving objects. For this reason, impaired motorists pose a clear and life-threatening danger to motorcyclists.
• Unsafe driving conditions: Motorcycle riders do not have the benefit of being on four wheels. Dangerous road conditions can cause riders to lose control of their bike, fall and suffer serious injuries. Potholes, work zones, and other hazards can also contribute to collisions between motor vehicles and riders. A municipality may be liable when such hazardous conditions contribute to a rider’s passing.

Motor vehicle drivers, municipalities, and vehicle and motorcycle manufacturers are among the parties who can cause motorcycle collisions to happen. Your lawyer will conduct an urgent investigation, carefully parsing facts and evidence with a keen eye for the finest details. This approach will lead your lawyer to at-fault and liable parties.

Damages Lawyers Often See in Fatal Motorcycle Accident Cases

Every wrongful death case stands on its own. The personality, roles, and financial role of the person you have lost is unlike anyone else. At the same time, those affected by fatal motorcycle accidents face many of the same types of damages, which can include:

Funeral and Burial Costs

Everyone deserves a proper funeral and burial or cremation. However, many survivors do not plan for these services until their loved ones are later in life. They are often unprepared for the unexpected expense of a funeral and burial or cremation.

Even if you had money to cover a funeral, you should not have to. Those responsible for the fatal motorcycle accident should pay for your loved one’s service, and a skilled motorcycle accident attorney will demand that they do.

Grief (and Other Types of Pain and Suffering)

The unexpected loss of a loved one can trigger debilitating, long-ranging pain and suffering that includes:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Immense grief
• Depression
• Despair
• Thoughts of self-harm
• Anxiety

If you need counseling or any other treatment as you cope with your loss, your lawyer will seek compensation to cover your mental health services.

Loss of Consortium

Much of the harm that results from fatal accidents ranges beyond the financial. Loss of consortium refers to the loss of the decedent’s non-economic value. Loss of a spouse’s companionship is the most common type of loss of consortium, though you can seek compensation for other forms too (like loss of a parent’s guidance).

Loss of the Decedent’s Financial Support

Though finances are often a secondary concern when you lose a loved one, financial insecurity from a wrongful death can have immediate and serious consequences. Your fatal motorcycle accident lawyer will seek compensation covering:

• Loss of the decedent’s income
• Loss of any household services the decedent provided, such as accounting services, security, handiwork, and help with household chores
• Loss of benefits the decedent provided through their employer

A wrongful death can be particularly destabilizing if the decedent was the sole or primary earner in the household.

Medical Expenses

Emergency and end-of-life medical care is typically expensive. Expect your attorney to include all medical expenses related to your loved one’s fatal motorcycle accident in your case.

Attorneys represent clients facing a wide range of psychological troubles, financial losses, and circumstances. Your attorney will conduct a sensitive, compassionate investigation into how your loved one’s loss has affected you. They will then lead your fight for a financial recovery that captures the overwhelming scope of your loss.

How Fatal Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Serve Their Clients

Your lawyer will serve several roles for you and any other loved ones they represent. A fatal motorcycle accident attorney will:

• Advise you about your options for seeking justice (and giving a rundown of the benefits of each approach)
• Ensure the prompt filing of any insurance claims and lawsuits you pursue
• Protect you from all bad-faith tactics that might otherwise undermine your lawsuit or claim(s)
• Ensure you receive the mental health services you need
• Update you frequently about the case while respecting your need for privacy

Those who lose a loved one are often in a fragile place. Dealing with the details of your loved one’s fatal accident may be highly distressing, and you may have very little time or energy to dedicate to the case. Accept a lawyer’s help, as you may need it now more than ever.

Some of the specific responsibilities lawyers handle for clients affected by fatal motorcycle accidents include:

Establishing Liability for the Wrongful Death

Your lawyer will quickly seek facts and evidence related to the fatal motorcycle accident. They will first determine fault for the collision using:

• Accounts of anyone involved in the collision
• Eyewitness accounts
• Video from traffic cameras or other sources
• An expert’s testimony (based on witness accounts and evidence) of who caused the accident

Your lawyer may also need to obtain evidence from a trucking company. This can require them to file a letter of spoliation, a technical legal document that requires parties to preserve evidence.

Documenting the Effects of the Decedent’s Preventable Passing

Fatal truck accident attorneys find out, in as gentle a manner as possible, how a loved one’s loss has affected their client. Some types of documentation your lawyer may collect are:

• Your account of the hardship you’ve faced since losing your loved one
• Past income statements showing the various forms of financial support the decedent provided their loved ones
• Medical bills
• Mental health professionals’ (possibly including grief counselors’) testimony about grief and other conditions you’ve experienced because of your loss

Your lawyer will listen to you. They will learn who the decedent was and what their passing has cost you and other loved ones. Because a wrongful death is permanent, your attorney will document the long-term cost of the fatal motorcycle accident.

Calculating the Value of the Client’s Case

It is always difficult to determine the cost of a lost life. However, this is a critical step in every fatal motorcycle accident case, and your attorney will calculate the economic and non-economic costs of the wrongful death.

Pursuing a Settlement Using Facts, Evidence, and Documentation

When your lawyer knows the financial cost of your economic and non-economic damages, they will initiate settlement negotiations. These negotiations may involve:

• The insurance provider for a truck driver
• The insurance provider for a trucking company
• Insurance companies representing other liable parties
• Defense lawyers representing those you sue directly

Whoever your lawyer negotiates with, the target outcome will not change. Your attorney will present proof of your damages and demand a fair settlement offer from liable parties.

Leading Any Necessary Legal Processes, Possibly Including a Lawsuit and Trial

Plaintiffs and defendants in wrongful death lawsuits (and opposing sides in insurance claims) do not always find common ground. If those liable for your loved one’s passing do not offer a fair settlement, you may choose to sue—your lawyer will guide you through this decision-making process.

If you initiate a lawsuit, your legal team will:

• Determine who to name as defendants in the lawsuit
• Draft and file the suit as soon as possible
• Keep settlement negotiations alive if the opposing side is willing to do so
• Proceed with discovery and other pre-trial processes if settlement negotiations do not lead to an agreement
• Represent you in court

Your lawyer knows you’ll likely want to be hands-off in most aspects of your case. They will update you frequently but handle every case-related responsibility they can. This full-service approach should afford you the time and space you need to take care of yourself.

Common Questions Related to Fatal Motorcycle Accident Cases

You will likely have specific questions for your attorney, and you should ask those questions during free consultations and after you choose a lawyer. There are also general questions that fatal motorcycle accident lawyers often hear from clients, which include:

Can I Afford to Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?

Lawyers understand that wrongful deaths cause intense distress, and part of that distress is financial uncertainty. This is why most motorcycle accident lawyers:

• Offer their services at no upfront or out-of-pocket cost to the client
• Only claim their fee if they secure compensation for the client
• Pay the cost of completing the case (which can be substantial, especially if a trial is necessary)

You will only need to agree to give your a percentage of any financial recovery they obtain for you.

Will I Need to Sue Those Responsible for a Fatal Motorcycle Accident?

Time will tell if suing is necessary. Many cases settle, but your lawyer will review all settlement offers with you. If you and your attorney decide that suing is the proper action for you, they will be ready.

What Are My Responsibilities After I Hire a Lawyer for My Wrongful Death Case?

Your only responsibility is to focus on your health in the wake of a life-changing accident. Your attorney will let you know whether they need anything from you.

Hire Your Fatal Motorcycle Accident Lawyer as Soon as Possible

Do not wait any longer to hire your attorney. Wrongful death cases are time-sensitive for several reasons, including the filing deadlines that states often impose on those who need to sue after losing a loved one.