Motorcycle accidents in Nashville often result in major injuries for those involved, particularly the motorcyclists. It is crucial for these individuals to recover compensation when another driver caused the incident. Motorcycle crash injuries could needlessly place a financial strain on victims.
You can count on The Williams Firm when you need a Nashville motorcycle accident lawyer by your side. Our team has extensive resources that we can use to handle your entire Nashville accident claim. Let us get involved today so we can recover the compensation you are entitled to.
Why Choose The Williams Firm for Your Motorcycle Accident Claim?
In 2015, our Nashville motorcycle accident attorneys recovered more than $3.4 million in damages for our clients – many of whom were victims of motorcycle crashes. Our law firm won a $600,000 settlement for three people injured in a motorcycle crash in Nashville at an intersection after hiring an expert arborist to prove that trees and brush had been covering the stop sign for a negligent amount of time. In another case, we won $605,000 for an injured motorcyclist who suffered severe leg injuries after a collision.
If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident and are ready to fight for the compensation you deserve, our Nashville personal injury lawyers will evaluate your case and start making moves on your behalf immediately. We have the resources you need to prove negligence in a motorcycle crash, and will defend your case to the fullest extent of Tennessee law. With over 40 years of personal injury experience in Nashville, our legal team understands the gravity of motorcycle crashes and responds to them with aggressive representation.
Motorcyclist Rights and Responsibilities in Nashville
Tennessee law enforcement holds motorcyclists to the same rules of the road as other motor vehicles. Motorcyclists must follow road signs, stoplights, and traffic patterns while on the roadway. They are not allowed to ride next to cars in the same lane, but two motorcycles can ride next to each other in the same lane. Weaving between cars or riding in the emergency lane to avoid traffic is not allowed.
Motorcycle riders, including passengers, must wear helmets at all times in Nashville, TN. The helmets must meet federal standards. Lawmakers put these rules in place for your protection: wearing a helmet decreases your chances of suffering a traumatic head injury and permanent brain damage. However, if you weren’t wearing a helmet during a motorcycle accident, it won’t be admissible as evidence of fault in the event of negligence by a third party. If you suffered a traumatic head injury as a result of another driver’s negligence, contact our Nashville brain injury attorneys.
Nashville Motorcycle Accident Victims Deserve Compensation
Personal injury attorneys handle traffic crashes involving motorcycles the same way as other motor vehicle crashes, although the injuries sustained are generally more severe. Motorcyclists can suffer from serious road rash, spinal cord and neck injuries, head trauma, brain injuries, internal bleeding, and wrongful death. The compensation a motorcyclist can receive in the event of negligence from a third party may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional suffering and trauma
- Medical expenses, including rehabilitation
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Property damages
Injured motorcyclists regularly sustain life-threatening injuries or permanent disfigurement during a crash. If an accident results in death, the spouse and/or family are eligible for consortium damages. In these cases, the spouse or family can sue for tangible damages as well as intangible damages such as loss of love, attention, education, etc. that the spouse and/or family would have reasonably received had the victim not been killed.
How Much Compensation is Available for a Motorcycle Accident in Nashville?
There is no set amount of compensation paid to motorcycle crash victims. Every case is unique, and the factors related to each particular incident must be thoroughly examined by medical and financial experts. Some of the factors that can change how much compensation a person receives include:
- Severity of injuries
- Amount of work missed due to injuries
- Level of property damage
- Any scarring or disfigurement
- Disabilities
- Shared fault
- Documented level of pain and suffering
We encourage you to speak with your Nashville truck accident attorney about how much compensation they expect you will receive for your claim. Your lawyer will be responsible for adequately calculating the economic and non-economic damages and then negotiating a fair settlement on your behalf.
How Does Shared Fault Affect a Claim?
There are times when more than one party is responsible for causing a motorcycle crash. In these situations, the Tennessee “modified comparative negligence” system may be used to determine how much compensation each person involved receives, if they receive any compensation at all.
Under the modified comparative negligence system in this state, individuals can recover compensation if they are up to 50% responsible for causing their own injuries. Any individual 51% or more responsible for an incident will be unable to recover compensation.
However, the caveat to this modified comparative negligence system is that individuals will receive less compensation depending on their percentage of fault. For example, if a person sustains $1 million worth of damages after sustaining a motorcycle accident spinal cord injury, but a jury determines that the individual was 30% responsible for causing the incident, this will reduce their compensation amount by $300,000. The individual would receive $700,000 instead of the full amount.
If you are facing any allegations of shared fault after a Nashville motorcycle accident, we encourage you to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer will help push back against these allegations and ensure that any comparative negligence claims are backed up by facts.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Nashville
Motorcycle accidents can be deadly at worst and extremely inconvenient and painful at best. When a motorcyclist is in an accident, the rider is more likely to be injured as a result. Some of the most common causes of motorcycle wrecks in Nashville include:
- Speeding
- Distracted Driving
- Drowsy Driving
- Left-turns
- Mechanical Failures
- Drunk Driving
- Road Hazards
Sometimes, despite how much care you exercise in operating your motorcycle on Nashville’s winding roads, other drivers make a collision inevitable, especially in an instance where you’re involved in an accident with a truck in Nashville.
How is Liability Determined After a Motorcycle Crash in Nashville?
Determining liability after a motorcycle crash in Nashville can be challenging, which is why it is important to have a skilled attorney by your side when doing so. The process begins by gathering evidence, some of which will likely have been gathered at the scene of the incident. The most common types of evidence used by an attorney to help determine liability and these situations include:
- Photographs taken at the scene of the motorcycle crash
- Video surveillance captured on cameras from nearby homes or businesses
- Statements from any eyewitnesses, including bystanders or other drivers and passengers
- Any police or accident report related to the motorcycle crash
- Vehicle incident recording systems
- Mobile device records
In some cases, the evidence is fairly straightforward and paints a clear picture of who may have caused the crash. However, motorcycle accidents are not always straightforward, and fault may not be clear right away.
An attorney may need to speak to eyewitnesses to get their statements about the incident, and it may be necessary to hire an accident reconstruction expert. These individuals will use their knowledge of collision science and examine the evidence that has already been gathered. They will look at the scene of the incident as well as any vehicles involved and then put together 3D computer models so that insurance carriers or juries can see what likely occurred.
How Insurance Determines Fault in Nashville Motorcycle Accident Claims
Because of how the courts determine fault, the representatives for the insurance company will attempt to show you played a role in causing the accident. In this way, they attempt to reduce the amount of compensation they owe you or perhaps avoid paying you completely. Often, insurance companies use the possible reduction in compensation to lower any settlement offers they make.
While you may have partly contributed to your motorcycle accident, you are still able to receive compensation if the other party was more than 50% at fault for the accident. Our Nashville motorcycle accident attorneys will establish your case and help ensure no one assigns more fault to you than is fair.
Do Not Give a Recorded Statement to Insurance Carriers
Soon after a motorcycle accident occurs, you will likely be contacted by insurance carriers from the other party. Regardless of which insurance carrier you are speaking to, you should not give a recorded statement. Insurance carriers will look for ways to limit how much compensation they payout for a claim, and this includes examining all statements you have given for inconsistencies.
When the insurance carriers ask for a reported statement, they are doing this so they will have proof if your statement deviates from any previous statements given related to the motorcycle crash in Nashville. We suggest that you refer the insurance carriers to your attorney if you have one or, at the very least, refuse to give a recorded statement. Tennessee law does not require you to give a recorded statement to insurance carriers.
Motorcycle Accident Injuries in Nashville
When a motorcyclist is in an accident, injuries to the rider are almost guaranteed. Because of the vulnerability of a motorcycle, those injuries tend to be more severe than they would be in a passenger automobile accident.
Some of the more common motorcycle injuries are:
Head injuries
Wearing a helmet greatly reduces the odds of suffering a head injury in an impact; however, it is no guarantee of safety. Head injuries are often debilitating and require expensive medical treatment and rehabilitation that can last for years. A brain injury can lead to change in lifestyle, loss of earnings, and can impact relationships. A traumatic brain injury may cause a concussion or permanent brain damage.
Neck and back injuries
The force of an impact can cause neck injuries, including whiplash, damage to ligaments around the neck or back, damage to the vertebrae, and damage to the spinal cord itself. Neck and back injuries can be as minor as a back sprain requiring a few days of rest or result in temporary or permanent paralysis.
Bone fractures
Fractured bones are much more common in motorcycle wrecks than in automobile accidents. Broken bones in the hands, feet, arms, or legs can take weeks to mend, and you may be unable to return to work until they are fully mended.
Amputation
Having fingers or limbs amputated in an accident or requiring surgical amputation afterward is unfortunately common in motorcycle accidents. The loss of an arm or leg may require specialized medical equipment such as a wheelchair and modifications to your home or car.
Disfigurement
In many cases, a motorcycle accident may leave the victim with terrible scars or other disfiguring injuries. Road rash is common, and deep lacerations to the face, a broken nose, or having teeth knocked out can leave you with a disfigurement that may require expensive surgery.
How Much Does a Nashville Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Cost?
The team at The Williams Firm handles Nashville motorcycle accident claims on a contingency fee basis. This means a few things for our clients. Before beginning work on the case, we work with the client to determine an agreed-upon percentage of the final settlement or jury verdict that will be paid towards legal fees. However, while the case is ongoing, clients do not have to pay anything out-of-pocket. They will not have to pay court costs or legal fees, and they will not have to cover the expenses related to any investigation into the motorcycle accident.
Our clients only pay legal fees after we successfully recover compensation for their losses. If we do not win the case, clients pay nothing at all. This type of fee arrangement helps ensure that individuals, regardless of their income level, are able to hold at-fault parties accountable after a motorcycle accident occurs in Nashville.
Talk to Experienced Nashville Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
We’ve provided legal representation for many injury victims and taken due care to document all injuries and evidence of negligence. Our Nashville accident attorneys understand the severity of most motorcycle accidents, and knows how difficult these crashes can be on victims and their families.
Our expert Nashville motorcycle accident lawyers will take care of all your legal matters so you can focus on recovering. From securing proper medical attention to answering calls from insurance companies, your needs are our responsibility. If someone’s negligence has caused your injury or the death of a loved one, contact the Nashville law firm of The Williams Firm today to discuss your options.