Lutz Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Riding a motorcycle is exhilarating. It’s also a convenient and economical way of getting around, whether you are commuting to work or heading out for a weekend drive. Unfortunately, riders are also at risk of serious injury or death when they take their bikes out on the road. Florida consistently has the highest number of motorcycle fatalities nationwide, partly due to the high number of motorcycles registered here but also to the extreme vulnerability of riders in a collision with a car, truck, or SUV. Although only three percent of motor vehicles in the state are motorcycles, riders make up 20% of all traffic deaths. Almost every collision ends in injury to the rider.
Moore Law is a personal injury law firm dedicated to helping injury victims find justice and compensation by holding negligent parties accountable for the harm they have caused. A large part of our practice, and a large part of attorney Eric Moore’s 30 years of experience in personal injury law, involves dealing with traffic crashes, including motorcycle accidents. Let us help you move forward after a crash with the financial support you deserve and need. Contact our Lutz motorcycle accident attorney today for a free case analysis to find out how we can help.
Leading Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Lutz
Motorcycle riders are often thought of as aggressive or reckless drivers by others who are unfamiliar with operating a motorcycle, but most motorcyclists take the time to acquire the skills and training they need to be safe on the road. Often it is the negligence of another driver that causes the crash. Some of the most common reasons behind motorcycle accidents in Lutz include:
- Distracted Driving: Drivers engaged in texting, social media, or using their car’s infotainment console fail to see motorcycles before it is too late.
- Failing to Signal: Signaling and checking blind spots before turning or changing is always required, but it is something drivers sometimes fail to do. This negligence is especially dangerous in the case of motorcycles, which are harder to spot and come up fast behind a driver about to change lanes.
- Negligent Left Turns: Most motorcycle accidents happen at intersections when a driver is making a left turn across the path of a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these crashes occur most often because the other driver fails to yield the right-of-way to the motorcycle. Drivers misjudge a motorcycle’s speed and how far away they are, or they make an aggressively unsafe turn rather than waiting their turn.
Motorcycle Accidents and Florida’s Comparative Fault Law
Drivers and their insurance companies will often try to paint the motorcyclist as negligent and at least partially to blame. In Florida, an injury victim’s own negligence will reduce the amount of compensation they can recover from the other party, and if they are more than 50% to blame, then they cannot recover at all. This rule is often used as a weapon against injured motorcyclists, who are said to be driving aggressively or recklessly. Part of our job at Moore Law is to ensure liability is accurately determined and allocated and that an injured biker is not unfairly blamed for causing or contributing to an accident that was the other driver’s fault.
Why You Need an Attorney After a Motorcycle Accident in Lutz
Most crash victims have the benefit of no-fault insurance, also called Personal Injury Protection or PIP. With this coverage, victims can file an accident claim with their insurance company and recover compensation for their medical expenses and lost wages, without having to file a lawsuit or prove that the accident wasn’t their fault. Motorcyclists in Florida don’t have this benefit. Florida law does not require motorcycle riders to carry no-fault insurance, and most insurance companies don’t even offer it.
This means that after any motorcycle accident in Florida, regardless of whether it involved serious injuries or not, the motorcyclist must pursue a claim against the negligent driver and their insurance company. They’ll need to be able to prove the other driver caused the crash, and they’ll need to be able to prove the full extent of their damages. The insurer, meanwhile, may try to downplay the injuries and offer a lowball settlement, or they might dispute liability and try to avoid paying the claim at all.
An experienced motorcycle accident attorney can help ensure that your claim is successful and that the amount you receive is fair and adequate. With over 30 years of experience handling personal injury claims for both plaintiffs and defendants, attorney Eric Moore knows how much your claim is worth and how to go about successfully recovering that amount from the other side. We’ll take on the insurance company and work aggressively to get a great result, and we take the time to understand your needs and respond to your questions to ensure the best representation.
Injured in a Lutz Motorcycle Accident? Contact Moore Law Today!
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a motorcycle accident in Lutz, call Moore Law at 813-510-5400 for a free case analysis. It won’t cost you anything upfront to have us represent you, and you’ll only pay a fee after we have successfully won your case.
