Brownsville – Harlingen – Rio Grande Valley Motorcycle Accident Attorney

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident you need the help of an experienced Rio Grande Valley Motorcycle Attorney. The personal injury lawyers at the Texas law office of O'Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath have been successfully representing motorcycle accident victims through the Rio Grande Valley from Brownsville to Harlingen. Not only are we lawyers, but we are riders as well. Injuries sustained from motorcycle accidents are almost always severe, such as spinal cord injury, brain injury, paralysis, and amputation. A knowledgeable motorcycle accident attorney must carefully examine your case to determine the cause of the accident and the extent of your injuries. Contact our law office today for your free consultation.

Motorcyclists Riding: Keep the Thrills, Avoid the Spills

The vision of driving down a country road, with the wind blowing through your hair, atop a large motorcycle is an attractive one for many people, and the number of motorcycles on America’s highways is growing. Although motorcycles share the road with cars and trucks, and although they are subject to the same traffic laws as other vehicles, the fact is that collisions involving motorcycles are different from, and are often more serious than, automobile accidents.

In almost half of all collisions involving motorcycles, the fault for the collision lay with the driver of the other vehicle, who failed to yield the right of way to the motorcycle. The small size of motorcycles also makes them more vulnerable to road hazards that even a small car could pass over safely. Motorcycles are more maneuverable than cars, and riders can sometimes put themselves into unsafe positions that drivers of cars cannot.

The greater number of motorcycle accidents means that motorcyclists are also much more likely to be injured or killed in a collision than is someone riding in a car or truck. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, a motorcycle rider is 18 times more likely to die in a collision than is someone in a car, and far more likely to suffer serious injuries. Some 80% of motorcycle collisions result in injury or death; and the fact that the motorcyclist may not have been at fault is of little comfort.

Motorcycle Serious Injury

A common kind of serious injury associated with motorcycle accidents is head injury. Traumatic brain injuries, such as the closed-head injuries that result when an impact causes the brain to hit the inside of the skull, cause over a third of the injury deaths in the United States. Since motorcyclists are often thrown off of their bikes in a collision, such injuries are 10 times more common in motorcycle accidents than in other vehicle accidents.

Studies have shown that the number one way to prevent these serious injuries is the most obvious one—WEAR A HELMET! Motorcyclists should make sure that the helmet they choose has been approved by the Department of Transportation. If it has, it will have a sticker on it saying “DOT.” When California enacted a mandatory helmet law for motorcycle riders, it saw the number of motorcycle crash fatalities decrease by over 30%.

Cycle Accident Checklist

• Call the police and an ambulance, if necessary.
• Get the name, address, and insurance information of the parties involved and any witnesses.
• Write down the make, model, year, and license number of the vehicles involved.
• Take pictures of the damage to your motorcycle before it is repaired.
• Do not make any statement about the accident to anyone but the police.