St. Petersburg Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Florida is home to many great things: a magnificent amount of sun, excellent beaches, fantastic tourist destinations, food, and culture. Unfortunately, it also owns an incredibly tragic statistic: the state that has the most motorcyclist fatalities. In fact, one fifth of Florida’s motor vehicle fatalities are those of motorcyclists, according to WCTV.tv. The injuries many motorcyclists receive are severe, to say the least. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 80 percent of all reported motorcycle crashes involve injury or death. Whether your injuries are moderate or severe, you deserve to be compensated by the negligent party. Contact our St. Petersburg motorcycle accident lawyers today, we can help.
As a motorcyclist, you do not have the protections of a passenger vehicle, and you are therefore considered a vulnerable road user. As a vulnerable road user, one would assume that traffic would give more space and leave extra room for error when navigating around, behind, or in front of you. However, reality could not be farther from that assumption. It is not uncommon for a motorcyclist to apply the brakes or make an emergency maneuver on a weekly or even daily basis in the St. Petersburg area, given the high density of traffic and prevalence of distracted, careless, and even reckless drivers. Common ways in which motorcyclists are hit by passenger vehicles and trucks include:
- Vehicle turns in front of motorcyclist’s path;
- Motorcyclist gets hit from the side in an intersection;
- Motorcyclist is side-swept when vehicle makes lane change or swerves to avoid having to brake or slow down;
- Getting “doored,” in which the driver abruptly opens a door in front of a motorcyclist;
- Vehicle drifts into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head on collision which can often be fatal;
- Driver rear-ends motorcyclist either while stopped or still moving; and
- Driver drifts into motorcyclist.
The most common reasons for these collisions to occur include:
- Driver is not paying attention due to technology: texting, talking on their phone, looking at GPS device;
- Driver is distracted by food, drink, application of makeup, passengers’ conversation, radio, or children in the backseat;
- Driver is too drowsy to be safely driving in the first place;
- Driver is speeding;
- Drunk driving;
- Failure to obey traffic signs or signals;
- Driver is operating their vehicle aggressively;
- Driver does not check blind spots and/or use turn signal; and
- Driver comes to sudden stop.
Were You Hit While Riding? Call Us Today for Immediate Legal Assistance
While we cannot repair the damages that your body and mind went through, we can help remedy the financial burden that you have unfairly been gifted. The party that caused the crash needs to be held financially responsible for your serious injuries. You can be compensated for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other economic damages such as lost wages and any disability that affects your ability to make a living in the future. If you were injured by another while riding your motorcycle, contact our St. Petersburg motorcycle accident lawyers today. Call Barbas, Nuñez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian for immediate help with your case.
