Careless drivers on California freeways and avenues can force those on motorcycles into some very frightening collisions. In an accident, the entire body of the rider is in jeopardy, but none is more vulnerable than the brain.
A hard strike to the head can cause brain trauma. Concussion symptoms may be the first sign of a Traumatic Brain Injury. Hopefully, the injury is limited to a concussion, yet a concussion can still greatly change a victim’s normal life. It might also require expensive medical care that an at-fault driver should be fully accountable for.
It’s critical that concussion victims receive the support they need after a California motorcycle accident. Schedule a free consultation with a skilled California motorcycle accident concussion injury lawyer to find out how to force insurance providers to do the right thing and provide fair compensation to victims and their families.
Concussions in California Motorcycle Accidents
A concussion occurs in the force of impact in a motorcycle accident. They can happen as a rider impacts a vehicle or as the rider impacts the roadway. The damage occurs when the brain bounces around or twists to strike the inside of the skull. The CDC reports this motion can create chemical changes in the brain and stretch and damage brain cells.
Concussions are considered a mild form of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) because they usually aren’t life-threatening, but they can have serious consequences for patients.
Motorcycle accident victims can suffer these and other symptoms:
- Loss of consciousness (sometimes only briefly).
- Loss of memory of events before the accident.
- Confusion.
- Loss of coordination.
- Mood swings.
- Headaches.
- Vomiting.
- Light sensitivity.
Some concussion symptoms go away after a few weeks, but some linger for a month or more. When the challenges continue on for months, a victim may have post-concussive syndrome. This condition usually occurs in patients who have had concussions before. Motorcycle accident victims might experience problems with concentration or memory for several months or years after an injury.
Motorcycle Accident Concussion Dangers in California
California requires all Motorcyclists to wear helmets. The goal is to protect the skulls and brains of riders in case of an accident. It’s an important level of protection when so many California drivers don’t show the caution needed to keep the motorists around them safe.
Motorcyclists can fully heal from many injuries they endure, but brain damage is an injury that’s not always guaranteed to go away after a few weeks of rest. Even a concussion can greatly affect a victim’s everyday life and could be a sign of a more serious Traumatic Brain Injury.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 15% of hospital-treated helmeted motorcyclists suffered traumatic brain injury compared to 21% of hospital-treated unhelmeted motorcyclists. Almost 9% of unhelmeted and 7% of helmeted hospital-treated motorcyclists received minor to moderate TBI such as concussions in accidents.
Their figures also show a vast difference in hospital bills as well. Average charges for hospitalized motorcyclists were 13 times higher for those incurring a TBI compared to those who did not sustain a TBI ($31,979 versus $2,461).
When a motorcyclist is sent into a crash due to a reckless move by a driver, wearing a helmet or not, an at-fault motorist should be held fully accountable. A California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer fights to make sure injured victims get every bit of support they require to heal and get back on the road again.
For additional information check out our page on motorcycle concussions and traumatic brain injuries.
Earning Compensation After Suffering a Concussion in a California Motorcycle Accident
A California motorcycle accident concussion or a more serious TBI can leave victims with long and difficult recoveries. Months of physical therapy could be needed to help patients learn to control body parts again. It’s these and other damages that make getting sufficient accident support from an at-fault driver’s car insurance provider so critical.
A list of these hardships and others must be submitted in a motorcycle accident injury claim. Your California motorcycle accident brain injury lawyer will make sure everything you endure and will endure is included on this list of damages:
- Totals on current medical bills and the cost of brain injury care expected to be necessary in the months ahead.
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy costs.
- Travel costs to medical appointments while you are unable to drive or get back on a motorcycle.
- The physical pain you endure after a head injury.
- The emotional trauma victims endure. This includes the anxiety and PTSD symptoms left over from a frightening crash. Victims can also face depression and frustration as they attempt to recover from a concussion or a more serious traumatic brain injury. Something as simple as a loss of enjoyment of life, perhaps being unable to ride a motorcycle, can play a substantial role in the amount you’ll see on an injury settlement check.
- Lost income from work (including the expected future lost time).
Insurance Tactics You’ll Face After a Motorcycle Concussion Injury
In a perfect world, concussion injury patients would receive quick and compassionate support from a car insurance company. Instead, insurance adjusters get paid to poke holes in your accident claim. Insurance providers are coached to attempt to put the blame on a motorcyclist in almost every accident case.
These and other strategies allow insurance providers to rob motorcycle accident victims of financial support far too often:
- Question an accident report – Insurance adjusters will rarely take a police accident report at face value, especially if it lays the blame for a crash at the feet of their policyholder. They’ll poke holes in this report and any witness testimony in your favor. This is where it becomes very beneficial to have a local motorcycle accident attorney monitoring everything an insurance company attempts and fighting back with strong evidence.
- Check your driving background – Insurers will investigate you and your driving record. They will bring up any traffic incidents you’ve had in the past because they think it proves that you were at fault in your most recent accident. They might even use any speeding tickets you’ve received to try to prove that you are reckless. This is really just grasping at straws, but if you don’t have a lawyer safeguarding your rights, you could end up falling for their blame game.
- Claim your injury was pre-existing – An insurance company might say that the concussion or other brain injury you most recently received was just a flare-up of an older injury. These baseless claims are used to weaken your resolve to hold out for fair support as you heal. Your personal injury attorney will gather medical evidence to show a bad driver is completely to blame for your injuries.
- Use statements to hurt your case – During a consultation with a legal expert, you’ll receive some very valuable tips. One of the most important is not to give recorded statements. Insurance agents will be calling you after an accident asking you to talk about the collision while being recorded. Don’t give them the ammunition to use against you. Your statements can be used as evidence later. Statements about the fault in the accident or about your injuries can be twisted later and used to weaken your case. Allow your California motorcycle accident lawyer to do the talking for you.
How Long Do I Have To File a Motorcycle Accident Injury Claim Over a Concussion?
You have two years from the date of your California motorcycle accident to file a brain injury claim. You should act quickly because waiting can mean that evidence disappears, and witnesses become harder to locate.
Do I Have to Have Been Wearing a Helmet to Get Compensation for a Motorcycle Accident Concussion?
No. Drivers are still held liable for the accidents they cause. If you weren’t wearing a motorcycle helmet at the time of your accident, you can still seek injury compensation to pay your medical bills.
Contact a California Motorcycle Accident Concussion Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffered a concussion in a motorcycle accident in California, discuss your case with Maison Law before speaking with a car insurance company. Insurance companies will try to convince you to accept the lowest settlement possible or nothing at all. They are more interested in their bottom line than your full recovery.
If you allow the California Motorcycle Accident Lawyers at Maison Law to represent your case, you can rest assured that our legal team will be fighting for your best interest. Let us tackle communicating with insurance adjusters, allowing you to focus on healing from a scary brain injury.
We will build a strong case for you to obtain the maximum settlement or award for your concussion. Contact us right away for a free, no-obligation case consultation. If you do decide we can get the most out of your TBI injury claim, you won’t owe us anything unless we win your case for you and your family.
