One Hospitalized After Crash Between Motorcycle and Car
On a recent Sunday, a motorcycle and a vehicle collided near the intersection of West Howard Lane and the North I-35 service road. One person was declared a “trauma alert” and transported to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center with “potentially serious” injuries, though no other information is currently available. While law enforcement did not specify who the ‘trauma alert’ was, it is reasonable to deduce that it was the motorcyclist, given the immensely higher likelihood for motorcyclists to be injured and killed in this type of accident. If you are a motorcyclist and have been injured in an accident with a car, you may be able to file suit to try and recover compensation for the harm you have suffered.
Motorcycling Can Be Dangerous
Motorcyclists are at a serious disadvantage when struck by cars, simply due to size and weight. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that per vehicle miles traveled, motorcyclists are approximately 28 times more likely to die than passenger vehicle occupants in the event of a crash. There is simply less protection available to a motorcycle rider – who usually just has the clothing they wear, and a helmet if they so choose – than there is to a vehicle driver or passenger sitting behind sheets of metal and glass.
The underlying causes of many motorcycle-vehicle accidents are attributable to a host of different factors, most of which affect motorcyclists and car drivers about equally. Speeding, ignoring stop signs and red lights, and other types of negligence may happen to any driver, but only motorcyclists are adversely affected by issues such as size and visibility, and many car drivers have real problems effectively sharing the road with motorcyclists.
Filing Suit
It can be difficult to determine whether you have a case for negligence or not, but if you believe that you do, it is important to know what you must prove in order to establish a defendant’s liability. In Texas, you must establish four things: (1) that the defendant owed a duty to exercise reasonable care toward the plaintiff; (2) that the duty of care was breached; (3) that the defendant’s actions were the direct cause of the breach; and (4) that the defendant’s actions caused tangible harm.
In auto accident situations in Texas, it is presumed that every motorist owes a duty to exercise reasonable care toward every other motorist on the road, so (1) is essentially already proven. If you show that the defendant’s actions were the immediate cause of your injuries, without anything else intervening, you have a solid chance to prevail in most cases. Be advised, however, that Texas follows the rule of comparative fault, which means that if you are ruled to have been more than 50 percent responsible for your own injuries, you may not recover, though if your percentage of fault is less, you may still be able to recoup some of your medical bills.
Contact a New Braunfels Motorcycle Accident Attorney
While no further information is publicly available about the crash at West Howard Lane, it is important to remember that if you are a motorcyclist and you are injured in a vehicle crash, you do have options when trying to get back on your feet. The skilled New Braunfels motorcycle crash lawyers at the Bettersworth Law Firm are ready and willing to try and help you with your case. Contact our offices today at 888-392-0039 for a free consultation.
Sources:
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/one-man-hospitalized-after-crash-between-motorcycle-and-car-in-north-austin/
https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycle-safety
