Motorcycles Loved by Many, Survived by Few

While motorcycles capture the heart of the rebel on the open road, they are dangerous and in the event of a crash, many bikers don’t survive.

Just taking a good hard look at a motorcycle is enough to point out that they have no protection for the rider. No seatbelts, airbags, bumpers like on cars or even crumple zones. Bikers are right out there in the wind, totally exposed to not only the elements, but also to other vehicles that may collide with them. In addition, road conditions play a huge part in many motorcycle accidents.

“On average a motorcycle may weigh in at about 500 pounds. On the other side of the fence, a car may weigh close to 3,000 pounds, an SUV about 4,000 pounds, and a big rig several thousand tons. When an accident does happen between any one of those types of vehicles, needless to say the biker doesn’t come out of it very well,” explained Robert W. Lee of the Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas. Five hundred pounds just doesn’t hold its own against something over 6 times or more its weight.

Taking a quick look at motorcycle statistics will bring some startling revelations. For instance, in 2007 motorbike fatalities clocked in at 13% of the total number of deaths on the roads with the bikers being mostly in the age ranges between 20 to 29 years old. Inexperience played a large part in these accidents, but so did weather conditions, road conditions, and the errors of passenger vehicles. Add to this the startling revelation that about a quarter of those who died in motorcycle accidents had an invalid license.

The most interesting fact is that it isn’t always the biker that is at fault in a collision. “Accident statistics also show that many of these ‘biker meets car’ crashes are the result of something the passenger vehicle did, such as swerve into the side of the bike, turn in front of it or cut in too soon after passing. If the accident is the result of someone else’s negligence, the biker, if they survive, may be eligible to recover damages for serious personal injuries as a result of the crash,” said Lee.

“In most instances, an accident of this kind will drastically alter the lifestyle of a surviving rider, making living a normal life a difficult task. There will be extraordinary bills, medical expenses, rehabilitation expenses, medications, alterations to their home to enable them to continue living there, and lost wages; not to mention pain and suffering,” outlined Robert W. Lee of the Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

If faced with consequences like this as a result of an accident, it’s wise to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who will fight to ensure a just reward for the damages.

To learn more, visit Rwleelaw.com.

Big Rig Crashes Prove Deadly

It’s a simple fact of life that when a big rig collides with another passenger vehicle, the passenger vehicle and the occupants do not fare well.

Most big rig accidents result in either serious injuries or death. There is no other outcome when something that large runs into another vehicle or a stationary object. “Even if the trucker is involved in a single vehicle rollover or jackknife scenario, the outcome is questionable for the driver,” said Robert W. Lee of the Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

It should come as no surprise that there are a high number of fatal accidents involving rigs when the statistics are analyzed. For example in 2007 alone there were over 14,000,000 on the highways and byways in the US. The number of fatal crashes in 2007 across the nation rang in at roughly 4,370. Over all there were 136,440 non-fatal crashes and approximately 55,000 crashes resulting in injuries.

More often than not the first point of impact of the big rig was the front, followed by the rear, the left side and then the right side. “These impact locations are largely related to what was going on at the time the accident happened. If it’s the result of a jackknife, the impact point would be different than if the rig drifted across the dividing line and was stuck by an oncoming vehicle,” indicated Lee.

Interestingly enough, while many people would tend to think that most semi crashes happen on major highways, they actually take place more often than not in rural areas during the week and during daylight hours. Along with this observation goes the companion fact that these behemoth trucks are highly likely to be involved in fatal multi-vehicle smashups.

“There tends to be a number of causes for large truck accidents, and not all of them are necessarily related to the truck or the driver. For instance, a passenger vehicle that cuts in too close or tailgates can cause a serious accident as well,” added Lee. On the part of the trucker some of the causes for accidents include speeding, aggressive driving, driving in an unsafe manner for the existing road conditions, and drug use.
Truck collisions are catastrophic and huge medical bills, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and loss of earning capacity are some of the potential consequences. “If the truck owner and/or driver is deemed to be at fault for the accident, a lawsuit might be commenced against the driver and/or a whole host of other parties,” explained Robert W. Lee of the Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

If a loved one has been lost due to a truck accident, contact an experienced accident attorney for legal advice on filing a wrongful death suit.

To learn more, visit Rwleelaw.com.

The Trip and Fall Conundrum

Ever been in a situation where you slipped, then tripped and then fell hard, sustaining an injury? You may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Everyone does fall now and then, sometimes through no fault of their own, but due to a wet patch on a floor, ice on a sidewalk or something lying where it should not be in the first place. Those kinds of falls, as opposed to the ones where we trip over our own feet, may be able to go to court to recover for injuries sustained during that fall.

The most important thing to remember is not to assume that just because you did fall and hurt yourself, that you are automatically entitled to file a personal injury claim. The circumstances dictate the case here and for this reason, it’s a smart thing to speak to a personal injury lawyer first before assuming anything.

Slip, trip and fall cases are under an umbrella called premises liability and many people think that just because they are injured on someone else’s property, that the property owner’s insurance company automatically pays out for their medical bills, etc. While this “may” be the case, the incident will only be paid for by the owner under extremely strict guidelines. Put another way, a slip, trip and fall case must first of all have a dangerous condition, there must be some notice given, injuries sustained as a direct result of the dangerous condition, and then a verdict.

In some states the verdict may be rendered using comparative negligence as a yardstick. This means that if the person who fell is also negligent in the case, their total award is minus their assessed percentage of fault.

So what it all boils down to is this; if there was no dangerous condition to cause a fall, you don’t have a case. You must first prove there was a dangerous condition before you can proceed to the notice portion of this kind of case. In the notice portion of a slip, trip and fall lawsuit, you have to prove you did slip and fall because of a dangerous condition and that the property owner knew or should have known about that condition. Notice in this instance can be actual or constructive notice.

In the case of actual notice, this translates to mean that the owner either generated the condition or there is proof the owner knew about it because it was there for a long time and wasn’t fixed. Constructive notice means notice proved by evidence that shows the owner should have known about the condition if he’d been doing his job correctly. While these two categories may sound simple, they often are not and it’s something that should be discussed with a skilled personal injury lawyer who will outline precisely what is required to get justice in a slip, trip and fall case.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Defective Products Can Kill

When you buy something at a store, you expect that it will work, work properly and not cause you or others any harm.

It’s not too much of a stretch to expect things that you buy at a store to work. After all, you’re paying for a working product that is supposed to do its job and not cause anyone serious injuries. However, if the product happens to be defective and does cause harm or death to the user, you may be entitled to damages for the injuries.

In order to recover any damages you may have sustained, you’d be contacting a product liability attorney and filing a product liability lawsuit against the maker of the item and against other parties all along the marketing chain, starting with the manufacturer right on down to the end retailer of the product.

What is the definition of a defective or faulty product? In most instances, a product is either faulty or defective if it causes injury or damage to a person because of the defect, because of improper labeling or due to the way the product was used. Generally speaking it’s not “just” the maker of the item that has to face the music in a lawsuit; it’s the distributor, the supplier, the eventual retailer, and anyone else that happens to be associated with selling the item(s).

However in some states this is not the case. For instance, in Texas, there is a general rule that you can only sue the manufacturer of a defective product. There are a few exceptions that allow you to sue a retailer if they helped contribute to the design of the product, or if the maker of the product has gone bankrupt, but those are rare.

The long chain of responsibility isn’t something to be taken lightly, and for this reason most manufacturers tend to take their responsibilities seriously. However, life happens and now and again something drastic slips through quality control and the end result is a product liability lawsuit.

Product liability lawsuits may include child products, drugs, power tools and other similar equipment, cribs, flammable products, brakes, airbags, and seat belts. Not only is there the potential for product liability lawsuits inherent with many of these named products, if the situation is serious and widespread enough, there is power in numbers and a class action lawsuit may be the end result.

In most cases, there are three kinds of product defects: marketing defects, manufacturing defects and design defects. A design defect is fairly straightforward and relates directly to how the item was “designed” and the fact that because of that design, it is not safe for the original intended use.

Manufacturing defects usually happen when the product is being made. This will mean the final product may then fail because of how it’s put together not because it wasn’t designed the right way. Basically defects are usually the result of poor or wrong materials or inadequate quality control.

Marketing defects come about when the maker doesn’t warn the user of a danger inherent in the product, or on the other hand fails to provide clear and proper instructions on how to use the product. Put another way, this type of defect directly relates to how a product is sold.

If you or a loved one has had a bad experience with what you suspect may be a defective product, it’s well worth your while to speak to a skilled personal injury lawyer with experience in this area. You may have a case and be able to recover for any damages you incurred.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.