A family’s worst nightmare is when their loved one dies in an accident. Motorcycle accidents are a common cause of road fatalities because bike provides no protection in crashes. If your loved one died in a motorcycle crash, the law might entitle your family to significant financial compensation in a wrongful death claim. If someone else was at fault for the accident, they will need to pay for the damages they caused.

The number of motorcycle accidents each year is not as high as you may think in proportion to the number of registered motorcycles in the country. There are over eight million motorcycles in the country. Overall, the United States sees roughly 90,000 motorcycle accidents each year. The accident rate is just over one in every one hundred motorcyclists. It is difficult to quantify how many people suffer severe injuries in these crashes each year. Still, chances are that a motorcyclist will suffer some kind of injury in an accident.

Motorcycle Accidents Have a Higher Rate of Fatalities Than Other Crashes

Motorcycle accidents have a much higher fatality rate than other motor vehicle accidents, and it is easy to understand why. In a car accident, the car itself may cushion some of the physical force of the accident. In a motorcycle accident, there is nothing to protect the biker from the impact of the crash.

First, a car or truck might directly strike a motorcyclist. Then, there is a high likelihood of a motorcyclist getting thrown from their bike onto the pavement. Even the best safety equipment cannot fully protect them from serious injury when that happens. Motorcycles will always get the worst of a collision with a car.

Motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries in an accident than a motorist. They are also significantly more likely to suffer serious injuries in a crash. No matter how many steps a biker takes to be safe and protect themselves, they cannot control what others do on the road.

More People Died in Motorcycle Crashes in Recent Years

The overall fatality rate of these crashes has been climbing in recent years. While new bikers may be more prone to accidents, motorists also fail to properly share the road with motorcycles that have every legal right to be there. Nowadays, it seems like many drivers believe they are the only people on the road. They do not look where they are going, nor do they have any regard for safe driving practices.

Last year, the total number of motorcycle accident fatalities in the country surpassed 6,000 for the first time in many years. This number represents a ten percent climb from an already high total the year prior. The pandemic led to a sizable increase in serious motorcycle accidents.

Calculating based on these numbers means that there is roughly a seven percent fatality rate in a motorcycle crash. Over the past decade, motorcycle accident fatalities have risen by 23 percent. Clearly, the roads are becoming a more dangerous place for motorcyclists, and bikers cannot take the blame for all the increased fatalities.

Some States Are More Dangerous for Motorcyclists

Different states have varying numbers of motorcyclists registered and different conduct from drivers who share the road with motorcycles.

For instance, Missouri is one of the most dangerous states for motorcyclists. Each year, approximately nine fatalities for every 10,000 registered motorcycles in the state. That means that just under one in every thousand motorcyclists in Missouri will die each year. This rate is higher than the national fatality rate of roughly 0.6 for every thousand motorcyclists.

In a recent year, there were 123 motorcyclist fatalities in Missouri. Many more will suffer injuries in serious accidents.

Missouri is more dangerous for motorcyclists than the average state because:

• More open highways in the state allow drivers to travel at higher speeds.
• Missouri has a very high proportion of repeat drunk driving offenders who get behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level greater than .15
• The state recently changed its law to relax helmet requirements for motorcyclists.
• The rate of crashes in the state involving cell phones has skyrocketed in the past eight years. These drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes with motorcyclists.

Other states have different risks for motorcyclists, and you should remain aware of how serious the risk of injuries is in your area. Regardless of the particular risks, drivers should always be responsible for the harm they cause to motorcyclists.

Why Motorcycle Accident Fatalities Are Increasing

Even though motorcycle accident fatalities are increasing, the number of injury-causing crashes has remained relatively steady, suggesting that the severity of crashes is getting far worse.

Here is why motorcycle crashes are getting more serious and the fatality rate is going up:

• Drivers on the road are far more reckless and have less regard for the safety of others.
• Drivers are increasingly distracted behind the wheel and might not see motorcyclists from a different eye level.
• More people are getting motorcycles these days as they have become a popular hobby.

The perception that the average motorcycle accident involves a negligent biker is simply not true. Statistics show that three out of every four motorcycle accidents are crashes between a biker and another vehicle, often due to driver negligence.

Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries

For every motorcycle accident fatality, there are countless other bikers who suffer serious and lasting injuries.

Common motorcycle accident injuries can include:

• Broken bones and fractures
• Road rash from skidding along the pavement (which can be a severe skin injury)
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Internal injuries and organ damage
• Neck and back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Crush injuries

Wrongful Death Damages that a Family Can Recover

In these cases, your family deserves to receive compensation for the damages you suffered when a loved one died. The wrongful death is your family’s own personal injury.

Wrongful death damages may include:

• The wages that your loved one should have earned had they lived and continued to work
• Your family’s grief and trauma that they suffered when a family member suddenly died under tragic circumstances
• Compensation for the loss of the physical and emotional relationship with the deceased family member
• The loss of the guidance and support that the deceased person provided
• Funeral and burial expenses

Wrongful death claims can result in considerable financial compensation, given the magnitude of what your family has lost.

Hire a Motorcycle Accident Attorney as Soon as Possible

If your loved one died in a motorcycle accident, you need legal help immediately. If someone else was to blame for the accident, your family might be entitled to substantial financial compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit. You should always hire an experienced motorcycle accident attorney right away. Not only do you not have the bandwidth to deal with the legal process after your loved one has died, but you also do not have the legal experience to go up against the insurance company.

If you try to file a claim alone, you may find yourself either entirely without financial compensation or with a sharply reduced motorcycle accident settlement. Insurance companies are not above offering grieving families much less than they deserve. Too often, families with financial concerns accept an inadequate settlement offer, which can make their future more challenging.

You may also run up against the perception that motorcyclists are risky people to start with, and there is a presumption that the motorcyclists must have done something wrong to cause a crash. There is little truth to this, but it is a point that insurance companies attempt to exploit to save themselves some money. Insurance companies know how much money they will possibly owe in motorcycle accident claims, and they try to attack the victim.

Your family does not need to contend with false claims that your deceased loved one was reckless to cause their own death. If someone else was to blame, you want a motorcycle accident lawyer fighting to prove their liability. This can be a contentious matter, so always leave it to a professional while you recover from your devastating loss.

How to Win a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

To win a wrongful death lawsuit, you need to prove that someone else was negligent. Generally, you will compare what the other driver did and compare it to what a reasonable driver should have done under the circumstances. For example, if the driver caused a crash by traveling too close to the motorcyclist and running into the back of their bike, that should be negligence. The same goes for an illegal left turn that cut across the biker’s lane and forced them from their motorcycle.

In general, a four-part test proves negligence after fatal motorcycle accidents:

• The other driver owed your loved one a duty of care
• The driver breached their duty of care because they acted unreasonably under the circumstances
• Your loved one suffered fatal injuries because of the actions of the driver
• Your loved one’s death caused your family to incur losses

Even if you prove you are eligible for financial compensation from a liable party, it is far from the end of your legal action for the motorcycle accident. You must secure enough money to adequately compensate your family for what they lost. You only have one chance to file and settle a motorcycle accident claim. If you do not get enough money for your claim, it is a mistake that you will have to live with permanently because the release agreement that you sign is final.

It is hard to say offhand how much your wrongful death case may be worth without knowing more about your circumstances. Much of what you can recover depends on both what your family lost and the insurance coverage that was available.

If the responsible driver did not have enough insurance coverage to pay for the entire claim, you might also file a claim against your loved one’s motorcycle insurance policy for an excess amount. Then, you can personally sue the driver for the excess amount of money, even though it is not always easy to collect these judgments.

Hiring a Lawyer Comes at No Risk to You

Your family may be struggling financially when you have lost a loved one. Not only have you lost the income they provided, but you may also be struggling with bills related to their care. The last thing you have is extra money to hire a motorcycle accident attorney.

The good news is that you do not need to come up with any money to retain an attorney. All you need to do is sign a representation agreement that hires the attorney. You do not need to pay them any money upfront. Your attorney only gets money from the proceeds of your settlement or jury award. If you do not get one, you do not need to pay an attorney at all.

There is no risk to you in hiring a personal injury lawyer. However, if you do not get legal help, you risk getting nothing for your loved one’s death.

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