Often referred to as “America’s Finest City,” San Diego boasts some of the most beautiful scenery for tourists. However, it is not only tourists enjoying the scenery. San Diego’s motorcycle enthusiasts enjoy it as well, because of many well-known motorcycle routes that traverse the local region, and day trips that allow you to see an even greater number of California’s beautiful spaces from the saddle of a motorcycle.
While these motorcycle routes are certainly worth seeing, there is danger on every roadway due to the design of motorcycles and the risky and careless driving habits of other drivers on San Diego’s frequently congested roadways.
The injuries sustained in San Diego motorcycle accidents are often severe and even incapacitating, resulting in extensive medical treatment, preventing individuals from earning an income, or even causing those injured to require round-the-clock care. Adding insult to injury, motorcyclists are often made to feel like they do not deserve compensation for their injuries due to the increased danger of their chosen transportation method.
An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can remind you that motorcyclists not only have the same rights to the roadway as other travelers, but you also have the same right to seek compensation for the expenses and physical and psychological impacts you incurred because of someone else’s carelessness or recklessness. Contact a motorcycle crash attorney who has experience in helping individuals suffering San Diego motorcycle accident injuries to obtain the compensation they deserve.
Motorcycle accidents kill more than 5,000 people in the U.S. each year and injure many thousands more. Motorcyclists are 29 times more likely to die in an accident than the occupants of passenger cars.
The reasons for this include:
Other roadway users along San Diego’s busy freeways and arterial roads often exhibit risky or careless driving behaviors that can cause injuries to motorcyclists and their passengers, such as:
Because of the lack of protection that motorcyclists have in accidents, the injuries in motorcycle accidents are often among the worst. The following is a look at some of the most serious San Diego motorcycle accident injuries.
California has a universal helmet law. This means that all riders and their passengers must wear a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)-compliant helmet when operating a motorcycle on San Diego roadways. While helmets reduce the risk of dying in a motorcycle accident by about 37 percent and reduce the risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury by 69 percent, many helmeted riders and their passengers will still suffer a traumatic brain injury in the accident.
Because of the brain’s importance in controlling nearly all the functions in the body, and its limited ability to heal from injury, a traumatic brain injury often results in permanent deficits such as memory loss, the inability to control one’s behavior and emotions, the inability to speak or to understand spoken language, inability to move in a balanced, coordinated manner, or even a consciousness disorder in which the individual has lost awareness of themselves self or their surroundings.
A brain injury can impact every aspect of the sufferer’s life, including their ability to earn an income, relationships with family members and friends, and the ability to participate in social or community activities.
Like the brain, the spinal cord has only a limited ability to heal from injuries and injuries often result in permanent disabilities that can deprive the sufferer of the opportunity to earn an income or to accomplish self-care tasks independently. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves extending down the back from the base of the skull that serves as a messenger for the brain to the rest of the body. Spinal cord injuries often result in paralysis, which is a loss of function and sensation below the injury. Injuries in the cervical (neck) area of the spine can paralyze the entire body from the neck down, a condition known as tetraplegia or quadriplegia. Injuries occurring lower on the spine will often result in paralysis in the lower extremities, known as paraplegia.
Complications after suffering a spinal cord injury are common and will occur throughout the sufferer’s life.
These complications can include:
Damage can include slipped or ruptured discs or fractured vertebrae in either the neck or back portion of the spine. These injuries often result in chronic pain and loss of mobility and frequently require surgical treatment.
Nearly any bone in the body can break in a motorcycle accident. However, fractures incurred in a motorcycle accident most often involve the lower extremities, including the hips, legs, and feet. The rider’s arms can also break due to the motorcyclist’s instinctual urge to catch themselves with outstretched arms when falling.
Severe burns are a very common injury for motorcyclists to experience in an accident due the motorcycle gas tank’s lack of protection. The accident can cause the tank to rupture, allowing the rider’s skin to touch the gasoline, or flames and heat if the gas ignites.
The treatment of severe burns is one of the most painful medical treatments to experience. Severe burns carry a risk of complications such as infection, scarring or disfigurement, loss of mobility due to scarred joints, and loss of feeling in the damaged skin.
Internal injuries can present with delayed symptoms, which can cause serious problems for the sufferer if bleeding is involved. Internal bleeding, commonly called hemorrhaging, generally occurs after blood vessels are damaged in an internal organ. Severe hemorrhages can result in coma, seizures, the leakage of blood from the eyes or ears, or even potentially fatal organ failure. Some injuries, such as those to the spleen or kidney, can force a doctor to surgically remove the organ.
The victims of motorcycle accidents often face judgment from doctors, insurance providers, and others involved in their care, simply because of the negative stereotypes of riders. An experienced motorcycle accident attorney knows your rights and will fight alongside you to push past the stereotypes and bring focus to the truth of the matter: You were injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, and you deserve compensation from the at-fault party for the expenses and impacts of your injuries.
Let a motorcycle accident injury attorney help you understand your options for pursuing compensation and answer your legal questions through a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
John Gomez founded the firm alone in 2005. Today, John acts as President and Lead Trial Attorney. He has been voted by his peers as a top ten San Diego litigator in three separate fields: Personal Injury, Insurance and Corporate Litigation. Since 2000, he has recovered over $800 million in settlements and verdicts for his clients with more than 160 separate recoveries of one million dollars or more. A prolific trial lawyer, John has tried to jury verdict more than 60 separate cases.
no fees unless we recover money on your behalf
No Fees Unless We Recover Money On Your Behalf