Common Injuries in Motorcycle Accidents
Common injuries may include:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): Even with a helmet, riders can suffer concussions, skull fractures, or severe brain damage caused by impact. These injuries usually result in long-term cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
- Road Rash: Sliding across pavement can scrape away layers of skin, causing painful abrasions. Severe road rash can result in infections, nerve damage, or permanent scarring if not treated properly.
- Broken Bones and Fractures: Motorcyclists often sustain fractures in arms and wrists (from bracing during a fall), legs, especially tibia and fibula, ribs and collarbones, hips, and pelvis.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Harm to the neck or back can lead to herniated discs, loss of sensation, partial or complete paralysis (paraplegia or quadriplegia).
- Internal Injuries: Blunt force trauma could cause damage to internal organs like the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lungs. Internal bleeding is especially dangerous and may not be immediately noticeable.
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Sprains, strains, and torn ligaments are common as the body twists or is thrown from the motorcycle. These injuries can affect mobility and lead to chronic pain.
- Neck Injuries: Whiplash, cervical fractures, and nerve damage can occur from sudden impact forces. These injuries often require extended recovery.
- Burn Injuries: Contact with hot metal, the engine, or exhaust pipes can cause thermal burns. Chemical burns can occur if fuel or road chemicals come into contact with the skin.
Motorcycle Laws in Colorado
Following the law when you’re riding can help you stay safe and reduce the risk of a collision. What’s more, if there is evidence that you breached the law—and that this breach contributed to your accident—your recoverable damages award may be reduced in proportion to your degree of fault.
Important laws of which you should be aware include:
- All riders and passengers under the age of 18 must wear a helmet (while helmets are not required for those over 18, wearing one is strongly recommended).
- Eye protection is required for all riders and passengers—the best eye protection is the visor on a helmet.
- If a motorcycle is carrying a passenger, it must have a footrest.
- Lane-splitting is illegal in Colorado; motorcyclists can share a lane with another motorcyclist, but may not pass or overtake another vehicle type.
- Motorcyclists are bound by all other traffic laws and rules of the road, including laws pertaining to stopping, yielding, speed limits, and more.
If you have questions about motorcycle laws in our state, review these rules during your motorcycle training course or look up the Colorado state code online.
How to Prove Negligence in a Motorcycle Accident Claim
Colorado follows well-established rules for this, and every successful claim comes down to the same four elements. These include:
Prove the Other Party Owed You a Duty of Care
All drivers in Colorado have a legal duty to manage their vehicles safely and obey traffic laws. This includes:
- Obeying speed limits and traffic signals
- Yielding the right of way
- Staying alert and avoiding distractions
- Watching for motorcycles and sharing the road safely
This part is usually straightforward and rarely disputed.
Show They Breached That Duty
Next, you must show the driver failed to act reasonably under the circumstances. Common examples in motorcycle accidents include:
- Failing to yield while turning left
- Speeding or reckless driving
- Distracted driving (texting, GPS use)
- Driving under the influence
- Following too closely
Evidence that helps prove a breach:
- Police accident reports
- Traffic citations
- Eyewitness statements
- Dashcam or surveillance footage
- Cell phone records (in distracted driving cases)
Prove Causation (Their Actions Caused the Crash)
You must connect the driver’s careless behavior directly to the accident and your injuries. In other words:
- The crash would not have happened but for their actions, and
- Your injuries were a foreseeable result of that behavior
Medical records, expert testimony, and accident reconstruction reports are often used to establish this link.
Prove You Suffered Actual Damages
Negligence alone isn’t enough—you must show real losses. These can include:
- Medical bills (current and future)
- Lost wages or reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage to your motorcycle
- Emotional distress or permanent disability
What Can I Recover if I’ve Been Injured in a Motorcycle Accident?
Unfortunately, many motorcycle accidents are far more serious than accidents involving cars because riders are more exposed. This means that there is a higher chance of experiencing severe injuries from a motorcycle crash, including brain damage, spinal cord damage, and broken bones. Depending on the nature of the injury, the costs can quickly add up.
Prescriptions, in-home or outpatient care, and surgeries can drive your medical bills through the roof, all while you’re trying to deal with the burden of being seriously injured. Fortunately, Colorado motorcycle accident victims can recover compensation. And you can do so without worrying about the added stress of paying your lawyer. At Denver Trial Lawyers®, we operate on a contingency fee basis. This means that if there is no financial recovery, you will not owe any legal fees.
Economic Compensation
Motorcycle accident victims in Colorado can recover economic damages. These types of damages are for both immediate and future costs. Economic damages cover the monetary amounts you’ve already spent, as well as potential future costs. They can also compensate you for the money you had coming in that is no longer available to you.
For example, economic damages can cover:
- Current medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- The costs of long-term care
- Damage to your bike
- Lost wages
- Income that you would have made in the future if not for your accident
These damages are similar to the damages recoverable for car accident victims.
Non-Economic Compensation
In some cases, riders injured in a motorcycle accident can recover damages for psychological or emotional distress. Motorcycle accident victims may suffer from depression and anxiety because they are unable to do the things they used to do.
They could also be facing long-term therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Damages for non-economic compensation can help victims deal with their emotional trauma. To understand what kinds of damages you could recover, it’s important to speak with a Denver motorcycle accident lawyer about your case.
Can I Still Get Compensation if I Was Partially to Blame?
Colorado uses comparative negligence to assess recovery in a motorcycle accident, even where you were partially to blame. Comparative negligence means that the court may reduce your recovery by the percentage you were to blame for the accident. It does not mean you cannot receive any compensation.
The only time comparative negligence would work to prevent you from any recovery is if you were more than 50 percent to blame for the accident.
If the accident was primarily your fault, you likely won't be able to receive compensation. In all other circumstances, though, the court will only reduce your compensation by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were 10 percent at fault, you are still eligible for 90 percent of the compensation possible.
What to Do if You Suffered Injuries in a Colorado Motorcycle Crash
Being involved in a motorcycle accident can be a terrifying experience, especially if you are severely injured in the crash. If you have been in a Colorado motorcycle accident, it’s important that you act quickly to improve your chances of recovering your maximum compensation award.
Our lawyers strongly recommend filing a police report immediately (this is both legally required and an important part of the claims process), seeking medical care, documenting all medical care and following your doctor’s orders, and notifying your insurance company of the accident as soon as possible.
It’s also important that you begin collecting evidence related to your crash, including details about the other driver, the names of any eyewitnesses to the accident, and photographs of damages and injuries.
It’s also important that you call a skilled Denver motorcycle accident attorney. Working with an attorney can improve the outcome of your claim. At the law offices of Denver Trial Lawyers ®, our lawyers will handle the investigation of your case, the building of your claim, and the negotiation of your settlement. We work on a contingency fee basis, and always offer free case evaluations to our prospective clients. Please don't hesitate to send us an online message to get started.
How Can a Motorcycle Accident Attorney in Denver Help You?
Hiring a motorcycle accident attorney is critical for ensuring that you are presenting a strong case in court and that you are receiving the compensation that you rightfully deserve. It is essential that you are also provided with the support that you need during this time, and are professionally advised on legal matters related to your case.
A motorcycle accident attorney can help you with the following, and more:
- Offer objective advice on legal matters: During this critical time, your motorcycle accident attorney will be able to help answer any questions that you may have related to the legalities of your case. He or she will also be able to provide you with professional advice that can tremendously help you and your case.
- Handle all of the paperwork: There is a tremendous amount of paperwork when it comes to filing a motorcycle accident case. Paperwork can include insurance company files, filing court cases, as well as preparing for the upcoming trial. A reputable motorcycle accident attorney has the experience necessary to be able to handle all of the paperwork correctly, and ensure that everything gets to the correct parties, at the correct time.
- Help ensure that the correct paperwork is obtained: Apart from handling all of the paperwork and ensuring that it gets to the correct parties at the right time, a professional attorney will be able to help you obtain your medical record, and ensure that everything necessary for the case is included in that paperwork as well.
- Effectively negotiate with insurance companies: Reputable motorcycle accident attorneys have the experience necessary to effectively communicate with insurance companies. There are a lot of complexities that are involved when it comes to dealing with insurance companies. A lawyer will be able to effectively handle all settlement negotiations for you.
- Effectively evaluate your case: An experienced attorney will be able to properly evaluate your case and help determine the range of your potential monetary compensation. This takes both financial and non-financial factors into consideration, including emotional distress, medical treatments, medical bills, and lost wages.
- Effectively represent you in court: Victims may end up having to go to court, in complicated situations in which insurance companies do not agree. A lack of legal experience can make going alone to court extremely difficult. An experienced attorney who is familiar with your case will be able to represent you in court and offer you the professional support that you need during this time.
- Offer you emotional support: Our attorneys here at Denver Trial Lawyers® genuinely care about each and every one of their clients. We want to make sure that you can concentrate on emotional as well as physical healing during this time, while we take care of all the legal matters for you. Taking on a case by yourself can be extremely complicated and stressful. An experienced attorney will be able to ease the process for you and provide you with the emotional reassurance that you need during this time. Attorneys also have connections to support groups that you can join to help you during the healing process.
Don't wait to hire an attorney for your motorcycle accident. The sooner you call, the sooner you will be able to acquire the monetary compensation that you are legally entitled to. Contact our team of Denver motorcycle accident lawyers today, and let us help you with your case.
We are Members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum®
Denver Trial Lawyers® has helped numerous motorcycle crash victims and their families receive the compensation they need and deserve. We understand what it's like to be a motorcyclist on the road. So when you're in a motorcycle accident, we’re committed to getting you the best result possible.
We're not only caring, compassionate attorneys; we're also experienced trial advocates with a clear record of success. Our attorneys have taken over 100 cases to trial with strong results. In one case, we helped a Colorado woman recover $1.5 million for her losses. We've also helped clients recover between $500,000 and $700,000 for traumatic injuries they experienced from their accidents, including:
- Traumatic brain injury: One of the most serious types of injuries a motorcyclist can experience. These injuries require immediate and long-term follow-up care.
- Spinal cord injuries: Vertebral injuries from a motorcycle accident, including compressed vertebrae, may cause pain and numbness. Victims of spinal cord injuries may need surgery.
- Bone fractures: Motorcycle accident victims commonly experience bone fractures. Broken ribs, shoulders, and collarbones are all significant injuries that require serious care.
Don't wait to get help! If you have suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, contact our firm today for a free consultation with our motorcycle accident attorney in Denver.
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Call a Denver Motorcycle Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation
To obtain the compensation the rider deserves, a motorcycle crash victim must work with experienced accident attorneys—attorneys who understand how to build a strong and convincing case before a skeptical judicial system.
As motorcycle riders ourselves, we understand a rider’s experience from their point of view. We can help a jury see a motorcycle crash as the victim saw it, not as the insurance company wants them to see it. We also handle bad faith claims against insurance companies.
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