While riding has always been popular in sunny Southwest Florida, our Fort Myers personal injury lawyers know our roads are hazardous. Motorists in larger automobiles simply do not watch out for those on two wheels.
Compounding the problem is the fact that motorcyclists are more vulnerable. They are not as equally protected by a shield of steel and airbags. That means the injuries they sustain are more likely to be catastrophic, and possibly even fatal.
Injured in a Motorcycle Accident?
Contact an Attorney at Garvin Injury Law Today
These injuries can occur even when the rider operates his or her bike with the utmost concern for safe riding. This is due in part to the decreased visibility of a motorcycle with only two wheels and less lighting than even the smallest of automobiles.
Contact us today at (239) 277-0005 to set up a no-obligation consultation for your case.
Why Choose Garvin Injury Law?
- Our attorneys are dedicated to helping you recover the maximum possible compensation for damages caused by your motorcycle accident.
- We have over forty years of experience protecting the rights of motorcycle injury victims and their families.
- We won’t take your case unless we believe it has merit and that we can help you recover the compensation you deserve.
- We genuinely care about our clients’ well-being and helping them move forward after a tragic event.
Schedule a free consultation. Meet with us and let us answer your questions and explain your rights. You will see why clients trust Garvin Injury Law to handle their Fort Myers motorcycle accident claim.Â
How a Fort Myers Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Can Help You
An experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyer can help increase your chances of recovering the maximum possible compensation. Some of the ways a lawyer can help include:
- Investigate your accident to determine all possible causes and liable parties.
- Conduct formal discovery to help identify and collect evidence to support your claim, including issuing interrogatories and requests for production of documents, and conducting necessary depositions.Â
- Representing you at all court appearances.
- Help ensure all your current and future economic and non-economic damages are accurately valued and calculated.
- Work to negotiate a fair settlement of your claim as quickly as possible.Â
- Take your case to trial if a fair settlement is not reached.
These are just some of the numerous actions an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyer may take to help build your strongest case and help you recover the compensation you are entitled to.
Recoverable Compensation in Fort Myers Motorcycle Accident Claims
The type and amount of compensation you may recover depend on numerous factors, including the severity of your injuries. If the injury was severe and caused head trauma, a Fort Myers brain injury attorney will pursue financial compensation for you.
In a successful Fort Myers motorcycle accident claim, you may be able to recover economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include current and future medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and other expenses incurred because of your accident and injuries.
Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, scarring and disfigurement, permanent disability, and other intangible losses.
In rare cases, you may also be able to recover punitive damages. However, punitive damages are only awarded in Florida when a defendant is guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence, as outlined in Florida Statutes § 768.72(2).
We work hard to recover all available damages for our clients and maximize their compensation.
How Much Will a Fort Myers Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Cost?
Most personal injury attorneys handle cases on a contingency fee basis. At Garvin Injury Law, we pay all costs of pursuing your claim, and you pay nothing until we recover compensation for you.
We enter into a compensation agreement with our clients that outlines all the work we will do to help them collect the maximum possible compensation. Under this agreement, we will be paid a percentage of the total compensation we collect for our client.
This fee agreement enables injury victims to aggressively pursue the compensation they deserve without risking their own money. It also helps reassure injury victims that their attorney will work hard to recover the maximum possible compensation possible because their goals are aligned.
How Do I Know If I Have a Valid Claim?
At Garvin Injury Law, you can consult with a Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyer at no charge or obligation to you. Once we have evaluated your accident, we can advise whether you have a valid claim.
We won’t take your case unless we believe it has merit and that we can help you recover the compensation you deserve.
You likely have a valid claim if another party’s actions caused your motorcycle accident. Most motorcycle accident cases are based on negligence. To be successful in a negligence claim, you must prove the existence of four elements. They are:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care. All motorists owe a duty of care to operate their vehicles reasonably safely to avoid harming others.
- The defendant breached their duty of care by their negligent actions or inaction. For example, if a driver ran a traffic light, they likely breached their duty of care.
- The defendant’s actions caused your accident and injuries. For example, the driver running the traffic light must be the cause of your accident.
- You suffered actual damages caused by the defendant’s negligent action or inaction.Â
Our Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyers have decades of experience proving negligence and know how to build your strongest case. We will carefully investigate your accident and work to identify and collect the evidence to prove your claim.
When necessary, we work with experts, such as accident reconstructionists, medical experts, and economic experts, to help support your claim and prove your damages.
I have been very pleased with how attorney Gartland and the Garvin Law firm team handled my case. Very professional and knowledgeable. He worked really hard, and communicated every step with me, showing interest in my fast recovery. They were able to get full amount from insurance without having to get to trial. Also, Kandi was always very professional and kind when communicating throughout the process. I recommend attorney Gartland for you personal injury case.
Sunny Camejo
How Much Is My Case Worth?
The value of your case depends on numerous factors. We must determine the full value of your current and future economic and non-economic damages. That sometimes requires consulting experts such as doctors and economists.
In addition to determining your damages, we must consider all available sources of compensation. Through discovery, we request and collect all relevant insurance policies to learn their coverage limits.
It is much easier to collect the full value of your damages when the defendants’ insurance limits cover them. However, if there is insufficient insurance coverage for your damages, we will investigate whether there are other assets and sources of compensation to pay your damages.
At Garvin Injury Law, we leave no stone unturned in helping identify potential sources of compensation for your damages.
Once we have evaluated your damages and the available sources of compensation, we can advise you on what we believe your claim is worth and what would be a fair settlement of your case.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a claim to recover compensation in a personal injury claim. If you miss your filing deadline, you cannot recover compensation.
Most motorcycle accident claims are based on negligence. Under Florida Statutes §95.11(5), an action founded on negligence must be brought within two years of the date of the accident. So, in most cases, your filing deadline is two years from the date of the accident.
However, there are exceptions to the two-year deadline. Additionally, not all motorcycle accidents are founded on negligence. For example, if your claim is based on product liability, your filing deadline is generally four years, as outlined in Florida Statutes §95.11(3).
If a government entity is a defendant in your suit, you will be governed by different procedural laws and usually have a much shorter deadline to file a notice of claim.
You must promptly consult an experienced Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyer to determine your filing deadline. You also want to act quickly after a motorcycle accident to help preserve vital evidence that may be destroyed, lost, or diminished over time.
Motorcycle Accident Statistics
There are more than 10,000 motorcycle accidents in Florida annually, resulting in thousands of injuries and hundreds of lives lost. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) reports motorcycle crashes and injuries have been on the rise in recent years.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are around 22 times more likely to be killed in a crash than passenger car occupants per vehicle miles traveled.
For those who survive, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports common motorcycle injuries can include:
- Leg and feet injuries (30 percent of all injured riders)
- Head and neck injuries (22 percent)
- Upper extremity injuries, such as to the arm, shoulder, or hand (55 percent)
- Abdominal injuries (21 percent)
- Thorax injuries (22 percent)
- Spinal injuries (15 percent)
Such injuries can result in long hospital stays, time off work, and on-going need for medical care, such as surgery, physical therapy, and medication. That is what makes prompt investigation and involvement from an experienced neck and back injury lawyer in Fort Myers so imperative.
Although most motorists are required to carry no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, as outlined in F.S. 627.736, motorcyclists are generally not required to obtain insurance to register their bikes. That means it may be necessary for injured motorcyclists and passengers to seek recovery of damages from the at-fault driver. These damages may include compensation for property damage, medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
While ample research has suggested that motorcycle helmet use can reduce the severity of motorcycle injuries and perhaps even prevent death, Florida years ago scrapped its motorcycle helmet requirements for those under 21. That means a defendant in a motorcycle accident case cannot use the failure to wear a helmet as grounds to argue fault or a reduction of damages.
It should be noted that per F.S. 316.211, those over 21 who choose to ride a motorcycle without a helmet are required to carry at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while riding on or operating that motorcycle. That said, motorcycle drivers in Florida who donned DOT-compliant helmets suffered 150 fewer injuries and 26 fewer deaths than riders who weren’t wearing a helmet. Similar rates were tallied for motorcycle passengers.
One point that NHTSA stressed in its research was that motorcyclists have one of the highest rates of alcohol impairment compared to drivers of other vehicles in fatal crashes. A finding of motorcyclist impairment will not necessarily mean you do not have a claim, as a Fort Myers motorcycle accident attorney can explain.
- First, if you were a motorcycle passenger, the fact that the operator was impaired will only strengthen your claim.
- Second, Florida ascribes to the pure comparative fault model, which per F.S. 768.81 means damages are proportionate to one’s own fault. A finding of alcohol use impairment does not mean the operator was automatically 100 percent to blame for the crash. A jury may find you 30 percent liable, in which case you will still be allowed to collect the remaining 70 percent in damages from the other at-fault party.
- Finally, you may have grounds to pursue a dram shop liability claim from a bar or restaurant pursuant to F.S. 768.125 if there is evidence the motorcycle operator was either underage or known to be addicted to alcohol and was served anyway and that consumption contributed to the crash.
These are just a few examples of potential motorcycle accident liability claims.
Contact A Fort Myers Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today
If you or a loved one is injured or killed while riding a motorcycle, it is important to contact an experienced motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible do determine if there is a legal cause of action. Consulting a lawyer quickly would help to preserve any evidence before it is lost or destroyed, and get the injured party to an appropriate medical provider.
Over the years, Garvin Injury Law has had the opportunity to represent many victims of negligence who were riding a motorcycle at the time of injury.
Contact Garvin Injury Law motorcycle accident attorneys in Fort Myers, Florida, today at (239) 277-0005 or online for a free case review.