Involved In A Florida Motorcycle Accident? You Need A Lawyer!

[Joseph M. Maus]

Bikers come in all shapes and sizes; from the daredevil twenty-something guy zipping through traffic on the sport bike to the middle-aged Baby Boomer out for a cruise on a Harley Softtail. The reasons for riding a motorcycle are many and varied, but all Sunshine State motorcyclists have one thing in common: if they are involved in an accident, they will need a good Florida motorcycle accident lawyer.

Florida’s “Helmet Law” (Fla. Stat. s. 316.211) was modified in 2000 and the change has brought a scary increase in statistics with it. In 1999, the final year of the more aggressive helmet law, 155 motorcyclists perished in accidents. In 2007, however, 517 motorcyclists died in accidents.

Many bikers relish the freedom of the wind in their hair and balk at the “restrictions” of a motorcycle helmet. These bikers should take the time to visit a hospital to look in at a motorcycle accident victim or stop by a rehab center to check out the price they may pay for not wearing a helmet. Florida motorcycle accident lawyer Joseph M. Maus says that the hospitalization cost alone of treating a severely head-injured motorcycle accident victim will easily be in the $150,000 to $200,000 range and that doesn’t cover the cost of the extensive rehabilitation services that will be required afterward in order to be functional again. An occupational therapist related the visual of a non-helmeted head hitting the pavement: “picture a watermelon splattering on the ground. That’s your head when it connects with the road and you aren’t wearing a helmet.”

The health care costs of a catastrophic injury like those that can result from a motorcycle accident are one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy. This is why you need to hire a good attorney who can help make sure you are fully compensated for your medical bills and injuries if you are involved in an accident.

Keep in mind, though; riding a bike without a helmet might make you feel like you’re reliving a scene from “Easy Rider”, but you may want to rethink it before tossing the helmet: life could get pretty hard if you are involved in an accident.

In any case, a biker should watch for several things, whether riding with or without a helmet:

• Double-check traffic at intersections before you turn or pull out.
• Check your blind spots before changing lanes.
• Don’t zip in and out of traffic or weave between cars.
• Leave at least a four-second distance between your motorcycle and the car in front of you.
• Keep a watchful eye at all times. Because they're small, motorcycles are hard to see and many auto drivers are focused on other things when they are behind the wheel: cell phones, changing a radio station, conversations with passengers. Just because you see them doesn’t mean they see you, especially at night.

For more information or if you have been involved in a motorcycle accident, call Florida motorcycle accident lawyer Joseph M. Maus toll-free at 1-866-556-5529 or email him today.