If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you may be entitled to compensation. If the accident was caused by someone else, they could be held liable. Contact Mama Justice – MW Law Firm to get more information.

When you drive through Mississippi, you will see a wide variety of vehicles on the roadway. These vehicles vary greatly in weight and size, from large commercial size trucks to the smallest vehicles on the road, motorcycles. This combination can result in some very dangerous scenarios for those in the smaller vehicles.

A tractor-trailer that is fully loaded can weigh up to 40 tons. The average delivery truck, also fully loaded, weighs around six tons, and a passenger vehicle can weigh close to one and a half tons. Each of these vehicles is considerably heavier and larger than a motorcycle, which places riders at serious risk should they be involved in a motorcycle accident.

If you were hit by another vehicle during a Biloxi motorcycle accident, we encourage you to contact a Biloxi motorcycle accident lawyer from Mama Justice – MW Law Firm. Our personal injury attorneys are ready to stand by you during an injury lawsuit against the driver who caused your injuries. Call us today to schedule your free case evaluation.

What Are Mississippi’s Motorcycle Laws?

Motorcyclists have the same responsibilities and are afforded the same rights as other vehicles on the roadway. In Mississippi, in order to drive a motorcycle, your driver’s license has to have a Class R endorsement. This endorsement proves that you have passed both written and practical tests to safely ride a motorcycle. Additionally, all motorcycles are required to undergo a state inspection before they can be ridden on a public roadway.

Helmets approved by the Mississippi Department of Transportation are mandatory for both drivers and their passengers. A helmet is an essential piece of safety equipment that minimizes the risk of head injuries, brain injuries, and fatalities. Since they are mandatory in the state of Mississippi, any motorcyclist or passenger caught riding without an approved helmet could be charged with a misdemeanor, resulting in incarceration and fines. For each subsequent offense, these penalties increase.

Lane splitting is the practice of traveling through traffic or overtaking bigger vehicles by riding in between designated travel lanes. Lane splitting is illegal in some states and legal in others. In Mississippi, however, it is neither. If a motorcycle rider ends up being injured in an accident while they are lane splitting, their ability to collect financial compensation could be affected if it is decided they were operating their bike in an unsafe manner. If you decide to lane split in Mississippi, you need to exercise extreme caution.

Motorcycle Accident Injuries

A motorcycle accident can be very dangerous. Although they only make up 0.6% of all miles traveled on United States roadways, they account for 14% of all motor vehicle fatalities. That means riding on a motorcycle is far more dangerous than in a car.

The NHTSA also discovered that motorcycle fatalities in Mississippi rose by 55% from 2019 to 2020. If you operate a motorcycle on our roadways, please exercise extreme caution at all times and remain very aware of your surroundings. It could save your life.

Common Motorcycle Injuries in Biloxi

If a motorcyclist manages to survive the wreck, any of these injuries they may have are extremely severe, endangering the life of the rider and possibly changing it forever.

Some of the most common injuries that are caused by Biloxi motorcycle accidents are:

  • Head injuries: These include skull fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and concussions
  • Neck injuries: These include compression, fractures, sprains, pinched nerves, and paralysis
  • Back injuries: These include a broken back, bulging or herniated discs, and paralysis
  • Broken and fractured bones: These include broken legs, arms, fingers, ankles, and wrists, any of which could be an open fracture. An open fracture is one where the bone has punctured its way through the skin or a wound is so deep that the bone is clearly visible
  • Ligament injuries: These include torn or sprained ligaments in the ankle, knee, elbow, shoulder, or wrist
  • Avulsion injuries: These injuries are more commonly known as road rash. Road rash occurs when a person’s skin is peeled away from their body as it slides across the asphalt. Avulsion injuries can affect any part of the body.

You may be able to recover from some of the above-listed injuries in only a few days or weeks. Other injuries are life-threatening or life-changing and will require months or even years of medical care and rehabilitation. Some will never completely heal.

Common Causes of Biloxi Motorcycle Accidents

The majority of Biloxi motorcycle accidents involve the motorcyclist and another vehicle. There are multiple factors that can contribute to an accident with an automobile such as inclement weather, fatigue, and driver distraction, all of which make Mississippi roadways even more dangerous for motorcycle riders. When compared to standard passenger vehicles, motorcyclists are more prone to be involved in an accident, especially when negligent conduct is present, such as:

  • Reduced visibility: A motorcycle’s smaller size makes it more difficult to see. Car and truck drivers who fail to adequately monitor their blind spots and mirrors can be easily caught unaware by an approaching motorcycle.
  • Speeding: Since they weigh so much less, a motorcycle is able to reach much greater speeds in much less time than other cars. Operating any type of motor vehicle at speeds over the posted limit significantly decreases the amount of time you have to react to a situation and increases your odds of a serious accident.
  • Poor roadway conditions: Inadequately maintained roadways have a serious impact on a motorcycle rider’s safety. As reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fluid spills, pavement that isn’t level, and road debris played a part in almost 30% of deadly bike collisions. Recovering from motorcycle accident injuries could necessitate costly and ongoing medical treatments.

Seeking Legal Representation

For dependable help with your Mississippi personal injury case, you should work with a Biloxi motorcycle accident attorney with decades of experience. We will offer you a free consultation to help figure out how you should move forward. We can determine whether or not you have a valid claim against the other driver. Contact the Biloxi law offices of Mama Justice – MW Law Firm today to get started.

What Is My Biloxi Motorcycle Accident Claim Worth?

If you were injured in a motorcycle accident and are not able to work, you are probably wondering about the total value of your claim. Although you can find plenty of online calculators that say they can help you estimate the overall value of your claim, they are usually wrong and give figures that are too high or, occasionally, not high enough. Both estimates are very misleading and can set you up for disappointment and failure.

Each motorcycle accident is different and occurs under a unique set of circumstances. A Biloxi motorcycle accident lawyer is the best person to talk to if you want to receive a more precise figure. Some factors that could potentially influence your claim’s value typically include the seriousness of your accident, the value of any property damage, the nature and severity of your injuries, and whether or not you were partly liable for the crash.

In general, the more serious your injuries and other damages, the larger your settlement will probably be. Your Biloxi motorcycle accident lawyer will also be able to calculate the more subjective, emotional aspects of your losses such as pain, suffering, and mental trauma caused by your accident. These may be included as part of your claim’s total value.

A Mississippi motorcycle accident claim typically includes both special and general damages. Special damages are actual losses caused by the accident. These include medical expenses, lost earnings, and the cost of replacement or repairs to your motorcycle. Special damages are easy to prove and easy to tally. General damages, however, as stated above, consist of less calculable things such as pain and suffering. They play an important role in your injury claim. Due to the fact that there is no legal action that can compensate the victim for the emotional anguish and physical pain they have endured, the courts do what they can by allowing restitution in the form of monetary damages.

Collecting Compensation for Your Biloxi Motorcycle Crash

No matter the nature and scope of your injury, you are going to have at least some medical bills. Here at Mama Justice – MW Law Firm, we don’t think you should have to pay your medical expenses yourself when you were not responsible for the accident or the injuries it caused.

As previously discussed, you may be eligible to pursue financial compensation for a variety of accident-related damages provided that you are able to prove that the driver of the other vehicle was negligent in the operation of their vehicle. Some additional damages to which you might be entitled include:

  • Hospital and medical care expenses
  • Anticipated medical care expenses
  • Prescription medication costs
  • Medical devices
  • Physical therapy
  • Lost income
  • Anticipated lost income

Our Biloxi motorcycle accident lawyers can help you recover an amount that is equal to any of your out-of-pocket expenses thus far as well as an amount equal to any projected future costs for these damages.

In addition, you may be entitled to collect financial compensation for mental trauma associated with your accident. These can include post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, decreased quality of life, scarring, disfigurement, and more.

How an Attorney Can Help My Case

A primary component to developing a strong motorcycle accident case is proving that the other driver was negligent in their conduct, and this negligent conduct led to the accident which caused your injuries.

Proving that someone else was negligent is not as straightforward as it sounds. This is just one of the many areas where a Biloxi motorcycle accident attorney can help your case. Our lawyers will study the police crash report from your accident, interview any witnesses, review any surveillance video of the crash, and, if necessary, work with a motorcycle accident reconstruction expert to help establish your claim.

An experienced personal injury lawyer will also know how to determine what constitutes a fair settlement amount for your case. This information will be invaluable in figuring out if the insurance company is offering you a decent settlement.

Another way in which a reputable lawyer will be able to assist you is by meeting all of the deadlines for filing any paperwork associated with your case. The state of Mississippi has a three-year statute of limitations for filing the initial paperwork for a personal injury case. Your attorney will ensure that you adhere to the statute of limitations. If the deadline lapses, your case will be thrown out and you will be prohibited from collecting any financial compensation at all, so it is very important to adhere to that and all other deadlines associated with your case.

The insurance carrier representing the at-fault driver will have lots of questions for you to answer and a lot of paperwork for you to complete. When you are working with a qualified motorcycle accident attorney, they will be able to manage all of these tasks and make sure that everything is handled in a timely fashion, leaving you free to focus on your recovery and your family. Your attorney will actually handle all communication with the insurance company and the courts on your behalf.