Milwaukee Motorcycle Rear-End Accident Lawyer

In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said 5,421 motorcycles were involved in fatal collisions with motor vehicles in 2016. Of them, 7 percent were accidents in which the motorcycle was hit by a car from behind.

The latest Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Facts Book published by the WI Department of Transportation says 272 motorcycle accidents in the year surveyed were rear-end accidents. Of them:

• 108 occurred on local streets/roads
• 130 occurred on state highways
• 21 occurred on county highways
• 18 occurred on interstate highways.

Our lawyers realize the severity of the injuries that motorcycle riders – and their families – often must cope with after an accident. A motorcyclist is not protected by his or her vehicle’s body when they are hit by a car. In fact, they may be thrown from their motorcycle if hit from behind or they may fall with their bike and wind up with a heavy, hot motorcycle on top of them.

Unfortunately, being safe from others on the road is often up to the motorcyclist. Safety for a motorcycle rider requires seeing and being seen. To increase your chances of not being rear-ended on a motorcycle:

Show up.Wear brightly colored reflective clothing. Bright orange, red, yellow or green helmets, jackets or vests are best for being seen. A reflective sticker at the center rear of your helmet and the back of a jacket or vest adds two more chances to catch a driver’s eye as they approach from behind.

Use rearview mirrors.You should have a mirror on each side of the bike that is adjusted to show the roadway behind you. Check them as you slow to stop and while you sit at a light, so you have the opportunity to evade anyone coming from behind too fast.

Flash your brake lights.Tap your brake lights as you begin to slow or stop. Flashing lights are more likely to catch a driver’s attention than a constant signal.

Be flexible about lane position.Move to whatever portion of the lane is best able to help you see, be seen, and maintain adequate space between you and cars behind you. Move to the right on multi-lane roads to let cars pass and get away from you when possible.

Know where you are.Always look ahead and plan an escape route, especially if you are sitting at a light or another forced stop. Know what you’ll do if you realize someone coming from behind is not going to stop in time to avoid hitting you.

Our objective as your motorcycle accident attorneys is to see to it that you recover all compensation available to you through insurance coverage held by the party or parties responsible for the accident. Wisconsin law allows people injured by others’ negligence or recklessness to seek compensation for their:

• Medical Expenses
  from emergency care at the accident scene through hospitalization and rehabilitation, if required. Money required for ongoing medical care or assistance required because of your injuries can be calculated and demanded in a claim, too.
• Lost Income
  including wages lost while you recuperate and which you are projected to lose if your injury has damaged your ability to return to work or otherwise earn a living.
• Property Damage
  which typically means the cost to repair or replace your motorcycle but may include the fair market value of other property lost because of damage that occurred in the accident.
• Pain and Suffering
  which is for physical as well as emotional pain the accident and resulting injuries have caused you. Typically, the more severe your injuries and lengthy your recovery, the more we will seek for pain and suffering compensation.
• Emotional Distress
  paid for the lingering trauma caused by being involved in or witnessing a shocking event that significantly affects your life, such as a catastrophic crash and disfiguring injuries.
• Loss of enjoyment of life
  paid if your injuries significantly affect your ability to take part in activities you once enjoyed and/or are expected to result in your premature death. Loss of a limb or one of the senses (such as vision) or an expectation of continued poor
  health after an accident are compensated as loss of enjoyment of life.
• Loss of consortium
  paid if your injuries damage your ability to resume an intimate relationship with your spouse, care for your children or pursue personal relationships with other family or loved ones.
• Nominal damages,
  paid to acknowledge the at-fault party’s wrongdoing.
• Punitive damages,
  awarded in cases of extreme negligence, maliciousness or reckless disregard for human life. Wisconsin limits punitive damages to $200,000 or no more than twice the compensatory damages (medical expenses, lost income and property damage) you are
  awarded, whichever is more. However, the cap is waived in cases involving a drunk driver.