Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Myrtle Beach
If you suffered injuries in a Myrtle Beach motorcycle crash, you could hold the at-fault driver legally responsible. A Myrtle Beach motorcycle accident lawyer from Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers could help you build a case and navigate the legal process to recover compensation for your medical care, income losses, and more.
At Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers, our lawyers help motorcyclists hurt by careless drivers get justice. We provide free consultations for individuals and families affected by Myrtle Beach crashes. We can assess your options and the strength of your case with you and could file a claim or lawsuit on your behalf. Connect with our team today to learn more.
Our Myrtle Beach Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Could Help with Your Crash
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS), more than 100 motorcyclists lost their lives in crashes in the state in a recent year. Other sources reported a higher number--more than 150--which would eclipse the highest total since 1980. In addition, many more suffered severe injuries.
If this happened to you, the ambulance or medevac likely took you to the Grand Strand Medical Center, the only Level I trauma center for adults in the PeeDee Region. Even relatively minor motorcycle injuries often require emergency department assessment. Internal injuries happen commonly, and some head injuries may not exhibit immediate symptoms.
At this facility, those with severe trauma from a motorcycle crash can receive comprehensive injury care, from stabilization in the trauma bay to surgery and treatment to rehabilitation and outpatient therapy. Of course, this treatment takes time, and it could be weeks or months before they return to work if their injuries allow it.
Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers Understands Myrtle Beach Motorcycle Crash Injuries
At Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers, our team fights for the financial recoveries our clients need and deserve. We do not believe you should worry about how to pay your bills or other financial stressors after a severe injury crash, especially one you did nothing to cause. We commit to helping our clients recover the money they need to cover their current and future care expenses, lost income, and other damages.
Our Myrtle Beach motorcycle accident lawyers believe our client's success is our success. Therefore, our team does not charge any upfront fees. We only charge attorney's fees following the conclusion of a case and when we secure compensation for the client. If we do not win your case, you do not pay any attorney's fees.
Our motorcycle accident lawyers have represented clients in Myrtle Beach since 2016. We provide compassionate, knowledgeable, and aggressive advocacy for those hurt in traffic accidents, premises liability incidents, and other personal injury cases. You can learn more during a free case review with our team today.
Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Can Navigate Your Claim for You
Our motorcycle accident attorneys from Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers handle all parts of our clients' legal cases.
If we represent you in your claim or lawsuit, you can count on us to:
- Manage all communication with the insurer and other parties
- Answer your questions quickly and completely
- Provide regular case updates
- Protect your rights
- Identify all potentially negligent and liable parties
- Investigate the crash and gather evidence
- Develop and file the insurance claim or lawsuit, as necessary
Many assume that filing an insurance claim simply requires filling out forms and answering questions about your expenses, but this process works much differently. As businesses, insurance companies protect their bottom line-not your settlement's value. Instead, they will conduct their own investigations and look for ways to reduce the money they have to pay in a settlement. This could include using your own words against you or denying the claim entirely.
Therefore, we approach the other driver's insurance company with a demand letter. This letter outlines what happened, our case against their policyholder, and the money we believe will fairly compensate our client for their recoverable damages. We do not expect the insurer to immediately agree to pay this total, however.
Instead, the insurance company will likely begin its investigation and determine what they believe may be a fair settlement. This amount generally will not be high enough. They will likely counteroffer our demand, and we can reject the lowball offer. However, this begins the process of negotiating a fair settlement. These negotiations could take several paths.
They may:
- Lead to a quick settlement
- Continue for many weeks or months
- Require us to sue the at-fault driver in court if negotiations do not progress
Through the negotiation process, we can often secure a payout in these cases. Most commonly, we recover compensation for our clients through negotiated settlements. This means we could secure a financial recovery for you.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries and Related Damages in Myrtle Beach
Motorcyclists understand the dangers they face on the roadway more than most drivers. They know that one mistake could lead to catastrophic, life-altering injuries. In a fraction of a second, someone else's distraction or carelessness could mean never returning to their career, losing their mobility, or suffering injuries that require months of inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient therapies.
Some of the most common injuries suffered by victims of a motorcycle crash include:
- Head injuries, including concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back injuries
- Nerve damage
- Loss of feeling and the use of limbs
- Spinal disc injuries
- Neck injuries, including whiplash and chronic pain injuries
- Lacerations
- Road rash, including severe asphalt burns on exposed skin
- Broken ribs and punctured lungs
- Traumatic amputations
- Internal injuries and bleeding
Serious injuries significantly increase the cost of medical care, how long victims miss work, and other recoverable damages. Therefore, the severity of your injuries can affect the settlement you may receive.
Recoverable Damages in Your Myrtle Beach Motorcycle Accident
When we identify the expenses and losses our clients incurred because of their Myrtle Beach motorcycle crash, we gather documentation to establish an acceptable settlement range for the case. This includes recent jury verdicts from around the state and determining which County we can file the claim in. This is how we know if the insurance company offers a just payout for our client. We must calculate this fair settlement range before filing a claim or lawsuit.
Some of the common recoverable damages available in a motorcycle accident case include:
- Medical bills, including ambulance transportation, air flight transportation, hospitalization, and related expenses
- Estimated future treatment and care costs
- Lost income from time missed working
- Diminished earning capacity if you cannot return to work
- Miscellaneous related expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Other non-economic damages
We also represent families in wrongful death claims. If your loved one died because of injuries they suffered in a crash, our Myrtle Beach motorcycle collision attorneys could help. Under South Carolina law, your family may receive compensation for your economic and non-economic expenses and losses based on your loved one's accident and passing.
You can discuss your options for pursuing a wrongful death case with a team member from our office today for free. We provide complimentary consultations to provide the answers and information you need about your legal rights.
What Are Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Myrtle Beach?
Motorcycle accidents can occur for various reasons, and understanding the common causes can help riders and drivers take precautions to prevent them. In Myrtle Beach, some common causes of motorcycle accidents include:
- Left-Turn Accidents: Motorcycles are more vulnerable to left-turn collisions at intersections. These accidents often happen when a car makes a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle, misjudging the distance or speed.
- Lane Changes Without Checking Blind Spots: Drivers changing lanes without properly checking their blind spots may not see motorcycles in adjacent lanes. This can lead to collisions when a motorcycle is in the driver's blind spot.
- Speeding: Speeding is a contributing factor in many accidents. Excessive speed reduces reaction time and increases the severity of collisions. Both motorcyclists and other drivers should adhere to speed limits.
- Distracted Driving: Drivers distracted by activities such as texting, talking on the phone, or adjusting the radio may not notice motorcycles on the road. This lack of attention can lead to accidents.
- Driving Under the Influence (DUI): Impaired driving, whether due to alcohol or drugs, is a significant factor in motorcycle accidents. Both motorcyclists and other drivers should never operate vehicles under the influence.
- Road Hazards: Motorcycles are more susceptible to road hazards like potholes, uneven surfaces, or debris. These hazards can cause a rider to lose control, leading to accidents.
- Failure to Yield: Collisions can occur when drivers fail to yield the right of way to motorcycles at intersections, on-ramps, or when merging onto highways.
- Weather Conditions: Adverse weather conditions, such as rain or poor visibility, can make roads slippery and increase the risk of accidents. Motorcyclists should exercise caution during adverse weather.
- Faulty Equipment: Mechanical failures or defects in a motorcycle's equipment, such as brakes or tires, can lead to accidents. Regular maintenance and proper inspection of the motorcycle are essential.
Motorcycle safety involves both riders and drivers being aware of their surroundings, following traffic laws, and sharing the road responsibly. If you suffered injuries or lost a close family member in a motorcycle accident a negligent driver caused in Myrtle Beach, reach out to an experienced motorcycle accident attorney to discuss your claim at no cost.
Negligence and Liability in a Myrtle Beach Motorcycle Collision Case
As in other personal injury cases, negligence plays a central role in a motorcycle crash claim. You can hold the at-fault driver legally responsible for your Myrtle Beach motorcycle accident by proving they acted negligently.
To establish negligence, we must demonstrate:
- Duty of care
- A breach of that duty of care
- Causation from the breach of duty to your injuries
- Damages
Traffic laws generally create a duty of care for drivers. For example, drivers have a duty of care to obey traffic signs and signals. A breach of this duty might include running a red light. When a driver runs a red light, it may cause an intersection collision. If the collision victim is a motorcyclist, they often suffer significant physical, psychological, and financial harm.
Drivers commonly cause motorcycle crashes by failing to see or recognize the smaller object, i.e, The motorcycle.
This may occur when they:
- Fail to yield to the motorcyclist while turning across the intersection
- Pull out in front of a motorcycle
- Merge into a motorcyclist
- Change lanes without seeing the motorcyclist
In each of these situations, the driver had a duty of care to keep others sharing the road safe and to follow applicable traffic laws. Their failure to do so caused the crash and the motorcyclist's injuries.
How Our Attorneys Prove Negligence and Liability
When our attorneys take on a Myrtle Beach motorcycle case, we build strong support for the insurance claim or lawsuit. This requires us to investigate what happened and develop an argument that helps our client recover fair compensation.
Some evidence available in these cases include:
- The accident report filed by law enforcement
- Eyewitness statements
- Photos or videos of the crash
- Accident reconstruction data
- Crash scene survey
- Relevant medical records
- Documents to support our demand for damages
Once we identify, gather, and analyze the evidence in the case, we can build a compensation case. With strong evidence, we can tell the story of what happened and how the at-fault motorist's negligence caused the crash and our client's injuries.
We can use this to show:
- That an insurance policyholder bears legal liability; or
- That our client deserves a fair payout at a jury trial
We develop each case like it will go to trial, even though very few do. This ensures we can sue if that becomes necessary. It also gives us the strong support needed to negotiate aggressively with the insurance company for a fair and just settlement.
Filing a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit in Civil Court
The Myrtle Beach motorcycle crash attorneys from Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers understand what it takes to recover compensation and win an accident case. We want our clients to receive a fair and just payout that covers the expenses and losses incurred because of their injuries. Sometimes, this takes more than negotiating with the at-fault driver's auto insurance provider.
A lawsuit may prove necessary in some motorcycle accident cases in Myrtle Beach. However, our attorneys know that filing a civil suit could give our client a better outcome in the case. If we advise a lawsuit in your case, we can explain why and what this means for you based on the unique details of your accident.
Several things can happen after we sue an at-fault driver. These include:
- The insurance company increasing their settlement offer
- Reaching a negotiated agreement through mediation
- Going to trial and asking the judge or jury to decide the case
We generally like to negotiate settlements for our clients because it often proves the most efficient resolution to the case for all parties involved. However, we can develop a strong case for trial and take a case before a jury when necessary. Our trial attorneys know how to manage this process, and you can feel confident you are in good hands.
Act Promptly to Meet the Deadline to File a Lawsuit
Although certain exceptions can apply, South Carolina law generally gives us only three years to sue the at-fault driver in a motorcycle accident case. We can tell you what deadline may apply in your situation. Missing this deadline could mean losing the right to sue, so we must begin your lawsuit before this date.
Let us discuss your options with you soon after your injuries stabilize. This ensures we have time to build a case and explore your options for compensation.
Talk to Our Team About Your Myrtle Beach Motorcycle Accident Case Today
At Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers, we provide free, confidential case reviews for motorcycle crash victims and other victims of traffic accidents. We also meet with family members of those who suffered catastrophic injuries or passed away. We can evaluate your legal rights and discuss your next steps and how our team could help. Our firm works based on contingency fees, which means our clients pay no upfront expenses. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer at our Myrtle Beach office today.
Contact us online or via telephone at (843) 232-0944 for your free consultation. We have someone available to speak with you now.
