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Motorcycle Rear End Accidents

Motorcycle Rear-End Accident Lawyer

Were you hit from behind on your motorcycle and seriously injured because you were thrown from your bike or knocked over along with your motorcycle? Did a distracted, speeding, or drunk driver cause your rear-end motorcycle accident? Negligent motorists injure innocent motorcyclists every day in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.

At Gruber Law Offices, we fight to get injured motorcycle riders the insurance compensation they deserve after accidents. Call us for help today.

Examples of How a Rear-End Accident Can Occur

Motorcyclists are injured in rear-end accidents when a driver as failed to adequately adjust their speed for the motorcycle ahead of them as it slows down or comes to a stop. This often occurs because the driver is following too closely (i.e., tailgating), speeding or does not look ahead properly before making a move in traffic.

A motorcycle is likely to be hit by a car from behind:

At an intersection as vehicles slow to stop for a red light or stop sign, or as a car approaches a motorcycle that has stopped.
At railroad gates as vehicles slow to stop for warning lights and railroad gates or when a motorcyclist stops to look and listen before crossing unguarded railroad tracks.
In traffic that suddenly slows or comes to a halt.
After “blind” curves where a speeding motorist suddenly comes upon a motorcycle traveling at a slower speed.
When motorists change lanes in traffic and do not look for motorcycles.
When motorists make right-hand turns in traffic and fail to look ahead for a motorcycle.

Because of their weight, motorcycles stop faster and in less road space than larger vehicles. Motorists should allow at least four seconds’ worth of distance between a passenger car and a motorcycle to avoid a rear-end collision.

Advice to motorists about watching for motorcycles and allowing more distance between vehicles proves to be of little use when drivers choose to engage in reckless driving behavior, such as:

Distracted Driving
Fatigued Driving
Texting While Driving
Aggressive Driving
Drunk Driving

How Common are Rear-End Motorcycle Accidents?

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
125 occurred on state highways
21 occurred on county highways
18 occurred on interstate highways.

Common Injuries From a Rear-End Motorcycle Collision

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.

It is far more likely for a motorcyclist to be disabled or disfigured in a collision with a motor vehicle than it is for the driver of a car or truck. Such catastrophic injuries lead to expensive and often ongoing medical costs, which makes insurers more likely to deny a claim or offer a low-ball settlement to traumatized family members before all costs of an accident are realized.

Gruber Law Offices helps motorcyclists obtain appropriate compensation for their medical expenses after serious accidents. We often work with motorcyclists and/or families of motorcycle riders who suffer from:

Head and brain injuries
Back and spine injuries
Paralysis
Broken bones
Loss of limbs (amputation)
Chest and shoulder injuries
Internal organ damage
Eye injuries
Scarring and disfigurement.
Burns from contact with hot motorcycle components and friction burns or “road rash” from contact with the roadway.

How to Avoid Being Rear-Ended on a Motorcycle

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.

Compensation Available After a Motorcycle Crash

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.

One Call … That’s All: Call Now About a Rear-End Motorcycle Accident Claim

Motorcyclists can be met with terrible disrespect after accidents involving motorists, and insurance companies often try to blame the motorcyclist and deny payments they clearly deserve. Our legal team is committed to fighting for motorcyclists’ rights and to helping our clients pursue the maximum possible in damages.

If you of a loved one of yours has been injured in a rear-end motorcycle accident, call Gruber Law Offices so we can tell you how we’ll fight for you. Our motorcycle accident attorneys have a record of recovering high-value jury awards and settlements for our clients, including motorcycle accident victims and the families of those who lost loved ones in motorcycle crashes. We do not rest until we have done all we can to help our clients.

For more than 30 years, attorney David Gruber and the legal team at Gruber Law Offices, LLC have fought for injured people in Wisconsin. While the law firm has resources that include 120 attorneys and staff, Gruber Law Offices remains a family business. David Gruber works with his wife, attorney Nancy Gruber, who is managing partner. Their son, Steven Gruber, is also an attorney at the firm. We treat our clients as we would want our own family members to be treated.

Our philosophy is, “One call … that’s all!” Once you call our office, our legal team can take care of all aspects of your motorcycle accident case. We can provide a free consultation at our Milwaukee office or meet at your home, the hospital or any location convenient to you. And we only charge a legal fee if we recover compensation for you. Call or connect with us online today.

Linda

Actual Client

A man pulled out from a stop sign and hit my car. There was no question in my mind that it would be Gruber Law Offices that I call. Because I knew they would do everything that they could. Everything I had heard about them was absolutely the best, and proved to be the best decision I could make.

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