Tampa Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

The number of motorcycles registered in the U.S. has been increasing throughout the twenty-first century, with California and Florida leading the nation. Florida now has more than 623,000 registered motorcycles and Hillsborough County alone has over 30,000, with hundreds of motorcyclists from other states adding to that number throughout the year.

It is no wonder, then, that there are a lot of motorcycle accidents each year in Florida. According to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, more than 9,100 motorcycle crashes occur in a single year in Florida, including 581 accident-related fatalities. In Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County alone, there have been over 600 motorcycle accidents per year, with 45 accident-related fatalities.

If you’ve recently been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, you may be facing many challenges at once. In addition to pain and medical treatment, you might also feel emotional distress and strain on your family life. Financial hardship is common after a serious injury. You may be unable to perform daily tasks at home or return to work as before. Meanwhile, your medical bills continue to grow.

Indeed, when you or a family member has been injured in a motorcycle accident, coping with the present situation can be extremely difficult, and worrying about the future can be overwhelming. The experienced Dennis Hernandez Injury Attorneys Tampa motorcycle accident lawyers understand how devastating a serious accident injury can be and want to help. We have helped hundreds of families throughout Florida get the financial compensation they need for a secure future after a serious accident injury and will put our experience, skill and determination to work for you.

Call us at 855-529-3366 or fill in the FREE CASE EVALUATION form on our website to get started on your Tampa motorcycle accident case.

Common Questions about Tampa Motorcycle Accident Injury Cases

• What Causes Motorcycle Accidents in Tampa?
• What Are Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries in Florida?
• What Are the Long-term Effects of Motorcycle Accident Injuries?
• What Kind of Compensation Is Available for Tampa Motorcycle Accident Injuries?
• Do I Need a Lawyer to Settle My Tampa Motorcycle Accident Case?
• How Long Do I Have to File a Claim for a Motorcycle Accident in Florida?
• Why Should I Hire Dennis Hernandez Tampa Motorcycle Accident Lawyers?

What Causes Motorcycle Accidents in Tampa?

While safety measures for motorcyclists have improved in the past ten years, people driving cars and trucks still often do not share the road safely with motorcycles. They may drive while fatigued, distracted or impaired. Furthermore, they may speed, drive recklessly or otherwise not adhere to Florida’s traffic safety laws.

Motorcyclists can, of course, also cause accidents, especially when they are inexperienced.  However, as the National Transportation Safety Board reports, the leading causes of motorcycle accidents include:

• Perception failures, especially motorists failing to see the motorcycle – It can be difficult for people driving large vehicles to spot a motorcycle on the roadway, given the size of a motorcycle compared to a passenger or commercial vehicle. Motorists frequently fail to see a motorcycle in their mirrors or even right next to them. At intersections or when changing lanes, this perception failure can result in a collision.
• Decision failures, especially motorists failing to make the correct decision to avoid a dangerous situation. When drivers decide to change lanes in front of a motorcycle, turn in front of a motorcycle or pass a motorcycle when there isn’t enough room to do so safely, they can cause serious accidents.
• Door accidents – Occupants of parked vehicles often fail to check carefully for oncoming traffic before opening a vehicle door. This can be deadly for an approaching motorcyclist.
• Dangerous road conditions – Wet roadways, uneven pavement, chipped asphalt, and obstacles in the roadway can all lead to a catastrophic collision.
• Rider inexperience – By their very nature, motorcycles are more difficult – and more dangerous – to operate than cars and trucks. Inexperienced riders can easily lose control of their bikes and wind up crashing them.
• Impaired drivers – Whether it’s the motorcyclist or the driver of another vehicle who is impaired, driving while under the influence on the part of either driver is a leading cause of serious accidents.

The Dennis Hernandez Tampa motorcycle accident lawyers know how to investigate crashes and prove driver fault. If you or a loved one suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident, our team will take immediate action. We will investigate thoroughly and gather the evidence needed to show that the driver’s negligence caused or contributed to the crash.

What Are Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries in Florida?

Unfortunately, more than 80% of motorcycle accidents cause injuries. They can be as minor as road rash, but many are very serious or fatal. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the most common types of fatal injuries from motorcycle crashes are injuries to the torso, lower extremities, and spinal column and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). For injuries that are not fatal but are serious enough to require hospitalization, more than 60% involve bone fractures and more than 27% involve injuries to internal organs.

Some of the more common serious motorcycle accident injuries in Florida include:

• Broken or fractured bones – When a motorcycle crashes, the rider and/or passenger is often thrown from the bike at a high rate of speed. This can result in multiple broken or fractured bones, injuries that can affect accident victims for the rest of their lives.
• Injured limbs – When a person’s hands, feet, arms or legs are seriously injured, it may be necessary to amputate them.
• Spinal cord injuries – When someone is thrown from a motorcycle during an accident, a spinal cord injury can occur. This type of injury can cause permanent paralysis.
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) – If the rider or passenger is thrown from the motorcycle, they could suffer a head and traumatic brain injury (TBI). This type of injury can cause anything from a mild concussion to severe, even fatal, brain damage.
• Death – Many serious motorcycle injuries ultimately lead to the victim’s death.

If you lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident, you may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. These claims can seek compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills, funeral costs, and lost income. You may also recover damages for your personal loss as a surviving family member. The wrongful death lawyers at Dennis Hernandez in Tampa can help. Our team will guide you through the legal process with care and clarity. We will fight for the full and fair compensation you and your family deserve.

What Are the Long-term Effects of Motorcycle Accident Injuries?

Many Tampa motorcycle accident victims require lengthy hospital stays, ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitation, and care at home. They suffer pain and emotional trauma and face many challenges, including:

• Chronic pain
• Stress and mental anguish
• Inability to do many of the things they used to do
• Loss of income
• Mounting medical bills

Compensation for injuries doesn’t stop pain or prevent depression. However, it can alleviate many of your problems by helping you and your family handle the financial burden of medical and care expenses and focus on your recovery.

To obtain the full substantial compensation you deserve for your pain, suffering and losses, it is important to get help from an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer. Dennis Hernandez has been helping injured accident victims in Florida for over twenty-five years. His team of legal experts has helped clients receive millions of dollars in settlements and awards. We look forward to putting our successful experience and expertise to work for you.

What Kind of Compensation Is Available for Tampa Motorcycle Accident Injuries?

If someone else’s negligence caused or contributed to your Tampa motorcycle accident, you can take legal action under Florida law. You have the right to file a personal injury claim and hold the negligent party accountable for the damages. In other words, you may sue for monetary compensation to cover the physical, emotional, and financial harm the accident caused.

By filing a claim, you may be able to obtain substantial compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, including:

• Existing and future medical bills, including office visits, hospital stays, procedures, diagnostic testing, medications, assistive devices, rehabilitative therapy and transportation to appointments
• Damage to your motorcycle
• Lost wages due to not being able to work or to work in the same capacity as before the accident
• Diminished earning capacity in the future
• Mental anguish, PTSD and anxiety related to the accident and your injuries
• Physical pain and suffering
• Diminished enjoyment of life
• Your family’s loss of your companionship, assistance and guidance
• Other damages recoverable under Florida law

The Dennis Hernandez motorcycle accident lawyers are ready to help you. We know how to assess all the damages you and your family have suffered. Our team gathers the evidence needed to prove your right to substantial compensation. We fight to ensure you receive the settlement or award you truly deserve.

Do I Need a Lawyer to Settle My Tampa Motorcycle Accident Case?

If you were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, working with an experienced lawyer is in your best interest. You are not required to hire an attorney. However, having a skilled lawyer protecting your rights can make a major difference. Legal advocacy often increases the amount of financial compensation you receive.

A settlement offer from the other driver’s insurer is often much lower than what you truly deserve. Without an attorney, you’re more likely to accept less than your case is worth. Insurance adjusters use tactics to pressure victims into low settlements — or even deny payment entirely. However, they avoid these tactics when facing experienced attorneys. At Dennis Hernandez Injury Attorneys, we don’t back down. Insurance companies know we fight hard for every client’s full compensation.

Moreover, having an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer negotiating on your behalf means that you do not have to communicate with the other driver’s insurance company at all.  If someone from the insurance company contacts you and asks for information, you can simply direct them to your lawyer.

If the insurance company doesn’t make a fair offer, your lawyer must be ready to go to trial. An experienced motorcycle accident attorney will fight in court for the full compensation you deserve. At Dennis Hernandez Injury Attorneys, we never give up. We don’t settle for less than the full amount to which you are entitled.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim for a Motorcycle Accident Injury in Florida?

The Florida statute of limitations for bringing a claim against another driver for a motorcycle injury accident is four years from the date of the accident. If you wait more than four years, you cannot file a claim.

Talk to an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible. A skilled attorney will explain your legal rights and options. They will also make sure you file your claim within the legal deadline.

Why Should I Hire Dennis Hernandez Tampa Motorcycle Accident Lawyers?

If a motorcycle accident injured you, contact an experienced lawyer right away. The Dennis Hernandez legal team is ready to help and guide you through every step. Dennis Hernandez is both an avid biker and a personal injury lawyer. He has over twenty-five years of success helping clients across Florida. He understands the challenges you’re facing and wants to help. His firm offers expert advice and legal support to guide you through this difficult time.

At the Dennis Hernandez law firm, you will get the best legal representation possible, and you pay nothing until we win a satisfactory settlement or jury award. As your lawyers, we will:

• Listen closely to your description of the accident and its effects on your life.
• Plan and implement a case strategy to help you obtain the maximum compensation.
• Utilize our firm’s resources to assure that all evidence necessary to prove negligence and demonstrate the full extent of your need for substantial compensation is collected in a timely manner.
• Negotiate aggressively with the at-fault driver’s insurance company for the total amount of compensation you deserve.
• Keep you abreast of all developments in your case and respond promptly to all of your questions and concerns.
• Never advise you to accept a settlement offer that is less than you deserve.
• Be well prepared to take your case to court and fight to win the substantial award you need and deserve.

Many Florida personal injury lawyers will do everything in their power to settle with insurance companies and avoid going to trial, but we never back down.

We will build a strong case to demonstrate your need for compensation for physical, emotional, and financial damages resulting from the motorcycle accident, and we will leverage our trial experience, resources and skill to fight for the compensation you deserve. Working with us means you will be supported through the entire legal process.

Call us today at 855-529-3366 or fill in the FREE CASE EVALUATION form on our website to get the expert legal help you need to win your Tampa motorcycle accident case.