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Motorcycling is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people. While motorcycling itself is generally safe, unfortunately it is made dangerous by drivers who are distracted, drive drunk, text while driving, fail to obey traffic signals, speed, or otherwise drive recklessly. When drivers cause crashes and collisions with motorcyclists, it is often the motorcyclist who pays the price in terms or severe injury or death, while responsible driver walks away uninjured.
As Johnson City motorcycle accident lawyers, we serve injured motorcyclists and their families, and seek for them full compensation from all those responsible. We serve clients not only in Johnson City, but also the surrounding communities in norther Tennessee and southwest Virginia.
Johnson City, Tennessee – located in Washington County – has its share of motorcycle crashes and fatalities. Based on the report entitled “Tennessee Traffic Crash Data” published by the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, there were 69 motorcycle crashes in Washington County in 2018, ranking the county 21 out of 95 counties for motorcycle crashes that year. This Department also reported that there were 168 motorcycle accident-related fatalities in Tennessee during 2018. Of these fatalities, at least 157 of the motorcyclists killed were wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
When a motorcycle accident or crash occurs, one of the first things an injured client or family will naturally ask is how long their motorcycle crash will take. Typically, a case can take from six months to two years or even longer, although there are a variety of factors that will affect every case.
It’s important to understand that at our firm, when representing an injured motorcyclist or family, our goal is not to try to work out a quick settlement with the insurance company for the liable driver for pennies on the dollar. Instead, we are tenacious is seeking full compensation for our clients, and recovering for them the full value of their case.
Defendants and insurance companies rarely offer full compensation at the outset of a case. Typically, they usually offer what is often referred to as “nuisance” value; which is often a very low-ball amount to make a case “go away.” They do not usually offer full compensation until it can be shown (i) why they are liable, (ii) the full amount of the damages suffered, and (iii) that they will risk losing even more money by taking a matter to trial and letting a jury determine the outcome.
We are meticulous in uncovering the facts of every case, and also seeking to identify and hold accountable all those who we believe are legally liable for a motorcycle crash. This includes not only the driver causing the crash, but in some cases others, such as bars that overserve alcohol to patrons that are already intoxicated, construction companies that may have created dangerous conditions to exist causing a crash, and governments who fail to keep roadways safe.
We are also meticulous in documenting and demanding full damages. In cases of a wrongful death or serious injury that will affect a motorcyclist for years to come, these damages may include lost wages, future pain and suffering, the cost of likely surgeries, and other matters. In order to recover for these damages, we often retain experts, including physicians and others, to fully make the case of our clients.
When we have carefully built a case for liability and full damages, typically settlement negotiations will take place. If those who are responsible are not willing to pay fair compensation, we will not hesitate to take the cases of our clients to trial. At trial, a jury will then determine fault and damages.
If you retain our firm, you will be represented by firm founding attorney Mark Hurt. Over a practice of nearly 30 years, Mark has helped clients recover millions of dollars in compensation, both through settlements and at trial.
Mark is an experienced trial lawyer. He has represented clients in the numerous state courts, in federal court, and even before the United States Supreme Court. You can rest assured that you will have an experienced and dedicated attorney on your side.
Frequently, in motorcycle crash cases, the defense will try to blame the injured or deceased motorcyclist. They may try to prey on perceptions of motorcyclists as riding dangerously, or somehow being “outlaws.”
We know the truth. Motorcyclists in general do not ride any more aggressively or dangerously than how the average driver will drive. In fact, it is highly likely that motorcyclists are safer than drivers, as motorcyclists can’t engage in certain inherently dangerous activities, such as texting, when they ride. Motorcyclists also know that if they do not ride safely, they can easily be severely injured, even if they are not doing anything wrong. For these reasons, motorcyclists have a strong incentive to ride defensively.
Unlike vehicle drivers and their passengers, motorcyclists are at much more risk of severe injury or death in the event of a crash, simply because they do not have reinforced steel, air bags, engineered safety crash zones, and other protections as those in vehicles will have. Instead, their sole protections tend to be helmets and perhaps protective clothing.
In addition to death, common injuries suffered by motorcyclists are:
When severe injury results, it’s important to fully understand the prognosis of the injury, the future care and surgery that may be required, and the appropriate damages and compensation that are deserved. We work painstaking in the case of severe injury and death, so that we can fully account for all past and future damages of our clients.
Yes.
Even if a motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet in violation of the law, a motorcyclist is still entitled to recover compensation if they are hit by a vehicle.
Wearing a helmet does not affect liability. If the other driver was driving negligently when you were hit, they are still liable, even if you were not wearing a helmet.
The attorney for the other driver may claim that your damages would not have been as severe if you were wearing a helmet, which, at trial might impact the amount of compensation that you receive. It will be the role of the defense to try to minimize damages, to which we will strongly refute. Unfortunately, as noted in the Tennessee motorcycle fatality statistics above, at least 93% of the motorcyclists who died in Tennessee in 2018 were wearing helmets; thus wearing a helmet cannot always prevent death or serious injury.
We accept motorcycle injury crash and wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, so there are no fees unless compensation is recovered. We also advance all costs of litigation, so that those injured, and their families, do not have to pay these costs while their case is ongoing (these amounts are usually paid back out of settlement to verdict proceeds).
Mark took over my car accident case from another attorney that I fired. Mark worked hard on the case for several months to get ready for trial. Shortly before trial he got a settlement that was six times more than the offer my first lawyer tried to get me to take.
5 Star Google Review – Jerry C.
“We hired Mr. Hurt to help settle a worker’s comp injury case for my husband. Mark, Bart, and Mary worked tirelessly to resolve his case and reach a settlement we were pleased with. They were always available to answer questions and returned calls in a timely manner.“
