Motorcycle riders are at a much greater risk to be involved in an accident than any other motorist on the highway and more likely to have brain injuries according to the attorneys who handle motorcycle accident claims for their clients.
Traumatic brain injuries are exceptionally common in motorcycle crashes for a number of reasons.
So before setting out for your next ride, many injury lawyers who see the after-effects of many serious motorcycle accidents suggest learning the facts about why they happen so you can avoid becoming a statistic!
Motorcycle Accident Risk Is High
According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, there were 10,124,400 households in the U.S. that owned a motorcycle as of 2018, a number that continues to grow each year as people look for alternative methods of travel.1
With those growing numbers, motorcycle accident attorneys see more accident cases each year, too.
Those 9 million motorcycles were associated with upwards of 89,000 injuries, many of them serious, and 5,337 fatalities1.
Motorcyclists are 27% more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than cars or trucks and traumatic brain injuries or TBIs make up a large portion of the injuries sustained in those accidents.
Why Is TBI So Common In Motorcycle Accidents?
Based on the cases that many injury lawyers see, traumatic brain injuries are very common in these types of crashes and a leading cause of death among motorcycle riders.
1. TBI Is A Broad Category
One reason TBI is so common is due to the fact that this injury category encompasses a broad category of injuries, from a simple concussion all the way to a crushing trauma, each of them considered trauma to the brain.
Concussions are caused by the jostling of the brain inside the skull and other injuries are caused by blows and blunt trauma.
Regardless of how it happens, any type of TBI can result in a wide range of symptoms, from temporary headaches and disorientation to permanent disability or even death.
2. Non-Helmeted Riding
The other main reason why brain injury lawyers find TBI to be so common in motorcycle accidents is the dangerous practice of riding without a helmet.
Simply stated, motorcycle helmets do prevent or reduce the severity of brain injuries during motorcycle crashes.
Statistics suggest that helmets reduce the percentage of TBI by a third when comparing helmeted and unhelmeted riders.2
Accident attorneys also find that factors like excessive speed and other dangerous riding habits that increase the likelihood of having an accident play a part in the prevalence of TBI as well.
Ride Safe - Avoid TBIs!
Traumatic brain injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes can be debilitating, many of them causing permanent injury or disability.
Although a motorcycle accident attorney may be work for a settlement if you are injured while riding a motorcycle, the better thought is to prevent getting one to begin with.
Injury lawyers stress safe riding to reduce accident chances and even more importantly to always wear a helmet to protect your head in the event of an accident.
Should you be involved in a motorcycle accident and suffer injuries that include a brain injury, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer right away.
Hildebrand & Wilson, Attorneys at Law
7930 Broadway, Suite 122
Pearland TX 77581
1Motorcycle Industry Council, News Release: January 23, 2019
2Insurance Information Institute - Facts + Statistics: Motorcycle Accidents, 2019
3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Motorcycle Helmet Use and Head and Facial Injuries, October 2009
