Boston is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. The landmarks and tree-lined landscapes make driving through the city a unique experience. This is particularly true for motorcycle riders, many of whom enjoy nothing more than being one with their bike as they wind through Boston's cityscape or outlying suburbs.
Unfortunately, the other side of riding a motorcycle is the vulnerability in an accident. Motorcycle riders are particularly exposed to the risks that come with being involved in accidents due to the small size of motorcycles in relation to cars and the lack of physical protection. If you've been injured in a motorcycle accident, a Boston motorcycle accident lawyer with Dolman Law Group can help you recover compensation for your losses.
How Can Dolman Law Group Help You After a Boston Motorcycle Accident?
While you're biking through Boston, you're often surrounded by drivers who don't always respect your right to share the road. They trespass into your travel lane, inappropriately judge your speed, and cut you off when making a turn. They sometimes crash into you because they "didn't see” you. When a driver crashes into a motorcycle, the outcome is often severe and life-changing for the rider.
Even in low-speed accidents, bikers lose their balance on impact and their bike usually goes down. The biker may hit the pavement or go airborne and may even strike a stationary object. Boston motorcyclists often sustain serious or catastrophic injuries, while motorists may drive away unharmed. If you've been involved in a motorcycle crash, speaking with an experienced motorcycle injury attorney in Boston is one of the best things you can do to safeguard your future.
At Dolman Law Group, our skilled, compassionate Boston motorcycle accident attorneys, led by Larry Nussbaum, can give your case the personal attention and zealous representation it deserves.
Aggressive & Compassionate Legal Representation for Boston Motorcycle Accident Victims
At Dolman Law Group, we have always worked aggressively to recover damages for our injured clients. Our focus on compassionate representation allows us to give our clients personal, small-firm attention. At the same time, our skilled Boston personal injury lawyers produce big firm results.
With vast legal resources to support our efforts, we can pursue justice for accident victims through extensive negotiations or even a full-blown trial. We have recovered more than $400 million in settlements and verdicts using our experience and high standards. Read more about our many case results to better understand our track record of success.
What Kind of Damages Can You Pursue in a Boston Motorcycle Accident Claim?
At any speed, vehicle accidents carry a high risk of injury. That risk is multiplied when one of the vehicles involved is a motorcycle. This is mostly due to two factors: the size disparity between motorcycles and cars and because motorcycles don't have safety features like airbags. As a motorcycle rider, your accident-related injuries will very likely be serious.
If you've suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, you may be entitled to seek damages from the other party. The types of damages our Boston motorcycle accident law firm can recover for you include:
- Medical bills
- Motorcycle repair or replacement
- Lost wages-if you can't work after the accident
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Long term care-if you need physical therapy or in-home care
- Mental anguish
Regardless of whether your injuries are minor, and you expect to make a full recovery, or they are traumatic and will require years of ongoing medical treatment, Dolman Law Group can help you. Our attorneys have more than 120 years of combined legal experience fighting to recover damages on behalf of injured motorcyclists in Boston. We're ready to fight for you too!
Can You Afford to Work With Dolman Law Group?
It is natural to worry about the resulting costs of an accident. It's very likely your accident put you in the hospital and destroyed your motorcycle. Dolman Law Group understands the threat of extensive medical bills and motorcycle repair costs can be overwhelming for most accident victims.
That's why our firm accepts motorcycle accident cases on a contingency basis. When Dolman Law Group takes a case on contingency, you won't pay legal fees unless we collect a settlement or win a verdict in your case. In the meantime, we will cover all the legal expenses related to your case. If we don't successfully resolve your case, you owe us nothing. You don't have anything to lose with this payment structure.
Motorcyclists and NHTSA Fatality Statistics
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration statistics reveal that motorcyclists are “overrepresented in traffic fatalities.” Based on vehicle miles traveled, a motorcycle rider is 27 times more likely to die in an accident than a car or truck driver.
The NHTSA determined that most motorcycle injuries occurred when the other vehicle struck the motorcycle's front end. Front-end collisions were a factor in 67 percent of the crashes where the motorcyclist sustained fatal injuries and in 42 percent of the crashes where the cyclist sustained disabling injuries.
Common Accident Injuries Our Boston Motorcycle Crash Lawyers Handle
Even in a low-speed crash, most motorcycles have the weight and mass to seriously injure a biker. A minor impact can force a rider to lose balance and fall to the pavement. A large truck or a vehicle traveling at a higher speed can easily produce enough momentum to eject the rider and cause further injury.
The exciting open-air riding experience that attracts motorcycle riders is also one of the primary factors that contribute to their injuries. Unlike cars and trucks, motorcycles have no steel-reinforced compartments or passive protection systems such as seatbelts or airbags. This leaves a biker vulnerable to serious harm, even during a minor collision.
Which Injuries Are Most Common After a Motorcycle Crash?
While any part of the body can be traumatized, these are the most common injuries we work with:
- Lower extremity: multiple fractures/crush injuries
- Upper extremity
- Head injuries/Traumatic brain injuries
- Chest injuries
- Spine injuries
- Abdominal injuries
- Fatal injuries
Motorcyclists Sustain Lower-Extremity Injuries the Most Frequently
To understand motorcycle injuries and their financial impact, the NHTSA studied 10 years of motorcycle accident injury data. They published their findings in a one-time study, “Lower-Extremity Injuries in Motorcycle Crashes.” The NHTSA study examined trauma data for approximately 47,000 injured motorcyclists. They found that 87 percent of those injured sustained two or more lower-extremity injuries.
The most common motorcycle accident injuries involve a cyclist's feet, ankles, legs, knees, thighs, hips, and pelvis, including:
- Fractures: occur more frequently than soft tissue injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Crush injuries
- Partial or complete traumatic limb or digit amputations
- Multiple and/or a combination of severe injuries
- Degloving injuries which occur when trauma separates the skin from underlying tissue and muscles.
Bikers often require ongoing follow-up and rehabilitation for lower-extremity injuries. In most instances, they begin rehabilitation before leaving an inpatient facility, and the follow-up on an outpatient. Despite rigorous PT and medical follow-up, fractures sometimes cause temporary or permanent impairments. Disabilities due to serious lower-extremity injuries often force injured victims to find less physically strenuous jobs. All of these factors can lead to extensive financial losses.
Upper-Extremity and Head Injuries: Less Frequent but More Severe
Upper-extremity injuries are the second most common motorcyclist injury. Head injuries ranked number three. When assessing injury severity, researchers found that motorcycle accident-related upper-extremity, head/face, chest, spine, and abdominal injuries were usually more severe. Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries caused by these traumas presented some of the most challenging recoveries.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Although head injuries occur less frequently than lower-extremity injuries, the consequences often last a lifetime. External scarring is sometimes a concern, but the most significant damage usually occurs internally. During an accident, a biker's brain often endures multiple traumas. Head and traumatic brain injuries sometimes occur due to a direct blow during the initial impact. Brain trauma occurs when an impact shakes and severely jolts a biker's body. Accident victims also sustain head injuries when a crash forces them to the pavement or into another solid structure.
TBI Recovery and Rehabilitation
Brain injury patients often develop issues with thinking, memory, language, strength, hearing, vision emotions, and other problems. To address these and other issues, they usually begin targeted therapy before leaving a hospital setting. Each TBI patient's recovery and rehabilitation progress is unique and they may need physical, occupational, and speech therapy to help them adjust to TBI-related Impairments and unique problems. Of course, all of these options mean additional medical expenses.
Do Helmets Reduce the Chance of Head Injury?
Massachusetts General Laws mandate protective headgear for motorcyclists and their passengers. As the CDC's Motorcycle Injury Prevention page explains, helmet use reduces motorcycle deaths by 37 percent. Helmets also reduce head injuries by 69 percent. Unfortunately, even when a biker chooses the right helmet, fatal, serious, and catastrophic injuries can still occur.
The NHTSA's injury research found that an estimated 20 percent of all motorcycle injury patients sustained spinal cord injuries. The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center patient research has determined that vehicles (including motorcycles) were involved in over 38.6 percent of the 34,130 SCI injuries in their database.
These severe injuries may be reduced by wearing a helmet, but any motorcycle collision victim who suffers injury caused by another person's negligence deserves fair compensation to cover their losses.
How Can the Boston Motorcycle Accident Lawyers at Dolman Law Group Help?
When you're injured in an accident, our Boston motorcycle accident lawyers work on your behalf while you rest and recover. Our lawyers can take immediate steps to protect your legal interests.
When you have no legal representative looking out for you, insurance investigators, auto appraisers, and other people try to influence you directly. They will ask questions and record your answers, even if you're in pain or on medication. If you provide an inappropriate or inaccurate response, they will use your words against you during settlement negotiations or litigation.
Our motorcycle accident attorneys can intervene on your behalf. Once you establish a working relationship, we provide a long list of services. Arrange a complimentary consultation and connect with the right attorney as soon as possible.
Here are a few important services the injury team at Dolman Law Group provides:
We listen to your story.
Every accident is different. When you explain your version of the events, you provide insight that helps our attorneys plan a strategy for handling your case. Our seasoned lawyers listen to every word and pick up on details and phrases that have legal significance you might not recognize. We use your information to determine which liability issues require immediate investigation. We'll document the information you share about your injuries, medical bills, and disabilities to build a solid legal claim.
Answer your questions.
When you're injured in an accident, you have a lot of questions. Because of our vast experience with prior cases, our motorcycle accident attorneys can answer general and specific questions about claim handling and litigation processes. Before your consultation, it's a good idea to prepare a list of preliminary questions.
We work on your case without sending a monthly bill for services.
Very few professionals provide services without sending a monthly bill. The motorcycle accident attorneys at Dolman Law Group offer our clients a more agreeable arrangement. We believe that everyone should have legal representation when they need it. We make it possible by providing professional legal services on a contingency basis. This means that we won't bill you for any fees until we resolve your case. Then we charge you a percentage of the money they recover on your behalf. Investigate your accident.
Conduct a thorough crash investigation.
We understand that your version of an accident is only the beginning. If your case ends up in court someday, We will need solid evidence to support your position. As soon as possible after an accident, we use our firm's resources to conduct a full accident investigation which may include:
- Searching the accident scene for physical and geographical evidence
- Photographing the location
- Examining the damaged vehicles
- Documenting the other party's version of the accident
- Talking to witnesses
- Reviewing police reports and any photos
- Evaluating medical information
- Determining all the potentially negligent parties
We can assess liability.
Our savvy motorcycle crash attorneys will evaluate investigative evidence to assess liability. Before we present a claim or file a suit, we review the evidence and develop a legally viable theory. Evidence must meet specific standards in case we need to present it in court someday.
Liability insurance carriers pay damages based on their assessment of their insured's negligence. If their evidence suggests that their insured isn't liable for your injuries, we must find the evidence to prove otherwise.
We will evaluate your damages.
Our dedicated personal injury attorneys will review your medical bills, physician reports, and other information to help evaluate your damages. We can use our past claim-handling experience along with legal research including past settlements, court cases, and judgments for accidents and injuries like yours to determine a fair resolution.
Let us negotiate your settlement.
We can negotiate cases directly with the other driver's insurance company or their defense attorneys. If an accident involves a large, self-insured corporation, our team may negotiate with the responsible company or their paid claim representatives on your behalf.
We are prepared to file a lawsuit on your behalf.
When negligent parties won't negotiate fairly, we are always ready to file a complaint/lawsuit on your behalf. A civil lawsuit places a formal demand in the court system. You become the named plaintiff. The other driver or at-fault party becomes the defendant. Your complaint summarizes why you are legally entitled to recover damages from the defendant.
The lawsuit process must comply with the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure and may move through the court system very slowly. The process often involves multiple hearings and extensive pre-trial discovery. Eventually, most lawsuits settle outside the courtroom, but we since can't guarantee a settlement, we will always be prepared for trial.
We may also participate in the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process.
As most civil cases in Massachusetts never go to trial, mediation, arbitration, and other ADR processes provide out-of-court settlement options. Massachusetts' Dispute Resolution Rules make ADR mandatory in some situations. Mediation is an informal process, and the mediator has no decision-making power. The mediator encourages the parties to share evidence, negotiate their issues, and resolve their differences.
Take your case to trial.
If ADR doesn't help us resolve your claim, we will go to trial. A trial requires comprehensive preparation. Courts often require live or video testimony from liability specialists, medical professionals, and financial experts. Cases sometimes settle during a trial. If the parties don't settle before the trial ends, the judge hands down a verdict in a bench trial or a jury decides the verdict in a jury trial.
We'll help execute all necessary settlement documents.
When a personal injury attorney at Dolman Law Group resolves your case, we prepare a formal settlement release for your signature. If we had to file a lawsuit, we would also file a dismissal entry to terminate the court's involvement. We then receive your settlement funds on your behalf from the negligent party's insurer, deduct legal fees and other expenses, and release the funds to
Frequently Asked Questions About Boston Motorcycle Accidents
As you ride your motorcycle, cars or trucks may cut you off and pull into your lane. You may encounter hazards at every turn because, sometimes, other motorists don't see you at all. When another vehicle crashes into your bike, you have no way to prevent what happens next.
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident in Boston, contact Dolman Law Group. Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for our injured clients. Let us determine if we can help you.
Because our Boston motorcycle crash attorneys are frequently asked certain questions, we put together this list of FAQs for your information. For more specific details about your unique situation, contact our local Boston office by phone, leave a message on our contact page, or connect with us through a live chat. At Dolman Law Group, our mission is to help bikers recover financial compensation when they're injured in a crash.
How Often Do Motorcycle Accidents Occur in Boston?
The Statewide Crashes and Fatal Information Data Dashboards furnish information about accidents throughout Massachusetts. In one recent year in Boston:
- 43 motorcycle accidents occurred
- 7 bikers sustained serious injuries
- 23 sustained minor injuries
- 31 people had possible injuries
- 3 people sustained fatal injuries.
How Do Boston's Motorcycle Accident Statistics Compare to Other States?
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's Safety Facts Report Tables documents nationwide accident statistics. Their most recent data documented 5,115 motorcycle accident-related fatalities across the country. In one recent year, 59 motorcyclists died in Massachusetts crashes. Other states had varying results. Motorcycle accident statistics vary widely from state to state. There's no consistency even in states with similar populations and seasonal weather changes. It's also difficult to make a full comparison without knowing the number of motorcycles registered in each state.
Are Boston Motorcycle Fatalities Related to State Helmet Laws?
So many factors contribute to motorcycle accident rates, including traffic laws and enforcement. Helmet use is also a critical factor. The CDC has determined that properly fitted, DOT-compliant helmets reduce motorcycle accident fatalities by 37 percent. Helmets reduce head injuries by 67 percent. Tennessee, Washington, and other states have mandatory helmet laws similar to Massachusetts, yet in 2018, these states documented nearly three times the motorcycle fatalities.
What Is a DOT-Compliant Helmet?
When the US Department of Transportation certifies a helmet, it meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218. These guidelines specify a 3-pound helmet weight, durable chinstraps, and interior cushioning. The NHTSA's “Choose the Right Helmet“ reference explains how to choose a proper-fitting helmet.
What Is the Most Common Type of Motorcycle Accident?
In motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle, front-end crashes occurred more frequently (70.5 percent) than any other type of crash. Front-end crashes were also the most common factor in fatal crashes, injury crashes, and property damage-only crashes.
Who Determines If the Other Driver Is Liable for My Boston Motorcycle Accident Injuries?
The other person's insurance carrier makes the initial determination about liability. They investigate the accident to determine if their insured was negligent and caused your accident. When they complete their investigation, they decide whether to pay you or deny your claim. Insurance companies assess liability based on a traditional negligence formula.
- Duty owed: Did their insured have a duty to act in a certain way? (stop a red light, yield to your right of way, etc)
- Duty breached: Did the insured driver breach that duty?
- Proximate cause: Did the other driver's breach of duty cause the accident?
- Damages: Were your injuries a direct result of the other driver's breach of duty?
Insurance companies are supposed to base their liability decisions on the same standards that a court would use if the case were to go to trial. Unfortunately, insurers sometimes look at the facts with bias and reach inconsistent conclusions about negligence and liability. If an insurance company denies your claim, we can pursue other options up to and including filing a lawsuit.
If a Police Officer Gives the Other Driver a Traffic Ticket, Is The Driver Automatically at Fault?
Unless a police officer witnesses an accident, the police report is only an opinion about what happened. Insurance companies recognize this, so they use police reports to establish verifiable facts, document road conditions, and confirm the names of involved parties and witnesses. Insurance companies investigate claims and make their own decisions about the evidence. Judges and juries do the same.
Who Pays for the Damage to My Motorcycle?
If the liability insurer decides that their insured is at fault, they usually pay for your injuries and your motorcycle damage. If they deny liability, they pay nothing. Still, you may have the right to take legal action against them.
How Much Time Do I Have to File a Boston Motorcycle Accident Claim?
When you're injured in a motorcycle accident, you must file a claim before your statute of limitations expires. Massachusetts General Laws provide a three-year statute of limitations for filing a tort claim for personal injury and property damages. This window of opportunity will pass quickly and evidence will disappear over time. Don't wait to start the claims process, reach out to our motorcycle accident law firm today.
Do I Have to File a Lawsuit to Get a Settlement for My Boston Motorcycle Accident Injuries?
When a negligent person is honest with their insurer about their role in causing an accident, the insurer usually agrees to pay the claims. Unfortunately, you have no guarantees. If the insurer decides not to pay your damages, a lawsuit becomes one of your few remaining options.
Do You Need a Boston Motorcycle Accident Lawyer to Handle Your Injury Claim?
The short answer is... Yes. Motorcycle injuries are often serious or catastrophic, and the liability issues can be complex. Insurance companies have teams of lawyers whose goal is to pay as little as possible. Unless a legal professional handles your claim, you may never know if you received a fair settlement.
Contact a Boston motorcycle accident lawyer at Dolman Law Group for a free consultation. You can reach our Boston location by calling (857) 407-4182. You may also leave a message on our contact page.
The Boston Motorcycle Accident Lawyers at Dolman Law Group Will Go the Distance for You!
At Dolman Law Group, we're not afraid to fight for our clients, even if it means taking your motorcycle accident case all the way to court!
We realize that there are very few things more damaging and traumatizing than a motorcycle accident. That's why we're committed to doing all we can to make sure you can enjoy your life after the accident as much as possible. You can learn more about how we can help you during a free case review. Connect with us today.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
44 School St Rm 350,
Boston, MA 02108
(857) 407-4182