This Blog was brought to you by the J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP – Personal Injury Lawyers McAllen principal office in San Antonio

Motorcycle Accident Law – Motorcyclist’s Rights Following a Bike Crash

Texas Defective Motorcycle Attorney Discusses a Motorcyclist’s Rights Following a Bike Crash

There are over 400,000 traveling on Texas roads, which makes the chances for accidents pretty high. Motorcycle wrecks occur in Texas for numerous reasons, ranging from motorcycle defects to driver distractions and serious issues like drowsy or drunk driving. If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident in Texas, do you know your rights? More about McAllen Motorcycle Accident Lawyer here
If you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one because of such an event, do you know your legal options to pursue so that you can get justice? This article from Texas defective motorcycle attorneys of our Law Offices will cover these facts and give pertinent information on wrecks caused by Texas defective motorcycles. With 20 years of experience in Texas personal injury and wrongful death cases, a Texas motorcycle defect lawyer is just the person to assist you through this ordeal.

We’ll first look at three factors that can be involved in accidents: Motorcycle defects, Motorcycle product liability, and Maintenance of Motorcycles. Then we’ll examine other issues you may encounter or have experienced.

Motorcycle Defects
One reason for motorcycle wrecks are because of mechanical problems stemming from improper maintenance and/or product malfunctions. Usually, cars have some sort of recall, or letters are mailed that suggest a small improvement for a known problem. With motorcycles, though, when one thing falls apart, it’s usually serious. Motorcycles present enough challenges already since it’s up to the rider to remain balanced and upright. When there’s a mechanical problem, the rider can quickly lose control and chances are you won’t see a motorcycle gently moving to the side of the road. More about Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyer here
Motorcycle Product Liability
It doesn’t happen often, but some motorcycles are sold with hidden defects due to their design or construction. Many more bikes are improperly manufactured where key parts fail under normal pressures and everyday usage. A bad brake proportioning valve, an engine bearing that stops, a chain that snaps, etc., can all contribute to a horrific accident. If such a defect causes the injury or death of a motorcycle rider, state law says the person injured can pursue a liability claim against the manufacturer. Sometimes, numerous parties serve as defendants. Let’s say that a motorcycle is sold by a certain manufacturer and a part (let’s use a brake caliper ) fails, then both the maker and distributor of the bike and the part’s supplier can face legal action. All that is determined by the degree of negligence of both parties.

Product liability claims for defective motorcycles are challenging to handle legally and you can’t go off what you think when filing your claim; you have to gather and carefully maintain tons of evidence. To just say “The throttle cable broke” won’t win your case. It’s up to the plaintiff to clearly show, using evidence, that the failure stemmed from the manufacturer, and so it’s critical to discover the exact cause of the breakdown. A successful claim is reached after a credible engineer does a detailed evaluation on the components in question and then provides an expert analysis that shows exactly where the defect is. What’s also important is that the motorcycle and all the key components have to be kept in a manner where they can be used for evidence in a court case.

Most product liability claims that don’t materialize are due to the person filing the claim not keeping a detailed list, and then properly storing evidence to support their claim. An individual who isn’t an attorney doesn’t know the steps and procedures required to properly present their case on their own. Product liability cases aren’t something most attorneys handle anyway, and we strongly discourage any normal citizen proceeding on filing their own claim; you must obtain the services of a veteran Texas motorcycle defect lawyer.

Maintenance of Motorcycles
Sub-par maintenance that’s done by your everyday service shop can also lead to a major injury. Usually with cars, when something acts up, you can drive your car to the shop and it can be fixed in a few hours or couple of days. With motorcycles, however, bad maintenance can result in a major accident that leads to a serious injury and sometimes death. What you need to realize is that not all motorcycle shops have qualified technicians. A mechanic that doesn’t thoroughly check out each part can then set that bike up for issues. In cases like those, a customer can file a negligence claim against the shop that made the error.

Some mechanical problems aren’t just because of negligence. There are instances when a seller or a dealership deliberately sells an unsafe bike and will cover up the bike’s condition. We recently dealt with one man who bought a motorcycle from a licensed dealer. When he took the bike home, the man realized the motorcycle wasn’t riding normally. He then immediately took the motorcycle to a repair shop for a close look before an accident occurred or he got injured. The workers there found out that the triple tree was cracked (which could have been very dangerous), the radiator wasn’t put on right, and even more seriously, the frame was damaged and covered up with filler and paint. So what happened was that the motorcycle had been in an accident before and the dealership had done some touch-up work and then tried to sell it like it was a normal bike. Besides violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, this motorcycle could have led to the buyer’s death. In this example, the dealership that put that motorcycle on the market would be found liable for their choices and such an unethical attempt to sell a dangerous motorcycle could also lead to punitive damages.

Law Blog

Category: Motorcycle accidents

Motorcyclist’s Rights Following a Bike Crash

Motorcycle Accident Law – Motorcyclist’s Rights Following a Bike Crash