Despite Sensors, Many Vehicles Can’t See Motorcycles

On July 24, 2022, Landon Embry was riding his Harley-Davidson on I-15, heading south near Draper, Utah.  Coming up behind him was a driver in a Model 3 Tesla that had engaged the autopilot mode and was fully self-driving at the time.  The Tesla rammed into the back of the motorcycle, and Landon was thrown from the bike at 75 miles per hour, dying at the scene.  The other driver claims he didn’t see the motorcycle, and admits he was fully relying on the vehicle’s autopilot mode.

For decades, Motorcyclists have been encouraged to make sure they’re more visible – wear brighter clothing, keep your lights on, and stay out of blind spots.  Today, the Car Crash Captain is looking at what happens when neither the driver, nor the computer on wheels, sees you riding your motorcycle.

The Vehicle Has a Second Set of Eyes that Can’t See Motorcycles

Modern vehicles include a whole bunch of sensors that weren’t there 20 years ago.  Today, they have:

• Forward collision warning systems
• Automatic emergency braking
• Blind-spot detection
• Lane-departure warnings
• Adaptive cruise control
• Fully autonomous driving

When humans screw up, the technology can provide another level of support that will often prevent a crash.  Overall, these technologies work great, and they’ve saved countless lives.

But there’s a big gap.

In 2024 the IIHS examined over 160,000 rear-end crashes to determine just how well the automatic braking and forward collision warning systems actually worked, and how well they worked depending on what was being hit.

They found that front crash prevention technology substantially reduced rear-end collisions, but only when the other vehicle was another passenger vehicle.  They found that these systems were much less effective when the vehicle being rear-ended was a motorcycle.

What makes it even worse, is that this issue has been known for nearly a decade.  In 2017 the IIHS made the claim that if front crash prevention, lane maintenance, and blind spot detection systems were actually designed to detect motorcycles, more than 8,000 crashes could be prevented every year.

This technology is tested regularly, and it’s supposed be designed to detect all vehicles – cars, trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles.  It was created because we don’t always see the danger.  Because a motorcycle doesn’t have the same outline as an SUV, and it can be in various positions in the lane, riders face two failures:

The human doesn’t react, and the machine doesn’t react.

Numerous Riders Have Already Died

We already heard about Landon Embry.  After this incident, the NHTSA opened a special investigation to figure out what happened.  Landon’s parents sued Tesla and the driver alleging that the software and safety features were defective or inadequate, and that the camera’s should have identified the motorcycle.

And then, there was the case with Jeffrey Nissen.  The 28-year-old was riding near Seattle when a Tesla Model S hit him from behind.  The driver was looking at his cell-phone when the mid-afternoon crash occurred pinning Jeffrey under the vehicle and claiming his life.

The vehicle was put in autopilot mode; the driver chose not to pay attention and fully relied on his vehicle to guide him safely.  He didn’t take into account that driver-assistance isn’t driver replacement.  Aside from some very specialized cases, these systems still require that the driver pay attention.

There are many more of these stories where technology is overly relied on, and humans are paying for it with their lives.  And it’s also making crash investigations to determine cause much more difficult.

What Happens when “I didn’t see him” Is No Longer the End?

In years past, an investigation may have been something like, “At fault driver struck a motorcycle from behind. Driver stated he didn’t see the motorcycle.”  And that was about all we could expect.

Now, there’s an entirely different digital story being written every time a vehicle is turned on.  Now the investigation has to determine:

• Was adaptive cruise control on?
• Was automatic braking enabled?
• Was driver-assistance engaged?
• Was the motorcycle detect it?
• How long before the crash was it detected?
• Did the forward-collision warning activate?
• Did the human driver brake?
• Did the automatic brakes engage?
• What speed was the vehicle going?
• Did the driver have his hands on the wheel?
• Is there camera footage?
• Was the software updated?
• Is the electronic data still available?

And often, there’s even more to it where investigators need to dig deep to really find all of the evidence of what actually happened.

You Need Herbert Law Group After a Texas Motorcycle Wreck

The driver wants to protect himself.  The insurance adjuster wants to protect their bottom line.  You need a Texas motorcycle wreck lawyer that’s going to fight for you as well.

Your lawyer should be determined to figure out what happened, especially if the other parties are trying to fudge their stories.  Computers don’t get embarrassed, they don’t lie, and they don’t exaggerate the way a human will.

Herbert Law Group will find the truth, and help you maximize your compensation.  First, we have to know what happened.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out our contact form, and from our offices in Richardson, Texas, we’ll have a free conversation and determine how to move forward.

What Research Says about Bright Motorcycle Gear

If you’ve been in a motorcycle wreck here in northern Texas, you’ve probably heard the chastising.  Friends, family, and those who mean well but lack tact say things like, “You should wear brighter colors.” Or “If your jacket wasn’t black, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

After a crash, people go through the What-Ifs.  And a significant portion of those questions wonder what if the rider had worn something flashier, easier to see, and perhaps safer?

Today, the Car Crash Captain looks at what the studies show and what parts of this are just myths.

Bright Motorcycle Gear Improves Visibility, but Doesn’t Decrease Negligence

There’s plenty of research that shows wearing fluorescent or reflective gear improves your ability to be seen.

But that’s not the entire story.  The time of day plays a big part too – is it dawn, daylight, dusk, or dark out?  Weather is a factor, it’s much harder to see anything, no matter the color, if it’s raining.  Traffic, road conditions, and more all play a factor when it comes to a crash.

And there’s the fact that most motorcycle safety gear is dark in color.  Primarily because dark leather hides grease stains, matches motorcycle aesthetic, and it’s the easiest color to mass produce.

Making yourself easier to see is always a good idea.  But assuming visibility is the only reason motorcycle crashes happen is naïve.

Motorcycle Accidents Don’t Happen Because Riders Wore the Wrong Color

Statistics don’t lie.  We know that the majority of motorcycle accidents happen when a vehicle turns left in front of them.  We also know that drivers pulling out from the side streets “don’t see the biker.”  Or they change lanes without really checking if it’s clear.  And, of course, there’s the negligent driver staring at their phone instead of paying attention to the road.

Have you ever wandered around the house looking for your car keys, only to realize they’re in your hand?  Or perhaps you needed your sunglasses, and you finally find them – on top of your own head.  Something similar happens on the road.  Drivers look and scan for the larger vehicles like cars and trucks.  Sometimes they see the motorcycle, but since they’re scanning for cars and trucks, the biker doesn’t even register as being there.

It doesn’t matter if the biker is wearing a black jacket, a gold jacket, or a green jacket.  They’re seen, but drivers are suffering from what’s called inattentional blindness.

Clothing Becomes a Distraction from Reality

Studies do show that wearing bright motorcycle gear reduces the risk of being hit while you’re out riding.  But that fact can cause conversations to take an unfortunate turn.

After a wreck, insurance companies, adjusters, and even legal experts can let the discussions drift toward what the rider was wearing instead of what the driver actually did.  And they can get into debates on what could have happened if the situation was different.

But we know that clothing is only one factor among many.  A driver that’s staring at his or her phone won’t see a motorcycle rider no matter what color they’re wearing.  Bright gear improves the odds that someone notices you, but it doesn’t eliminate distracted driving.  Wearing a hi-vis vest won’t stop someone from running the stop sign.  Riding around with reflective stripes won’t force a driver to look more thoroughly when changing lanes.

Herbert Law Group Keeps the Conversation Focused

What you were wearing doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been injured in a motorcycle wreck in the Dallas area.  If you had on bright motorcycle gear, you’d still be in the hospital, wondering if you’re going back to work, and overall stressed because someone else caused you to be injured.

That’s why Herbert Law Group is here.  We’ll keep the conversation with the insurance companies focused on what really matters: getting you justice and compensation that will allow you to recover.

Let’s get to know each other and find out what happened. Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll reach out to you.

Life After a Texas Motorcycle Wreck

If you ride, you know the risks.  Imagine that you’re riding home on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.  Traffic is light, not a care in the world, you’re coasting down the road being responsible.  Then, someone runs a stop sign.  The next thing you know is that you’re waking up in the hospital and you learn your motorcycle is totaled.  You have a number of surgeries lined up; you won’t be able to work for six months.  Medical bills are about to start arriving, and then you get a call.  The driver who hit you had no insurance… or maybe they did, but they carried the bare minimums.  They bought the cheapest policy possible just to satisfy their legal requirements and those limits are nowhere near enough to cover your injuries or the damage to your bike.

This isn’t a freak occurrence.  Every day in the Dallas, Texas area, drivers and motorcyclists are hit and seriously injured by people who ignore the law, or cheap out.  The crash lasts seconds, the financial consequences last for years.  The Car Crash Captain, here in Richardson, Texas, has the details on how you can potentially avoid this catastrophe.

The No Insurance Problem is Bigger than People Realize

Here in Texas, around 15% of drivers operate without any insurance at all.  Another 40% operate with just the state minimum requirements ($25,000 property damage coverage, $30,000 injury coverage).  That means roughly half of the drivers you pass on the road don’t carry enough insurance to ensure you’re not stuck with enormous bills.

Let’s go back to our opening scenario.  Suppose you recently bought a brand-new Harley Davidson; sticker price of $40,000.  If your motorcycle is totaled and their insurance company sends you a check for $25,000 – that’s the cap on how much they’ll pay out for property damage.  You’re out $15,000 because another driver wasn’t paying attention.

Your medical bills and surgeries add up, and you’re hit with $120,000 in medical bills.  Their insurance pays out $30,000, because that’s the cap on what they are obligated to pay.  You’re out $90,000 if your personal medical insurance doesn’t cover anything.

You lose half a year’s wages because you can’t work; let’s say that’s $40,000 in income you couldn’t earn.  Their insurance company doesn’t pay anything, because you’ve hit the cap on the bodily injury portion of the policy.  You’re out another $40,000 because you couldn’t earn anything.

We haven’t even gotten into rehab, pain and suffering, long-term disabilities, or anything like that, and you’re already facing about $150,000 worth of expenses or lost earnings because another driver didn’t do the right thing.

Your Insurance Might be More Important Than Their Insurance

Fortunately, we do have other options that can help pick up the slack.  Your own insurance policy should have a section called uninsured motorist coverage.  If the at-fault driver’s insurance only pays $25,000 for your bike, yours might pick up the other $15,000 (we’ll talk about why it “might” in a minute).  Your insurance should pick up some of the medical bills (your personal health insurance will hopefully cover most of it, especially if they have no insurance).

There are a bunch of insurance jargony parts to your policy that you will hope to never have to use.  They include:

• Uninsured Motorist (UM)
• Underinsured Motorist (UIM)
• Medical Payments (MedPay)
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

And often when you’re purchasing a new insurance policy, you want to save some money.  So, you might decline a lot of these so you can save a little bit on your premiums.  It’s actually a reasonable response, because insurance rates just keep getting higher and higher.  But if you’re riding a motorcycle, your risks of financial catastrophe are high (higher than those driving 4 wheeled vehicles).  And while the other party should be doing the right thing, the truth is at last half of the population is not doing the right thing.

We can sue them, but if someone won’t even pay for insurance, the likelihood that they have any assets to collect upon is tiny.  You’ll have a piece of paper that says you won the lawsuit, but paper is cheap.

How You can Protect Yourself

That means we have to make sure we protect ourselves.  Your insurance “might” pick up some of the costs, but often UM doesn’t protect your property; just your body.  Unless you’ve specifically confirmed that your insurance has an uninsured property damage (UIMP) part of it as well.  These generally aren’t even offered when you’re purchasing the insurance, and it’s not automatically a part of the UM or UIM portions of the insurance.

To protect yourself, talk to your agent about:

Maxing out your UM/UIM protection.  You will want at least $100,000 of bodily injury coverage ($250,000 is even better, if it’s offered) and at least $50,000 in UIMP coverage to pay you for the busted up bike.

Carrying comprehensive and collision coverage.  Your comprehensive will kick in to help pay for the bike if you don’t have that UIMP.  A gap insurance policy is essential if you owe more on the bike than it is now worth.

Increasing your PIP and MedPay.  PIP will replace 80% of your wages if you can’t work (double check that percentage, all policies are different).  MedPay will cover your hospital bills, and can cover your deductibles if your health insurance is also kicking in.

Using a disability policy.  Motorcycle accidents often cause severe injuries that prevent riders from being able to work for weeks or months.  A short-term disability policy will kick in after a week; a long-term disability policy will kick in after about 6 months.

Considering umbrella insurance.  Umbrella policies can cover a lot; they’re designed to protect you no matter what happens – from bike wrecks, to burglaries, to liability on your property.  Find one that at least will be an uninsured motorist umbrella.

The bottom line is that it’s never a good time to be involved in a life altering wreck.  And while it shouldn’t fall on you if you’re the victim, the reality is that we can’t rely on others to do the right thing.

Talk to your insurance agent to figure out what your coverage is, and if you’re protected in a worst-case scenario.  If you’ve already been hit, then you need to speak with a Texas motorcycle wreck lawyer; even if the other driver had no insurance.

Herbert Law Group Will Fight for You

No matter what coverage the other party has, or doesn’t have, you need a lawyer on your side to ensure you receive the maximum compensation possible.

Your injuries aren’t your fault.  You shouldn’t have to be financially responsible for any of this.  And that’s what we fight hard to ensure.  We’ll deal with your insurance, their insurance, and figure out how to work the claim in the right way to ensure you’re well taken care of.

That all starts with getting to know you.  We need to know what happened, and then we’ll figure out how to proceed.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out our contact form, and we’ll have a free conversation from our offices in the DFW area to get things started.

It’s More than Road Rash; It’s a Debilitating Disability

Imagine the scenario in the emergency room after a motorcycle rider is thrown from his bike.  The ER doctor comes with the good news: no broken bones.  There’s no traumatic brain injury, no spinal cord damage, and all the x-rays look fine.  It sounds like a miracle, because we know that TBI and spinal cord damage at highways speeds is almost inevitable.

But as the nurse starts to cut away at the clothing, a different story appears.  Large portions of skin have been scraped away completely.  Dirt, oil, gravel, and asphalt are deeply embedded in the skin.  It’s cleaned, and treated for triage, but over the coming weeks the rider is in and out of the hospital for surgeries, skin grafts, and wound treatment.

Months later, he still can’t work.  Years later, the scars are more than superficial.

When people hear “road rash” they think of the skinned-up knee you get when you fell while running down the street as a kid.  Maybe even something a bit more severe like falling off a bicycle and having cuts and bruises.  The Car Crash Captain, from offices in Richardson, Texas, explores why trauma surgeons know better when they hear about an incoming motorcycle accident victim with severe road rash.

It’s More than a Scraped Knee

Have you ever been outside, usually in the summer, and later that day your skin was red and sore?  You got a first-degree burn – a sunburn.  Road rash has a similar scale when it comes to severity from superficial to life threatening.

First-Degree Road Rash – The mildest form of road rash really only affects the outermost layer of skin.  This is what you suffer when you fall off your bicycle, or go down on one knee on the carpet.  The skin is red, maybe bruised, a little scraped.  Most of the time there’s no deep breaks, and often very little blood.  Home treatment is the answer with antibiotic ointment and a bandage.  Rarely does it scar.

Second-Degree Road Rash – When the tears go deeper than just the skin and dig into the sub-layers.  Second-degree road rash has visibly broken skin, swelling, and often a lot of bleeding.  Wounds are likely embedded with dirt and gravel, and they feel hot to the touch.  Pail level is severe due to exposed nerve endings in deeper layers of skin.  Treatment requires professional cleaning and care or scarring and risk of infection are severe.

Third-Degree Road Rash – In almost any motorcycle wreck where the rider has exposed skin, he or she will experience the worst type of abrasion.  Multiple layers are skin are shredded, muscle and fat tissues are damaged, and in severe cases bone can be exposed.  It’s often not as painful as second-degree because the nerves have been completely destroyed – this isn’t a good thing because complete healing is impossible.  Treatment requires intense medical attention, infection is likely and hospitalization is required.  Surgical debridement (removing dead, infected, and damaged tissues) is followed by extensive skin grafting.  Permanent disfigurement is inevitable.

For a rider that is hit on the highway, they will almost certainly suffer third-degree road rash.  If treatment isn’t soon, this “scrape on the knee” can be fatal.

How’s it look in real life?  Suppose a construction worker suffers extensive road rash on his dominant arm.  After being out of work for months, the skin has healed, but the nerve damage is persistent.  Simply gripping his tools sends shooting pain through his entire arm making it impossible to continue his career.  No broken bones and a “miraculous survival” have changed his life forever.

Road Rash Complications Create Ongoing Problems

The big issues with road rash, though, aren’t the injuries themselves.  At least not initially.  And that’s because roads are filthy.  They’re covered in tiny shreds of tire rubber, gasoline, oil, animal waste, chemicals, metal fragments, dirt, gravel, and asphalt.  You don’t have to be a doctor to know that any of those embedded under the skin is going to create lasting problems.

Even properly treated wounds can become infected.  And infections can lead to much worse and more painful complications that cause extended hospital stays.

And that’s just the beginning.  Surgeries are required to repair damaged tissues.  When skin and muscle have been shredded away from the body, the doctors can’t just stitch it shut.  Skin grafts (and sometimes muscle grafts) are necessary.  The doctors have to take tissues from other areas of the body, or from a donor corpse, and re-create and re-build the damaged areas.  Almost certainly the victim has multiple surgeries – every one of them risking infection and complications.  When they’re finally done, they have intense and permanent scarring.  Not cosmetic blemishes, scars that make it difficult to function.  Restricted movement, chronic pain, and limited mobility.

The result is a motorcycle road rash victim that can hardly turn his or her head without intense pain.  Even with physical therapy, the pain and reduced movement might linger for years or even a lifetime.

Or it’s a welder that has road rash across both hands.  The skin heals unevenly and is now extremely sensitive to heat, and chronic pain means that career is over.

Or it’s the athlete that has third-degree road rash to one leg.  Surgery after surgery make it structurally sound, but it will never function optimally again.  Running competitively is no longer possible; an entire identity stripped away.

Insurance Companies Undervalue Road Rash Injuries

It’s “just an abrasion,” right?  That’s what the insurance company sees.  They hear “road rash” and they think of skinned knees and a little bit of pain as the skin grows back.  They don’t think of:

• Surgeries
• Skin grafts
• Lost wages
• Future treatment
• Physical therapy
• Permanent disfigurement
• Chronic pain

And they offer a settlement that might cover the hospital bills for now, but they’re not going to be close to adequate to cover future treatment, rehabilitation, and mental anguish that comes with an identity that has been completely stripped as the skin and flesh were torn from the body.

The broken bones show up on an x-ray; the long-term impact of scarring from motorcycle accident road rash doesn’t.

Herbert Law Group Knows the True Costs

Surgeries, pain, and permanent limitations need to be compensated.  How do you put a value on them?  If you’ve never been in a Texas motorcycle wreck before, you probably haven’t done a deep dive into this.

And you shouldn’t have to.

Herbert Law Group already has.  We know how compensation works.  We know what negotiation tactics are most effective.  And we know how to show those insurance companies that their settlement offer is way too low for the injuries, pain, and suffering that you’ve sustained.

We’ll make sure you find justice.  But first, we need to know what happened.  Whether your wreck occurred in Dallas, Frisco, DeSoto, Arlington, or anywhere in the area around the DFW Metroplex we’re on your side.  So, give us a call at 214-414-3808 and we’ll have a free conversation on how to get started.  No time for a call right now?  Fill out the contact form, and we’ll reach out to you.

Texas Motorcycle Riders Are at Risk While Riding

If you ride, you know the feeling all too well.  You’re cruising down the highway, the wind in your face and the feeling of the open road.  You’re holding your lane and suddenly a massive SUV drifts over like you simply don’t exist.  And truth be told, for a lot of modern vehicles, you practically don’t.

In the late 1990’s America decided that SUVs and trucks needed to be bigger.  In the last decade, or so, the behemoths got even more gargantuan.  Modern trucks and SUVs have become rolling blind spots, and distracted drivers – combined with giant pillars, oversized mirrors, touchscreen displays, and just pure laziness – have paved the way to motorcycle riders paying the price.

From our offices in Richardson, Texas (where we serve the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area), the Car Crash Captain is looking into just how bad it has gotten for riders and the side-swipe-lane-change wrecks they are seeing.

Modern Vehicles are Bigger and Harder to See Out Of

It’s not your imagination, nor is it just paranoia.  One of the byproducts of massive SUVs and trucks is severely reduced visibility.  A study done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that forward visibility has declined as much as 58% in some of the most popular SUVs on the roads today.

Combine that with the fact that SUVs and trucks are more popular than ever.  Ford, for instance, no longer even makes cars (aside from the iconic Ford Mustang), opting to pour all of their resources into SUVs and trucks.  Modern safety designs in these vehicles (such as A-pillars, mirrors, and taller hoods) have all led to reduced visibility.  Combatting this visibility issue, most vehicles are now using sensors and cameras to alert the driver to a potential danger.

Less visibility, and more reliance on tech that could fail, means motorcycles get lost in the blind spots and are the victims of hasty lane changes.  Drivers used to SMOG (Signal, Mirror, Over-the-shoulder, Go!) before changing lanes.  Now they trust a little blinking light as they pilot a six-thousand-pound living room down the highway.

Lane Changes Have Become More Dangerous for Texas Riders

Motorcycles are already harder to detect because of their size and speed perception.  Now it’s getting even worse and a blind spot crash happens fast and violently because

• Higher speeds on the interstate
• Aggressive driving
• Oversized vehicles
• Distracted driving
• Over-reliance on fallible technology

It’s not just bad drivers.  It’s a roadway environment that has become increasingly hostile to vulnerable riders.  When the driver of the SUV is about to miss their exit and hastily changes lanes, smashing into a motorcycle rider, they end up with a dented quarter panel.  The rider ends up having their skin torn off as they slide across the asphalt wondering if they’ll ever be able to walk normally again.

Insurance Companies Will Blame the Rider

And then, enter the insurance companies.  As we know there’s already a bias against motorcycle riders who automatically are blamed without regards to what actually happened.

When you’re on two wheels, you’re stereotyped as reckless.  Many insurance companies automatically assume you were speeding, or lane splitting, or overall, just being too aggressive while riding.  If they can’t pin any of those on you, it’s claimed that you, “failed to avoid the wreck.”

Meanwhile, you’re dealing with catastrophic injuries, surgery after surgery, missed work, and permanent trauma.

Riders are expected to survive a road filled with invisible blind spots, distracted drivers, and oversized vehicles.  Meanwhile the insurance companies are already preparing to cast blame on them before the ambulance has even left the scene.

Herbert Law Group Helps Texas Motorcycle Accident Victims

If you are the victim of a motorcycle wreck, the last thing you want to do is argue with an insurance company that’s bent on proving you were reckless.  All that stress is slowing your healing, and causing more trauma on top of that which you’ve already experienced.

Let Herbert Law Group take that stress away.  We have the experience to put the insurance companies in their place, and to fight for maximum compensation for you.

Herbert Law Group helps motorcycle accident victims all around the area, from Arlington to Allen; Grapevine to Pleasant Grove, because wrecks don’t just happen downtown.  To help you, we need a quick phone call to figure out what happened and how we can fight for you.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site, and we’ll be in touch for your free initial consultation.

Crash Data Shows Most Motorcyclists Aren’t to Blame

Everyone who rides in Texas knows the feeling.  You’re heading straight, minding your business, keeping an eye out for hazards, and suddenly a driver turns left directly into your path.  Somehow, after the wreck, the focus isn’t on how distracted that driver was.  Rather, the focus is about what you, the motorcyclist, could have done differently.

Texas drivers and insurance companies love to lean into the stereotype that riders are reckless.  But the crash data tells a different story, and many of the worst motorcycle wrecks in the greater Dallas, Texas area, are because the driver failed to see an oncoming motorcycle.  The Car Crash Captain digs in to see what exactly is going on.

“I Didn’t See the Motorcycle”  

There’s an argument that at-fault motorists love to lean into.  They claim they “never saw” the biker.  The idea is simple: their goal is to minimize their liability.  If the biker was hiding, or zooming in and out of traffic, or perhaps somehow camouflaged themselves, the driver doesn’t maintain as much fault… right?

The fact remains that “I didn’t see him” is a weak excuse.  Of course, the driver didn’t see the rider, if they wrecked with a truck or another car it would likely be the exact same excuse, “I didn’t see them.”

The issue isn’t the excuse.  The issue is that left-turn collisions remain the most common way bikers die on the road.  Bikers go out of their way to remain visible, but the increasingly distracted driver filters out anything that isn’t a car or a truck.

And that has led to some staggering statistics.  Some studies show that these crashes account for around 26% of fatal bike wrecks; other studies show that stat as closer to 40%.

Insurance Companies Treat Riders Like the Problem

The issue is compounded when the idea that if you don’t see someone, it’s not your fault, is validated by the insurance company.  If you turned left in front of a truck, that you “didn’t see,” that would be careless driving.  But if you do that to a motorcycle, it’s just a big oopsie.

The adjusters come into these wrecks assuming the worst.  The preconceived notion is that the motorcycle rider was speeding, riding recklessly, or weaving between the lanes.  This set the motorcycle accident victim up as the bad guy before any evidence is established.

Part of it is the very nature of riding a motorcycle.  Getting on two wheels, without a cage to protect your body, is inherently more dangerous.  Often adjusters, juries, and even judges automatically assume that those who ride are risk takers, and likely did something risky that resulted in the accident.

The irony is palpable.  Riders take the risk as they put nothing but a layer of leather clothing between themselves and an impact with the pavement.  Yet they’re treated as the reckless party before an investigation even starts.

When Drivers Make Mistakes, Riders Pay the Price

That risk wouldn’t really be a risk for the experienced rider if it wasn’t for the negligent motorist.  But because there are people out there not paying attention, every time a person hops onto the motorcycle, they know that a “small mistake” by another driver can lead to:

• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Spinal Cord Damage
• Skin Grafts
• Amputations
• Permanent Disability
• Death

Motorcycle crashes are almost never “minor wrecks” or “fender benders.”  They have a serious impact on the rider’s way of life, their ability to earn an income, or even function independently.  In a car wreck, people talk about dented bumpers and the inconvenience of repairs.  In a motorcycle wreck, families talk about surgeries, rehab, and quite often a remembrance of the amazing person taken from this world far too soon.

Herbert Law Group Pushes Back Against Bias

Unfortunately, these wrecks are going to continue to happen.  Until vehicles become much “smarter” we have to rely on motorists who don’t watch where they’re going and ruin other lives along the way.

If you’ve been involved in a bike wreck, or a loved one was killed in a collision with an inattentive motorist, then we should talk.  The insurance company doesn’t have your back, but Herbert Law Group does.

Call our offices at 214-414-3808, and let’s have a conversation about what happened so we can discover what needs to happen so you can find justice.  No time to call right now?  Simply fill out the contact form and we’ll get started on your free case evaluation.

The Common Excuses Aren’t Any Good

Most motorists will say the same thing after being involved in a motorcycle wreck, “I just didn’t see them.”

It sounds innocent, as though it’s unavoidable.  It’s as if the crash was just one of those things that happens on a busy road.  The problem is, it’s not.

Motorcycles aren’t invisible.  They’re smaller than other vehicles, but they’re not just something that pops up out of nowhere.  They’re not ghosts.  They’re not impossible to see.  And that’s what leads into the biggest problem with motorcycle wrecks: drivers are let off the hook because they just didn’t see the biker.  The Car Crash Captain explores this “excuse” and why Herbert Law Group, located in Richardson, Texas, isn’t buying it.

“I Didn’t See Them” Is the Driver’s Failure

Driving isn’t a passive act.  When a driver receives their license, they agree to follow the Texas transportation code, which (in part) states they will maintain “proper lookout.”  It doesn’t say, “Proper lookout, except for smaller vehicles, that oopsie, you might not see them.”

It means that you must:

• Ignore distractions (including phones, screens, passengers, and anything else that takes your mind or eyes off the road).
• Beware of blind spots.
• Don’t drive in a rushed manner.
• Don’t drive in a lazy manner.
• Be diligent or aware.

Suppose you’re driving and a child is playing in the street.  You run the kid over.  Would you go before the judge and say, “Oops, I didn’t see him!”?  That would never hold up – nor should, “I guess I just didn’t see them” when it comes to motorcycle wrecks.

Motorcycle Are Ignored, Here’s Why

So why do so many drivers, “not see” the motorcycles?

In part, because we’ve been conditioned to look for larger vehicles instead of motorcycles.  Motorcycles represent less than 4% of vehicles on the road, so we are naturally going to be watching for the majority of vehicles.

There’s also the fact that most people are really bad at judging speed and distance.  Motorcycles, in part due to their size, seem like they’re farther away.

Left-turn crashes, where the motorist turns left, crossing the lane of traffic, and collides with a motorcycle, are the most common motorcycle wrecks.  All because drivers aren’t looking for motorcycles, and even if they do see them, they believe they’re farther away.

Motorcycles are harder to see than other vehicles, but that doesn’t mean drivers don’t have to train themselves to watch for them.

How to Handle a Motorcycle Crash

Insurance companies love to lean heavily on the “I didn’t see them” narrative.  Because it has this subtle shift of blame from the driver to the rider.  It sparks that little bit of doubt that, “Maybe the motorcycle rider should have done something different, better, or more complete.”  And without other evidence, it can get muddled.

This is why oy need an experienced motorcycle wreck lawyer on your side.  One that understands how to argue that the rider did nothing wrong, they followed all safety procedures, had the safety and visibility equipment, and that it was indeed the other driver’s fault.

Herbert Law Group Finds Justice for Motorcycle Accident Victims

Because “I didn’t see them” is still a common excuse, and because the insurance companies continue to buy it, that’s exactly why you need Herbert Law Group.  We serve the greater Dallas, Texas area, and we have helped a lot of motorcycle accident victims push back when the insurance company isn’t playing nicely.

Let’s come up with a plan on how we can help you receive justice after your wreck.  First, we need to know what happened.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site.  Once we have our free initial consultation, we can determine what needs done to maximize your compensation.

Feeling Fine Doesn’t Mean Not Injured

Our bodies and brains react to stress and trauma in a remarkable way.  Even in low-risk situations, the adrenal glands (located on top of the kidneys) will dump adrenaline into the blood stream.  Adrenaline, or epinephrine, increases the heart rate, drives up blood pressure, relaxes the lungs, causes a massive dump of glucose providing energy, dilates the pupils for enhanced vision, and suppresses the feelings of pain.

If you’re involved in a motorcycle crash in Texas, you don’t get a choice if the body releases adrenaline – it just happens.  In this article, the Car Crash Captain explains what’s going on in your body, why you might feel fine, and how the insurance companies are going to use that against you if you don’t have a great motorcycle wreck lawyer on your side.

Fight-or-Flight Hides Injuries for a While

When in trouble, your brain will prioritize survival over pain.  When the wreck happens, your brain instantly tells the adrenal glands to release the epinephrine.  When that happens, your body goes into overdrive with an increased heart rate, intense focus, and the big thing that we want to focus on today: reduced sensation to pain.

After your body experiences that adrenaline dump, the pain isn’t just ignored.  It’s actually chemically suppressed.  Those endorphins from the adrenaline act as a natural opioid, and the signaling pathways that tell your brain the body is in pain are altered.

The result is that you may be functioning normally while you’re injured.  Blood has been redirected to your muscles to help you fight the “attacker” or run away from the danger.  The injuries are still there, but your brain (with the help of adrenaline) has told the body, “Eliminating the threat is the most important thing right now, injuries can be dealt with later.”

But you are still injured even though you “feel fine.”

When Will Pain and Symptoms Show Up?

Eventually, the adrenaline will leave your system.  When the threat has passed, your hormone levels will fall and the pain will intensify.  Blood flow stabilizes as escaping isn’t prioritized.  Eventually the inflammation sets in and peaks after the crash, not during it.  Swelling, tissue damage, pain, and stiffness increase over the next 24 to 72 hours as you start to realize there are injuries that must be addressed.

Often, the day after the crash is worse than the crash itself.

Concussions and cognitive injuries show up later, soft tissue injuries worsen as inflammation builds, and nerve irritation takes time.  In the days immediately following the crash, the reality of the injuries sets in.

What You Should Know about Feeling Fine after a Motorcycle Crash

The most important thing to keep in mind:

Delayed symptoms are medically normal; they’re not suspicious.

Hours, or even days, after the crash is when the full effects are realized.  And that’s what the insurance companies will try to use against you.  They’ll make claims that you didn’t go to the ER right away, so how bad could it be?  They use your own words against you if you said you “feel fine” when the adrenaline is surging and a witness asks how you’re doing.  They’ll downplay the injuries because you didn’t feel horrid immediately after they were incurred.

Insurance companies rely on misunderstanding, not medical reality.

Herbert Law Group Helps You Recover

This is one of the many reasons you need an experienced Texas motorcycle wreck lawyer on your side.  From our offices in Richardson, Texas, we help victims throughout the Dallas and Fort Worth areas.  We know how to push back against the insurance companies, we know that pain tends to come days later, and we know what compensation you’ll need for your injuries.

What we need from you is to learn what happened.  That starts with a free phone call that fills us in on the details.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and let’s develop a strategy to find you justice.

Concussions After Motorcycle Accidents are Common

Wearing your helmet when riding is a highly effective way to prevent major injuries and death.  However, a helmet is designed to help prevent skull fractures and fatal brain injuries; it helps reduce the risk of concussion, but it doesn’t eliminate it.  In fact, after a motorcycle wreck, even when the rider was wearing a helmet, a concussion is still incredibly common.

There is, however, a bit of a gap in injury and treatment when it comes to motorcycle accidents, brain scans, and concussions.  Too often it leaves the rider with the false idea that everything is fine and normal, when there has been damage that needs to be addressed.  The Car Crash Captain looks into what the brain scan doesn’t tell you about concussions after a Texas motorcycle accident.

A Normal CT Brain Scan Doesn’t Mean a Normal Brain

Here’s the situation.  You’re involved in a motorcycle accident, and you were wearing your helmet.  You hit your head quite hard on the pavement, and the doctor orders a CT scan.  The scan comes back, and everything looks just fine.  The problem is, however, you don’t feel “just fine.”  You know something is off.

CT scans are great for detecting issues in the brain.  And when you have bleeding or structural damage, they can show exactly what’s going on, and how severe the issues are.  If damage or bleeding isn’t fixed right away, it can lead to major issues, and most likely death.

Concussions aren’t structural injuries; they’re functional ones.

A functional injury is when there is disruption between brain cells.  The microscopic neurons aren’t firing quite right, and that won’t show up on a brain scan.  Concussions, will still disrupt your life, and you deserve compensation even when the CT scan looks clear.

A Realistic Recovery Timeline

Most mild TBIs will improve within 2-4 weeks.  That doesn’t mean all of them will clear up in that time period.  In fact, some can last several months and longer.  And that’s because post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is a real thing, and quite well documented.  Without getting into it too deeply, PCS is when the concussions symptoms linger for far longer than one would expect.

Even at the time of injury, symptoms are delayed.  Inflammation doesn’t set on instantly.  We know that from just about any injury – there’s that sharp, acute pain at the time, but later that’s a dull and throbbing pain.

With a brain injury, it’s even worse.  Cognitive fatigue sets in, emotional symptoms can creep up, and what seemed fine initially now has severe symptoms.

Wait, cognitive fatigue?  Yes, it’s a real thing, and it’s not just stress.  It shows up as memory lapses, slower processing speed, sensitivity to light and noise, and executive dysfunction (difficulty making decisions).  It can linger for a long time, and often victims don’t even realize it’s an injury that they should be compensated for.

Invisible Injuries are Undervalued by Adjusters

Insurance adjusters focus on the visible factors.  How much will it cost to replace the motorcycle, how much did you lose in lost wages, how much were the medical bills, and so on.  They even prioritize what they can see – including brain scan images (that as we know don’t show the entire picture).  What they minimize are those invisible injuries.

And they certainly don’t take into account that your recovery likely won’t look like other recoveries.  They believe a mild concussion should heal up in 2 weeks.  But recovery time from a concussion includes:

• Age
• Prior concussions
• Severity of impact
• Access to rehab and treatment
• Medical history

Settling too early can minimize your compensation, and make you feel like justice wasn’t served.

Herbert Law Group Helps You Receive Justice

We are here to help you find justice.  Our motorcycle accident lawyers know what to look for, how to push back against insurance companies, and we have a strong portfolio of clients we have helped.

In short: we know what to do, because we’ve done it a lot.

What we need is to get to know you.  Call our Richardson, Texas law offices at 214-414-3808 and we’ll have a free conversation to determine how we’ll help.  No time for a call right now?  Fill out our contact form and we’ll reach out to you.

Motorcycle Crash Injuries Take Time to Heal

When you ride your motorcycle, you’re exposed.  You have little protection between you and the rest of the world, and that’s exactly why you love it.  The wind in your face, the unobstructed views, and the feeling of freedom.  Whipping down the highways around Dallas, Texas is exhilarating and freeing.  However, not all motorists are watching out for you.  If you happen to wreck, you’re going to have injuries that can run the gamut from minor to severe.  Let’s dive in as the Car Crash Captain explains how long it will take for common motorcycle crash injuries to heal.

Different Injuries Require Different Timelines

From road rash to traumatic brain injury and everything in between.  Let’s look at some of the common injuries, and how long they’ll take to heal.  This isn’t just a “best guess” scenario either, this is backed by medicine and biology because you can’t rush healing.

Soft Tissue Damage and Road Rash

Scrapes abrasions, and lacerations are going to happen to just about any exposed skin.  Minor abrasions should heal up in about a week or two.  Moderate road rash that gets through the first couple layers of skin can take a few weeks to a month or more.  Severe road rash, that is, something which rips through the skin and gets down to the muscle or even the bone, can start to look better in a month or two, but you’ll deal with issues for a full year at least as scars mature and muscles rehabilitate.

Just because the visible damage looks better, the injury is not healed.

Broken Bones and Fractures

The impact can snap and crack bones.  We all know that broken bones take casts and at least a few weeks to heal.  But there’s more to it than that.

Simple fractures should take about six weeks to three months to heal up.  The body is quite good at repairing bones.  However, complex breaks (the kinds that happen in a severe wreck) can take multiple surgeries and hardware to repair the bones the right way.  These usually take a minimum of three to six months to heal, and often much longer to regain strength and full functioning.

Even when the bone has healed, rehab and functional recovery can last for years after the injury looks better.

Head Injuries

Wearing your helmet is the number one way to prevent traumatic brain injury.  However, these things can still happen.

Mild TBI, such as concussions, can feel better in two to four weeks.  Many of them have symptoms dissipate after around three months.  Full recovery, though, can take up to a year.

Moderate and severe TBI require much longer healing times.  Several months would be a fast paced healing, while most people who suffer from severe TBI will require years of rehabilitation, and often will never fully recover.

Traumatic Brain Injuries are highly individualized.  Some people recover much faster than others, and some can recover from what looks like a permanent injury.  The bottom line is, however, that this “invisible” injury is one that’s highly overlooked by insurance companies.  Even when it’s acknowledged, it’s common for them to downplay just how severe it really is.

Why These Healing Timelines Matter in Your Injury Claim

The problem with filing an insurance claim is that humans tend to look at pain level, visual damage, and loss of functioning.  If your injury looks like it has healed, and your pain is largely gone, you’re good to go, right?  Not so fast.  Being healed isn’t enough.  Instead, we have to take into account imaging, doctor notes, therapy progress, and functional limitations over time.  If the bandages are off, but you can’t live life how you once did, shouldn’t you be compensated?

Furthermore, symptoms can be delayed or change over time.  This is especially true with brain injuries.  At the time of impact, you might feel okay.  But if your head is filling with fluids, that could take a while for symptoms to show up, and then if not acted upon right away, furthering damage can occur.

Rehabilitation time shouldn’t cost you anything.  Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and cognitive rehab aren’t just things that are nice to have.  They’re necessary parts of a full recovery, and must be accounted for in the claim.

What Won’t Hurt Your Claim after Motorcycle Crash Injuries

Being injured is scary.  Healing is also scary.  A lot of victims look at what happened, and how they’ve healed, and they’re worried about their claim because they seem to have healed up no problem. Here’s the truth though.

Myth – Minor pain means no serious injury.

Truth – Some injuries don’t physically hurt, but severely impact your quality of life.

Myth – If doctors clear me quickly, my claim is weak.

Truth – Just because you’ve “healed” quickly doesn’t mean rehabilitation won’t take much longer.

Myth – If I will fully recover, I don’t have a strong claim.

Truth – You can fully recover from many injuries; however, they still leave functional limitations, scarring, chronic pain (that comes up later in life), and emotional damage.

You Need Herbert Law Group to Maximize Your Compensation

You need someone that knows how long it takes, and what kind of recovery to expect.  You need Herbert Law Group to help you fight for what you deserve.  You shouldn’t wonder if the settlement will cover everything or if you’ll be stuck paying out of pocket.

Herbert Law Group, from our offices in Richardson, Texas, has helped a lot of motorcycle accident victims.  We know about the common motorcycle crash injuries, what it takes to recover, and the costs associated with them.  Armed with that knowledge, we will fight for you.

Let’s start with a free phone call where we learn what happened and figure out how we can help.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808.  Or, you can fill out our contact form and we’ll be in touch with you as soon as we can.