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What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident5 min read

by Stephen M. Smith | Sep 15, 2021

Motorcycle accidents can be devastating both physically and psychologically. What should be your priorities after an accident or crash? What causes motorcycle accidents? How many riders experience a crash, and how often do motorcycle accidents result in a fatality? When is it appropriate to call an attorney if you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident?

The Smith Law Center has provided answers to these general questions below. However, if you need specific information about your rights or know you require legal advice, call us right away at (757) 244-7000.

The most important thing to do after a motorcycle accident is to get medical treatment. The next vital step is to call an attorney who will represent your best interests against insurance companies, irresponsible drivers, and/or avoidable legal missteps. Contacting professional legal counsel is the best way to ensure all of your options are being thoroughly explored while you heal.

What Is the Main Cause of Motorcycle Accidents?

The leading causes of motorcycle accidents are the same as those which cause most car accidents, including:

Reckless driving: Distinct from careless driving, reckless driving is a criminal offense that covers such behaviors as ignoring traffic lights or stop signs, swerving into oncoming traffic, or driving in off-road areas such as sidewalks.
Speeding: Driving over the speed limit is one of the most common causes of preventable vehicular accidents, especially at night or during adverse weather conditions.
Aggressive driving: Cutting off other drivers, slowing but not stopping for traffic lights or stop signs, and tailgating other vehicles are forms of dangerously aggressive driving.
Distracted driving: When drivers take their eyes off the road, hand off the steering wheel, or their minds off of driving, such distractions (no matter how brief) could lead to catastrophic injuries for a motorcyclist.
Driving under the influence: Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, mind-altering substances like drugs (illegal or prescription), or while dangerously fatigued can impair a driver’s perceptions. Reduced reaction times increase the risk of accidents drastically.

The point of road safety rules is to prevent as many accidents as possible. Unfortunately, some amount of motorcycle accidents are bound to occur.

What Should You Do After a Motorcycle Accident?

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the statistics on motorcycle accidents show that motorbikes are far less crashworthy than closed vehicles like cars and trucks.

For those injured in motorcycle accidents, the first steps to take are:

Seek or allow medical treatment, and follow the doctor’s/medic’s instructions carefully
Document your injuries and property damages to the best of your ability
Do not admit any fault in the accident before you consult with an attorney
Call a motorcycle accident lawyer for legal advice
File a claim through your attorney before the evidence disappears

Motorcycle accidents can cause significant injuries, including concussions, brain and spinal cord injuries, as well as broken bones, amputations, tissue lacerations, and road rash. If you need help gathering evidence, or need someone authorized to act in your best interests while you’re hospitalized, empower a motorcycle accident lawyer to be your advocate.

Once you’ve sought the emergency medical care your injuries require, contacting an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer is the best way to ensure all of your options are being thoroughly explored while you heal.

What Percentage of Motorcycle Riders Get in Accidents?

The statistics on motorcycle accidents are hard to pin down, mostly because not all riders are registered or licensed, and not all accidents are reported. Assuming every registered bike had only one rider, the amount of reported motorcycle crashes each year hovers around 1%. However, due to unreported accidents, the real number is likely higher.

Though 1% seems like a small number of accidents, the injuries that can result are far more disastrous than those that commonly occur in closed-vehicle accidents.

What Percentage of Motorcycle Accidents Are Fatal?

The National Safety Council’s analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data concerning motorcycles shows that:

Motorcyclists make up only about 3% of registered road vehicles, but
Motorcycle drivers and passengers account for roughly 14-17% of all traffic and occupant fatalities

That discrepancy is due to the unprotected nature of a motorcycle’s design — motorcyclists are far more at risk of injury during a crash than those who are inside closed vehicles. The Council also points out that wearing a helmet significantly reduces the likelihood of traumatic brain injury and death.

What Can a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit Do for You?

The results from a successful settlement or damages award could help cover:

Medical bills and long-term aftercare
Lost wages or job opportunities
Additional punitive funds meant to punish the negligence or recklessness of others
Financial payouts for the pain and suffering you’ve endured
Wrongful death support for surviving loved ones and families after a fatal crash

Contacting an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer could allow us to start investigating and pursuing your case right away.

Contact the Motorcycle Accident Attorneys at Smith Law Center

Evidence of motorcycle accidents begins to degrade immediately after a crash. Insurance companies jump into action right away to minimize their financial responsibility. An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer will help make sure your rights aren’t trampled on while you’re recovering.

The Smith Law Center is led by Stephen M. Smith, a graduate of Marquette University’s Neuro Anatomical Program, and a widely recognized and awarded attorney for his work in car accident and brain injury cases. This dual experience is the kind you need if you or your loved one has been impacted by the consequences of a motorcycle accident.

Reach out to the Smith Law Center today by calling (757) 244-7000 or by filling out our online contact form. We are ready to help you access all the recovery resources available to you, beyond standard vehicle collision insurance.

A free, confidential consultation today could mean a world of difference for your ability to heal and provide for your family’s financial stability going forward.

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If you or a relative had a severe reaction to military housing mold, it might be time to talk with a toxic mold lawyer. Mold is everywhere, and can be dangerous. Researchers have linked mold to serious respiratory illnesses in some individuals.

Smith Law Center may be able to help if a property owner failed to keep you safe from mold in your military housing. We are one of Virginia’s oldest and most successful firms. We know how to hold negligent property owners responsible, especially when the military is involved.

Call us at (757) 244-700 or contact us online to set up a free consultation. There’s no fee for learning more about Virginia mold laws, your rights, and your legal options.

Mold in Military Housing

Black mold in military housing became widely known when Reuters published an investigation in 2018. Since then, the Department of Defense and the housing providers were supposed to take steps to improve the situation.

Unfortunately, a 2020 audit by the DoD Office of Inspector General found many issues, including the need for mold remediation, still persist.

Monetary Awards in Military Housing Toxic Mold Cases

If the property owner lets toxic mold run wild and continue to cause you harm, talk with our toxic mold attorneys about filing a lawsuit.

You may receive financial compensation for:

Property damage
Out-of-pocket expenses
Medical bills
Pain and suffering

Service members and their families do not receive different types of damages than civilians. These are civil lawsuits in traditional courts of law.

Military Housing Mold Toxicity Symptoms

The Institute of Medicine discovered there was evidence connecting exposure to indoor mold with:

Upper respiratory tract symptoms;
Coughing;
Wheezing;
Asthma symptoms in individuals with asthma; and
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis in individuals with weak immune systems.

There is also limited evidence that mold causes respiratory illnesses in healthy children or causes people to develop asthma.

Understanding Exposure to Toxic Mold in Military Housing

The topic of toxic mold is complicated. This Is in part because the term “toxic mold” isn’t accurate. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains mold isn’t toxic or poisonous. However, some molds are toxigenic, which means they produce toxins called mycotoxins.

Mold is common in military housing because it’ll grow anywhere there’s moisture. That includes on and inside walls, carpet, upholstery, wallpaper, and heating and air conditioning systems. This is especially pronounced in humid conditions such as those present in Virginia.

Some people have no difficulties around mold, even large infestations in their homes. Other individuals are sensitive to molds, including those that produce mycotoxins. Someone can have a severe reaction when exposed to a large amount of mold indoors.

People may be more likely to experience mold toxicity symptoms if they have:

Allergies,
An underlying lung disease,
Immune suppression,
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder,
Asthma, or
Another chronic respiratory disease.

Common Types of Military Housing Mold

When you’re trying to learn more from the CDC and other resources, you’ll see the word “fungus” a lot. Mold is a type of fungus, which is something that exists all around us. Fungi are living organisms different from animals, plants, and bacteria. There are over 200,000 types of fungi and over 100,000 types of molds.

If you discovered mold in your military housing, it could be Cladosporium, Penicillium, Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus, or many other types. Stachybotrys is what everyone knows as black mold. Aspergillus is a common indoor fungus, which releases mycotoxins and can cause illness. Your symptoms may resemble common allergy or asthma symptoms.

Who is Liable for Military Housing Mold?

Since 1996, most military housing has come under the management of private companies:

Belfour Beatty Communities: Fort Eustis and Fort Story/li>
Lincoln Military Housing: Dahlgren, Little Creek, Naval Station Norfolk, Northwest Annex, Oceana, Portsmouth, Quantico, and Yorktown/li>
Hunt Military Communities: Fort Lee and Langley AFB

Outside of Virginia, Lendlease and Corvias Military Living are two more housing providers. Together, these five companies formed the Military Housing Association.

Military families living in on-base housing must take their complaints to their private management company — not the military. The company is responsible for providing habitable conditions and making repairs, including mold remediation.

If you’re unsure about your rights, review your state law and local ordinances about mold. In general, it’s the landlord’s responsibility to provide a habitable unit, which means it has to be safe to live in. A unit isn’t safe if it’s causing a tenant health issues due to mold.

The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires landlords to disclose if there’s mold in the written report of the move-in inspection. If a tenant discovers visible mold in the unit, then the Act requires the landlord to remove the mold and relocate the tenant until it’s gone at no additional cost to the tenant.

Unfortunately, many families find their housing providers aren’t receptive to complaints. Attorney Stephen M. Smith has handled many mold lawsuits against military housing providers who fail to abide by their lease terms and the law when it comes to mold remediation and other hazards.

Other Hazards in Military Housing

Many service members and their families deal with uncomfortable, if not hazardous, conditions in privatized military housing, including:

Lead Paint: Lead-based paint can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue, irritability, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, organ damage, and in extreme cases, death.

Asbestos: Exposure to asbestos harms a person’s lungs, and can lead to lung fibrosis (scarring), lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

Radon: Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. It naturally forms underground, however cracks and gaps in buildings lead to over-exposure indoors.

Poor Water Quality: Dozens of military sites have water with detectable levels of harmful chemicals.

Other issues involve rodent or insect infestations, pesticides, and faulty electrical wiring.

What Happens When a Lot of People Get Sick?

Sometimes mold exposure impacts a single individual or family. However, when the mold spreads throughout military housing, it can impact hundreds or thousands of people.

Occasionally, a large enough group of people are injured to allow for a class action or mass tort lawsuit. A class action lawsuit is one where a class representative acts as the plaintiff on behalf of the group of hurt individuals. Not every victim participates in the lawsuit. There are rules about when a group is big and similar enough to create a class action.

Mass tort lawsuits are different. When there are fewer plaintiffs who have their own set of circumstances, each person files a lawsuit. For efficiency’s sake, one or a couple of law firms may represent most plaintiffs, and the lawsuits are consolidated in a federal court.

Call the Military Housing Mold Lawyers at Smith Law Center for Help Right Away

Mold cases come about in a few ways. You or a loved one may start getting sick, and after weeks or months of struggling to find answers, you finally realize your military housing has a mold infestation. In other cases, you struggle with visible mold and then become ill.

Once you connect the illness with the mold, it’s time to talk with a toxic mold lawyer. Reaching out to an attorney early helps you build a strong compensation claim. We know how to collect evidence, identify who is liable, and craft a successful argument for a settlement or court award.

Attorney Stephen M. Smith has decades of experience handling injury claims and has been internationally recognized for his work. He has litigated cases involving catastrophic injuries and complex legal and scientific issues. In 2019, he was inducted into the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame.

You’re in good hands when you come to Smith Law Center for help. Reach out online or call (757) 244-7000 to schedule your 100% free consultation.

Military Housing Mold Lawsuits: FAQs

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