Motorcycle Injury

Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, has spent 5 decades fighting for the rights of motorcycle riders in Southwest Florida.

We have long been advocates of rider rights and rider safety through our FLBikers.com website and work in the community. For more than a decade, we’ve been the primary sponsor of Cape Coral Bike Night, the largest family-friendly bike night in Southwest Florida. Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured has also participated in Fort Myers Bike Night and ABATE of Southwest Florida (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education), in addition to an annual holiday Bikers for Babies fundraiser and other motorcycle events throughout our local communities.

Our Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyers are a go-to resource for the riding community, both in terms of safety-awareness education and advocacy in the courtroom.

Fort Myers motorcycle accidents are a growing danger.

The Governors Highway Safety Association reports about 1 in 5 Florida traffic fatalities kills a motorcycle rider. In fact, Florida is the most dangerous place in the nation for motorcyclists, with more than 500 riders killed each year. California and Texas are the only other states to typically report more than 400 rider deaths annually.

Motorcycle injury lawyers in Fort Myers at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, know the challenges faced by victims and families. Too often, motorcycle accidents involve very serious or fatal injuries. Victims typically include a spouse, parent or child. A family’s primary wage earner, left hospitalized, facing a long-term recovery, dealing with medical bills and concerned about future disability.

Compensable motorcycle accident damages may include:

• Medical bills – Including cost of rehabilitative care.
• Lost wages – including impact of any resulting disability on earning capacity.
• Home health care.
• Pain and Suffering.
• Property damage.

At Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, we believe everyone involved in a serious motorcycle crash in Southwest Florida deserves immediate access to experienced legal help. Our veteran motorcycle accident lawyers in Fort Myers offer free and confidential consultations 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

We are dedicated to protecting your legal and financial rights, while you focus on recovery.

Most injury or wrongful death actions filed in the wake of a motorcycle crash will allege negligence against one or more at-fault parties, typically the driver blamed for the crash and his or her insurance carrier. Under Florida tort law, plaintiffs (victims) alleging negligence must prove an at-fault party (defendant) owed a duty of care and breached that duty, resulting in compensable injury to the victim.

Causation too often becomes a factor in civil lawsuits stemming from motorcycle crashes. In some cases, law enforcement may even be too quick to blame a rider. In other cases, extent of injuries may not have been known, and thus proper collision investigation and documentation may not have been performed.

Florida tort law recognizes comparative fault in negligence claims under Florida Statute 768.81, which provides for reduced damage awards in cases where plaintiff is found partially at fault, but does not bar liable plaintiffs from recovery. What this means is that victims found less than half at fault for causing an accident may still file a claim for damages, though any ultimate compensation award may be reduced in proportion to plaintiff’s fault. In many cases, insurance company defense attorneys will argue comparative fault to either prevent recovery altogether, or win a reduction in the ultimate damage award.

Identifying available insurance coverage is of paramount importance in the wake of a motorcycle accident. Too often, at-fault drivers lack sufficient insurance to cover damages. Florida’s mandatory minimum insurance law of just $10,000 personal injury protection and $10,000 property damage coverage is among the lowest minimums in the nation. In other cases, a motorist may leave the scene, particularly in cases where a rider may have crashed after taking evasive action to avoid colliding with the at-fault motorist.

Our motorcycle injury lawyers in Fort Myers encourage every rider to carry uninsured motorist (UM)/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage as part of their automobile insurance policy. UM/UIM coverage is optional in Florida (it is mandatory in many other states). While we encourage all motorists to carry this coverage, it is particularly vital for motorcycle riders. This coverage will pay in cases where an at-fault driver lacks insurance or is not located, or when an at-fault driver lacks enough coverage to pay the full extent of damages. While such claims are made against a victim’s own insurance company, they are best handled by a Fort Myers law firm experienced in handling personal injury and wrongful death claims involving motorcycle accidents.

If you or someone you care about has been hurt, contact the Fort Myers motorcycle injury lawyers at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured. You pay us no fees unless we win.