Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle can be dangerous. Even the most skilled motorcycle drivers can be involved in accidents, because you simply cannot control other drivers on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the motorcyclist is rarely at fault when involved in an accident. Beyond that, motorcycle accidents have a tendency to cause more severe injuries than car accidents. The NHTSA reports that 80% of collisions involving a motorcycle result in injury or death to the rider and a motorcycle rider is 35 times more likely to suffer serious injury or death from an accident than occupants in a passenger car. Because of statistics like these, along with the fact that you cannot control how much insurance coverage, if any, other negligent drivers may have, it is important that you, as a motorcyclist, are adequately covered through your own insurance policy.
If you are in a motorcycle accident and the other party has no or insufficient insurance, you can be faced with significant costs for an accident you did not cause. Just like insurance coverage you should have with your other vehicles, in order to protect yourself while riding your motorcycle, you should look into the following coverages on your policy which can protect you from those unexpected costs.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage is insurance that protects you if you are injured by a negligent driver who either doesn’t have any insurance or doesn’t carry enough insurance to cover your damages. This insurance is invaluable as it will cover your medical expenses, disability, loss of wages, pain and suffering and property damage. Another important coverage to have is Personal Injury Protection (PIP), as it pays for medical bills and a percentage of lost wages resulting from an accident regardless of who is at fault.
Steve Kuzmich is a Board Certified – Personal Injury Trial Lawyer by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The Kuzmich Law Firms’ focus practice areas are auto and trucking accidents, wrongful death and other serious injuries, injuries caused by drunk drivers, child injury cases, (slip and fall accidents) premises liability, and dog bite cases.
For further information about personal injury litigation, call as at 972.434.1555 and ask us why board certification matters.