Los Angeles Brain Injury Lawyers Assist California Motorcycle Accidents Victims
Last year over 6,686,147 motorcycles were registered within the United States and the number of registrants has been steadily increasing by at least 7% each year since 2003 according to the NHTSA. Consequently the NHTSA also reported that nation wide last year there were 103,000 motorcycle injuries that did not result in a fatality and California has the second highest motorcycle fatality rate in the United States. These unfortunate facts ensure that Los Angeles Brain Injury Lawyers have no shortage of work.
The most common injuries as a result of a California motorcycle accident are traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Caregiver.org estimated that “The direct and indirect costs of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the U. S. have been estimated to be $48.3 billion annually. Survivor costs account for $31.7 billion and fatal brain injuries cost another $16.6 billion and that the lifetime costs for one person surviving a severe TBI can reach $4 million. Non-helmeted patients incur 30% higher average hospital charges for their medical treatment immediately following a motorcycle collision related injury“. If you have been involved in a California motorcycle accident at no fault of you own, contacting California brain injury attorneys is the first step to ensure that you are able to obtain the maximum recovery.
There has been great debate surrounding Pennsylvania’s helmet law, which no longer requires a motorcyclist to wear protective head gear. The argument is that the helmet restricts the sight and hearing of the motorcycle rider thus putting the rider in danger of having an accident. California motorcycle accidents and risks are no different. However, the University of Pittsburgh has been conducting research to analyze whether or not helmet use has a significant effect on the number of injuries and fatalities related to motorcycle riders. They reported that the number of motorcyclists that died of head injuries increased by 32%. Even with these findings Pennsylvania’s law still allows motorcyclists to ride without a helmet. California motorcycle accidents are more prevalent due to the congested freeways. As such, when hiring California brain injury attorneys, Los Angeles provides many choices.
Just last year, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states require all motorcyclists and their passengers to wear helmets. Twenty states have laws requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets, while 27 states have laws that require minors or passengers to wear head protection. Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire have no helmet laws. As a result some states like Texas where motorcycle riders who are over the age of 21 are exempt from the requirement to wear a protective motorcycle helmet require the rider to either hold $10,000 in health insurance coverage or have completed an approved safety course.
Fortunately, California requires that all motorcyclists wear a helmet. Conversely, California motorcycle accidents accounted for 103,000 motorcycle injuries last year. If you have been involved in a California motorcycle accident that resulted in traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, you may to seek the legal advice of Los Angeles brain injury lawyers to assess your situation and review a potential claim. While <a href="http://www.california-brain-injury-lawyers.info/brain-injury-resources.htm">TBI resources information</a> is available on the internet, California brain injury attorneys have the ability to assess the potential for an actual claim.
About the Author:Lars Vheltzer is a freelance journalist who comments on California motorcycle accidents and advises injured parties to seek out California brain injury attorneys and more specifically Los Angeles brain injury lawyers if they are in Southern California.
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