Articles Posted in Motorcycle Accident

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

A North Carolina husband and wife were killed this past week after being hit from behind by a pickup truck. According to police the accident occurred when their motorcycle was rear-ended along N.C. 87 North.

Highway Patrol officials say that the accident occurred just before 8 p.m. when a truck driven by Michael Ahlgren hit the back of the motorcycle carrying Michael and Shanon Turner. Police say the accident happened after Ahlgren was driving closely behind the couple and failed to see that the Turner’s had put on their turn signal. Authorities say that by the time Ahlgren noticed that the Turner’s were slowing down it was too late. Ahlgren was simply traveling too fast to come to a stop.

Given the speed with which the motorcycle was hit, both Michael and Shanon were ejected from the bike and thrown onto the pavement. Emergency responders pronounced both dead on the scene while Ahlgren was unhurt.

Police say that an investigation revealed alcohol was not a factor in the accident. However, Ahlgren was charged with two counts of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. His bond was set at $2,500.

Risk of being thrown from a motorcycle is one of the reasons that motorcycle riding can be so dangerous. While occupants of a passenger vehicle can also be ejected, the risk is much less serious given that seat belts do such a good job of keeping passengers inside the vehicle. Motorcycles lack these restraints and are easily thrown from their bikes onto hard pavement, or even worse, into other lanes of traffic.

Continue Reading

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

A man was killed while riding his motorcycle along I-77 in Charlotte, NC according to officials with the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Troopers say the man died this past Sunday afternoon after another motorcycle sideswiped him near mile marker 38.

The wreck took place a little after four in the afternoon where I-77 crosses over I-85. Highway Patrol officials say the two motorcycles collided with each other and were both pushed into the concrete median wall. The accident not only pushed the cyclists into the median, but both then swerved back across the interstate before finally colliding with the shoulder wall on the bridge over I-85.

Jennifer Hendrix was thrown from her motorcycle during the accident bike and landed in the middle of the travel lanes of I-77. She was thankfully able to get up and run to safety before any vehicles collided with her. Sadly, Nick Prianos was not so lucky and was thrown from his motorcycle after it collided with the concrete shoulder of I-77. Prianos was thrown clear of the median wall where he then fell to his death onto northbound I-85 below.

Police say both cyclists were wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Troopers are working to reconstruct the accident to determine if speed may have been a factor in the deadly accident. So far, no charges have been filed as police continue their investigation.

According to the federal government, per miles traveled, there are 35 times more deaths from motorcycle accidents than from car accidents. Because of these alarmingly high crash rates, it is important for motorcyclists to understand the most frequent causes of such accidents.

Continue Reading

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “The insurance company wants to send me to their own doctor for a second opinion. Do I have to go?”

In an episode that highlights just how dangerous motorcycle riding can be, a freshman at North Carolina A&T was killed late last month after his bike collided with a stopped vehicle. The force of the accident threw the motorcyclist into oncoming traffic, causing severe injuries that led to his death.

According to police, Xavier Watkins died while riding his 2012 Yamaha motorcycle sometime after 10:30 p.m. Police say Watkins was traveling around 50 miles per hour when he collided with a vehicle that had stopped at a stop sign.

Authorities say that the impact with a stopped car caused Watkins to be thrown from his bike and fly more than 97 feet in the air before landing in oncoming traffic. Emergency responders say Watkins was taken to Moses Cone Hospital with multiple broken bones and a variety of other severe injuries. Sadly, Watkins died several days later from his injuries.

According to public safety experts, the kinds of injuries caused by motorcycle accidents can be incredibly severe and wide ranging, depending a lot on the circumstances of the accident itself. Concussion and brain damage are common results of accidents where drivers are thrown from their bikes given the force with which the riders hit the pavement. Wearing a helmet reduces your risk of death by 37 percent, though by no means ensures your survival. Other common injuries in motorcycle accidents where a rider has been thrown from a bike incudes broken arms, legs, shoulders, hips, knees and wrists. Arms and legs are most vulnerable to breakage given a person’s natural instinct to use them to break their fall.

Continue Reading

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What should I do if I have been injured by another party but I can’t afford a lawyer?”

Adult motorcyclists in North Carolina would be allowed to ride around the state without a helmet under legislation that was recently approved by a North Carolina House committee. The measure would repeal the state’s mandatory safety helmet law for the vast majority of motorcyclists, something that has safety experts calling for legislators to vote no before it is too late.

The new law would require that motorcycle helmets only be worn if the motorist is younger than 21 or if the motorcyclist is recently licensed. In the case of recently licensed drivers, those with a motorcycle license for less than 12 months would also be required to don helmets. The measure also states that riders without a helmet would have to carry enough insurance coverage to pay for the first $10,000 of any medical bills that result from a possible crash.

Across the country, 31 states allow motorcyclists to choose for themselves whether to wear helmets. The closely divided vote by the House Transportation Committee moves North Carolina one step closer to joining that group of states. While one member of the committee cheered the results, saying that each person should decide for themselves whether to wear a helmet, another member said that he was worried about the cost that long-term brain injuries might have on the public at large. Representative Rick Catlin said that his life had been saved by wearing a helmet and it worried him that the mandatory safety helmet law was now under attack.

Continue Reading