When a motorcycle makes contact with a car or truck it is not uncommon for the person riding the motorcycle to sustain serious injuries. This is mainly due to two things. The first is the size of the motor vehicle compared to a motorcycle. The second is the lack of protection a motorcyclist has in an accident. Even someone with a helmet and protective clothing is lacking compared to someone in a car equipped with things such as air bags.
A man riding a motorcycle in Miami, Florida, experienced this first hand earlier this week. The tires on his motorcycle were reportedly bumped by a car as the motorcycle used a ramp on Interstate 95 to get to State Road 836. The motorcycle flipped as a result of the contact with the car. The car that tapped the motorcycle did not stop after making contact. Instead, the driver fled the scene in the car.
Miraculously the man riding the motorcycle received only bruises and scrapes in the hit-and-run incident. He was however taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment.
As is the case in any motor vehicle accident there are many reasons that a collision between a car and motorcycle may occur. Far and away the most prevalent reason however is a failure on the part of the driver of the car to see the much smaller motorcycle. A car may make a maneuver without realizing the motorcycle is even there.
In these cases it is not uncommon for an injured motorcyclist to seek financial compensation for his or her injuries via a personal injury lawsuit. Whether the man in this case will choose to do so is likely in large part dependent on the police locating the driver of the car that hit him.
Source: WSVN, “Motorcyclist survives hit-and-run accident,” Jan. 8, 2012