As warmer weather prevails more and more motorcyclists are hitting the road. Sadly Portsmouth, Virginia (VA), police have identified two men who died in two vehicle accidents earlier this month.
As a Virginia personal injury attorney who has dealt with the aftermath of these types of tragic accidents my sympathy goes out to the families of Daniel W. Gilmore, a 24-year-old Portsmouth resident, who died in a motorcycle accident on May 13th and Horace L. Deans, an 88-year-old Portsmouth resident, who died in a motorcycle accident on May 17th.
The National Safety Counsel reports that traffic fatalities are at the lowest level ever recorded. However, motorcycle deaths are on the rise for the ninth straight year. In 2006, 4,810 motorcyclists were killed nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This number has increased by 104 percent in the last decade. Many times, the motorcycle rider is not at-fault, research indicates that the major cause of motorcycle accidents remains the failure of other motorists to recognize motorcyclists in heavy traffic or at night. Statistics shows that about 70 percent of the collisions are a result of this.
Our firm has experience in motorcycle wrecks and injuries. In one such case we handled, the at-fault driver drifted over the center line, sideswiped a pickup truck and hit the Plaintiffs’ motorcycle head on. Our Virginia Beach-based personal injury law firm helped ensure the riders could have fair compensation for their serious injuries and that their medical expenses for surgeries would be paid.
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