Fatal Motorcycle Wreck in Oceanside

A 20-year-old Marine is dead after a woman turned in front of his motorcycle as she was pulling into a local gas station.

According to OPD Traffic Services Unit Sgt. Clint Bussey, the collision occurred when a Volkswagen made a left turn from northbound Douglas Drive into the AMPM gas station, striking the right front fender of the motorcyclist who was traveling southbound on Douglas.

The motorcyclist, identified by Bussey as a 20-year-old Marine, was ejected from his motorcycle, sustaining fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead on scene by paramedics.

The driver of the Volkswagen, a 64-year-old woman from Carlsbad, did not report any injuries. She remained on scene and cooperated with law enforcement.

Motorcycle Crash Injuries

In California vehicle collisions, the motorcycle rider fatality rate is thirty times higher than the enclosed vehicle occupant fatality rate. Passenger car and truck safety systems have advanced by leaps and bounds over the decades. But a motorcycle is still basically a frame, a motor, and a gas tank. As a result, even if they survive, motorcycle crash victims often sustain severe injuries, such as:

• Head Injuries: Motorcycle helmets offer little or no protection from motion-related head injuries. When victims fall off their bikes and land hard, their brains violently slam against the insides of their skulls. This impact causes brain bleeding and swelling. The resulting brain damage is usually permanent. Dead brain cells don’t regenerate.
• Broken Bones: Fractured arm and leg bones are the most common motorcycle crash-related broken bone injuries. When riders fall off their bikes, they naturally extend their arms to break their falls. As a result, their arm bones often almost literally snap in two. Furthermore, the victim’s leg is usually crushed between an oncoming vehicle and the victim’s bike.
• Internal Injuries: The aforementioned extreme motion also causes internal organs to grind and smash against one another. Since livers, kidneys, and other internal organs don’t have protective skin layers, the slightest abrasions bleed profusely. Internal bleeding is hard to detect and even harder to stop.

Severe injuries create financial pain as well. The medical bills associated with motorcycle crash injuries usually exceed $40,000. Typically, group health insurance policies don’t cover injury-related costs.

A Carslbad personal injury lawyer connects victims with doctors who focus on motorcycle crash injuries and, in most cases, charge no money upfront for their professional services.

Liability Issues

If the tortfeasor (negligent driver) pulls out in front of the victim without looking, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer can use the ordinary negligence doctrine or the negligence per se rule to obtain compensation.

This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Ordinary negligence is basically a lack of care. Most drivers have a duty of reasonable care. At a minimum, they must yield the right-of-way when necessary.

TBFTL (Turned But Failed To Look) motorcycle wrecks are very common. Small motorcycles are often hard to see when they’re in a sea of large vehicles. So, tortfeasors don’t see oncoming motorcycles when they turn left against traffic. Indeed, many tortfeasors tell reporting officers things like “S/he came out of nowhere.” This statement is basically an admission of liability.

Operator impairment also causes many motorcycle crashes. Drunk or fatigued tortfeasors cannot accurately judge things like the distance between themselves and oncoming motorcycles. Their impaired judgment hurts people.

An Oceanside personal injury lawyer must also prove, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that the tortfeasor’s negligence caused the victim’s injuries. Disputes in this area are very common, especially if the victim wasn’t wearing a helmet and sustained a head injury.

Count on a Savvy San Diego County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Golden State.

Source:

fox5sandiego.com/traffic/fatal-collision-prompts-closure-to-main-oceanside-road/