motorcycle

This is the kind of story no one wants to report. We believe and defend everyone’s right to free speech and beliefs. This story is nothing but tragic. But sometimes, out of tragedy and sadness, lessons can be learned.

On July 4, 2011, ABC World News reported that Philip A. Contos, 55, died while participating in a ride with 550 other motorcyclists to protest the state’s mandatory helmet law. With so many witnesses, the details are clear: Contos hit the brakes, and his Harley Davidson motorcycle fishtailed. He was thrown over the handlebars, hit his head on the pavement, and was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to a State Trooper interviewed by ABC News:

“The medical expert we discussed the case with who pronounced him [Contos] deceased stated that he would’ve no doubt survived the accident had he been wearing a helmet,” state Trooper Jack Keller told ABC News 9 in Syracuse. [ABC World News]

The rally rid was sponsored by ABATE–American Bikers Aimed Toward Education. Their goal is to promote motorcycle awareness and freedom. Despite the death, ABATE still supports the repeal of helmet laws. According to the ABATE of New York website:

“Mandatory helmet laws do nothing to prevent accidents. The decision on when to wear a helmet while operating a motorcycle should remain with each responsible adult rider.”

It is true that wearing a helmet does nothing to prevent accidents. However, it is also true that in the event of an accident, a biker wearing a helmet is more likely to survive a head injury, and will have less brain injury than a biker not wearing a helmet. It’s like saying steel-toed shoes won’t prevent warehouse accidents–true, but they will protect your toes should something fall on your foot.

According to a recent report by the Insurance Journal, Delaware (the only state included in the report) saw deaths from motorcycle crashes increase by more than 300% in the past year, compared with the previous year. Of those deaths, 80% occurred when riders were not wearing helmets.

At HensonFuerst, we have seen the aftermath of severe head and brain injury caused by auto and motorcycle wrecks, and we have represented and consoled many families grieving the loss of a loved one. From our perspective, helmet laws are in place to protect people who might be too short-sighted to recognize the physical damage that can occur after just a split second of poor judgment…or after another motorist causes an accident…or when road conditions become treacherous.

We’re not saying motorcyclists are unsafe–some of the bikers we know are better and safer on the road than many car drivers. We’re saying that protections are needed so that everyone stays as healthy and intact as possible should the worst occur.

To read more about motor vehicle safety, please feel free to visit our website at http://www.lawmed.com/.  If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

As of January 1, 2008, all operators and passengers on motorcycles and mopeds in North Carolina have been required to wear a safety helmet. This helmet law had a single overriding purpose: To protect motorcyclists from severe injury or death in the event of a wreck.

Now, legislators are looking to reverse our successful helmet law. In our opinion, there is no logical reason to eliminate the helmet requirement, and some very important reasons to keep it. First, some background:

We’ve seen a lot of motorcycle injuries; they’re not minor…and they’re not pretty. But we fear that repealing the helmet law will result in more (and more severe) head injuries, an increased likelihood of death, and higher medical costs. Decades of research show that:

• Motorcycle helmets reduce the likelihood of crash fatality by about 37%.
• In the event of a crash, motorcyclists who don’t wear helmets are three times more likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• In states without helmet laws, only about 55% of motorcyclists use a helmet.
• Some states, such as Kentucky and Louisiana, repealed their helmet laws. The result? Motorcycle deaths increased by 50% in Kentucky and 100% in Lousiana.
• Unhelmeted motorcyclists are 3 times more likely to suffer facial fractures, 36 times more likely to suffer skull fractures, and 6 times more likely to suffer severe brain injury.

There is no denying that motorcyclists risk injury every time they venture out of the garage. In hospital emergency departments across the country, doctors and nurses call motorcycles donor-cycles, a reference to the likelihood of a motorcyclist dying young enough to make a good organ donor.

Accidents happen…that’s why we have seatbelt laws, and car seat laws for children, and helmet laws for bicyclists and motorcyclists. Why would we want to repeal a law that saves so many lives?  In our opinion, it makes no sense.

If you agree that motorcycle helmet laws are important to North Carolina, please contact your representative. (You can find a list of contact numbers and email addresses here: NC House of Representatives Members

Resources

To read motorcycle information from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, click here: Important Notice of Changes to NC’s Motorcycle Safety Helmet Law

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Q&A on Motorcycle Helmet Use Laws from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

To read the bill, click here:  House DRH70088-MA-202

And to learn more about your legal options in the event of a motorcycle wreck, visit our website here:  HensonFuerst Attorneys website

This week, two articles published in the medical journal Pediatrics highlight the extremely high cost of motorcycle wrecks for youths ages 12 to 20.

The first study, “Youth Motorcycle-Related Hospitalizations and Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States in 2006,” showed that the number of motorcycle deaths and injuries are increasing for children and young adults. Between 1999 and 2006, there was an 88% increase in motorcycle-related deaths. Among young motorcycle riders who are in a crash, one-third sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Those with TBI were more likely to be discharged to a rehabilitation facility (instead of home), and 24% had long-term TBI-related disability.

The second study, “Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005-2007,” examined how differing helmet laws affect rates of brain injury and death among motorcycle riders ages 12 to 20. The researchers found something unexpected: States that have a youth-specific helmet law have an increased risk of  TBI that required hospitalization, disability, and death. States with a specific <21 law have 38% higher rates of serious TBI than states with universal helmet laws.

What might account for this counterintuitive finding? Perhaps universal helmet laws make adults more likely to remember their child’s helmet when they put on their own. Or it may be that adults who regularly use helmets themselves pay more attention to other aspects of safety while driving a motorcycle. The study just examined the numbers…it didn’t provide answers. However, the study’s authors declare:

Advocates for repealing universal helmet laws often assert that this retains their desire for choice while protecting young adults. This assertion is dubious; with consistent evidence of increased death and serious injury to young adults and minors who are supposed to be protected.

We agree. We have seen first-hand the devastation of traumatic brain injury caused by crashes involving motorcycles. We represent people who have had their lives destroyed by motorcycle wrecks. There is no good reason to subject a young person to risks they cannot control, and which carry such a potentially high price tag.

To read the full studies, click on the titles below:

“Youth Motorcycle-Related Hospitalizations and Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States in 2006″ [Weiss, et al. Pediatrics, November 15, 2010]

“Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005-2007″ [Weiss, et al. Pediatrics, November 15, 2010]

To read more about traumatic brain injury and/or motorcycle wrecks, see our dedicated pages at www.lawmed.com. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

A doctor being charged for second-degree murder for a Raleigh auto accident will have his trial delayed because of a bad indictment.

The doctor was involved in a Raleigh auto accident while under the influence of alcohol.

According to WRAL, the doctor had been driving at a local country club and at a tavern before the Raleigh auto accident.

Read more.

Do you think Raleigh auto accidents that involve alcohol occur too frequently? What do you think law enforcement officials can do to cut back on the number of Raleigh auto accidents that involve alcohol?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Raleigh auto accident, the Raleigh auto accident lawyers at Henson Fuerst Attorneys can help.

A study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that North Carolina auto accidents involving deer statewide have increased steadily, according to ABC 11.

About 90 percent of animal-related crashes within the last three years have involved deer, which have resulted in more than 3,000 injuries to people in North Carolina auto accidents.

Of those North Carolina auto accidents, 17 were fatal, and nearly $127 million in property damage was accumulated.

Read more.

Do you have concerns about hitting deer on the highway? Are there certain parts of the interstate you think deer are most likely to jump out in front of you?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a North Carolina auto accident, the North Carolina auto accident lawyers at HensonFuerst Attorneys can help.

A teen was killed in a Raleigh auto accident.

According to News 11, a school bus hit a car, killing a 14-year-old boy in the Raleigh auto accident.

Other passengers in the car were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following the Raleigh auto accident.

No one on the bus was injured after the Raleigh auto accident, and no charges have been filed so far.

Read more.

Do you trust public transportation to take your children to school? What concerns do you have about public transportation?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Raleigh auto accident, the Raleigh auto accident lawyers at Henson Fuerst Attorneys can help.

Two neighbors, both grandmothers to the same 10-year-old, died in a Raleigh auto accident, according to thetimesnews.com.

The grandmothers’ 10-year-old grandson was riding in the car when it ran off the road and landed in a creek in the Raleigh auto accident.

Read more.

What do you think contributes to most Raleigh auto accidents? What do you think can be done to avoid most Raleigh auto accidents?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Raleigh auto accident, the Raleigh auto accident lawyers at Henson Fuerst Attorneys can help.

A woman was killed in a Raleigh auto accident when a state trooper collided with her vehicle, according to wral.com.

A report determined the woman caused the Raleigh auto accident but that the trooper was to blame because of speed and the fact that he didn’t have his siren on at the time of the Raleigh auto accident.

A child riding in the woman’s car was also killed in the Raleigh auto accident.

Read more.

Do you think state troopers should receive harsher punishments if they’re found to cause Raleigh auto accidents?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Raleigh auto accident, the Raleigh auto accident lawyers at HensonFuerst Attorneys can help.

A man was charged with second-degree murder after the SUV he was driving was involved in a North Carolina auto accident that killed a 17-year-old, according to CharlotteObserver.com.

The man’s Jeep Cherokee was traveling about 60 mph when it crossed the center line of the two-lane road and collided head-on with a 1984 Oldsmobile driven by the teen and caused the North Carolina auto accident.

Alcohol containers were found in the North Carolina man’s Jeep after the North Carolina auto accident.

Read more.

Do you think North Carolina auto accidents involving alcohol are a growing issue? Do you think teens are more vulnerable to North Carolina auto accidents involving alcohol?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a North Carolina auto accident, the North Carolina auto accident lawyers at HensonFuerst Attorneys can help.

A man is being accused of drunk driving and causing a Raleigh auto accident, according to WTVD.

He is facing DWI and child abuse charges for leaving the scene of a Raleigh auto accident.

Officers say his two children were in the car at the time and were not properly strapped into their safety seats. The man told officers he had taken two shots of rum and a valium before the Raleigh auto accident.

Read more.

What are your thoughts about how DWI offenders are charged after Raleigh auto accidents? How do you think Raleigh auto accidents involving alcohol can be prevented?

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Raleigh auto accident, the Raleigh auto accident lawyers at Henson Fuerst Attorneys can help.