Shasta Lake is at the edge of California’s most prized natural features. Residents of Shasta Lake have quick access to some incredible mountain landscapes. For these reasons, it’s obvious why many area drivers enjoy riding motorcycles on local roads. Being a motorcyclist has many benefits, including reducing fuel use while experiencing the open air on California’s world-class highways. However, riding a motorcycle also comes with some severe risks. While most motorcyclists are cautious and attentive on the road, they are very vulnerable in the event of a crash and are likely to suffer serious injuries.

As a Shasta Lake motorcycle accident attorney for over three decades, I’ve seen how these injuries can seriously affect the lives of motorcyclists and the people they love. While these accidents often have devastating consequences, I’ve also been able to help many families recover the total compensation they need to cover their financial and personal losses.

With a population of just over 10,000 people, Shasta Lake is a relatively small community. This means that there generally isn’t much traffic within city limits. However, the city has still seen a fair number of auto accidents. According to data from local authorities such as California Highway Patrol and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, 129 injury-causing vehicle accidents occurred within Shasta Lake between 2008 and 2019. Of these 129 collisions, 11 (or 8.5 percent) involved a motorcycle. These motorcycle accidents resulted in 11 injuries, most of which were not severe and none fatal.

During the same period, there were 855 traumatic motorcycle accidents in Shasta County. These crashes caused 917 injuries and cost another 47 people their lives. These motorcycle accidents tended to be much more severe than other collisions in the area. While non-motorcycle collisions in Shasta County had severe injury and fatality rates of 7.81 and 2.91 percent, respectively, motorcycle crashes were fatal 5.15 percent of the time. They caused severe injuries at a rate of 25.26 percent. These statistics clearly show just how dangerous vehicle accidents are for local motorcyclists.

Motorcycle accidents can happen for a wide variety of reasons. The most common factors include reckless drivers, defective vehicle products, dangerous roads, inclement weather, etc. However, most cases are caused by a negligent party who is either totally or partially at fault for the accident, usually a driver who violates one or more traffic laws. However, other at-fault parties can include vehicle manufacturers that fail to ensure the safety of their product or government entities that do not adequately maintain their roads. In many cases, these negligent parties can be held accountable for the damages caused by accidents. This is accomplished by filing a personal injury claim against the negligent party and/or their insurance company.

If you would like some more information about the most common kinds of motorcycle collisions and what riders can do to avoid injuries, check out this short, informative YouTube video:

Motorcycle collisions are liable to cause a variety of injury types. However, a few particular types of trauma more frequently affect motorcyclists. These include:

• Bone Fractures
• Spinal Cord Injuries
• Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Cervical Sprain
• Road Rash
• Amputation Injuries

All of these injury types have the potential to seriously change your life and, in the worst cases, can even be fatal. Furthermore, recovering from a severe injury is often a physically painful and mentally stressful process that can take months or even years. Usually, crash injuries leave motorcyclists with symptoms that affect them for the rest of their lives.

On top of being difficult physically and mentally, the recovery process is also often costly. Many people who survive motorcycle accidents need ambulance rides, hospital stays, surgeries, medicines, physical therapy, and much more to fully recover. All these can be very costly, and families often wonder how to afford their medical bills. Furthermore, accident injuries can make it difficult or even impossible for crash survivors to perform their jobs, which may result in a sudden, serious loss of income.

The effects of a severe injury often leave crash survivors and their families in a complicated situation. However, by seeking help from an experienced, skilled Shasta Lake motorcycle accident lawyer, survivors can often claim compensation for the total damages they have suffered.

However, injury claims can be very complicated and highly depend on your circumstances. To find out what you may be able to recover from your injuries, it’s best to get in touch with a trustworthy lawyer in your area and speak personally about your case. Because most lawyers offer free phone consultations, there’s nothing to lose by reaching out for the information you need to move forward.

If you or someone in your life was injured during a motorcycle accident, please contact our legal team for free, friendly advice about your case at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400.

Since 1982, our law firm has helped people in Shasta Lake and nearby areas with severe injuries and wrongful death cases. To see how we have been able to help our clients obtain fair payments for injury claims, view our list of settlements and verdicts on our website.

^{Editor’s Note: updated [cha 9.12.23] Photo by Kelly Lacy from Pexels ms cha [cs 901]}