Motorcycles give you the freedom to enjoy the open road without the confines and restrictions of a car. Unfortunately, a motorcycle also exposes you to a higher risk of accidents that result in serious injuries. After a motorcycle accident, you might be unable to work while you also have high medical bills. You shouldn’t have to suffer these losses or pay these bills when another driver is at fault.
At Fisher & Talwar, we are ready to defend your rights as a motorcycle rider and get you the compensation you deserve. When a driver’s error causes an accident, they should pay the costs. At Fisher & Talwar, we have helped many people in your situation to get compensation for their injuries. Contact us today for a free initial consultation to learn how we can help you.
Defend Your Rights After a Motorcycle Accident
People have many misconceptions about motorcycle accidents. They are more likely to assume that the motorcyclist was driving too fast or too aggressively. However, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), the most common primary factor in motorcycle crashes with other vehicles is that the driver of the other vehicle failed to see the motorcyclist. The second most common cause is that the other vehicle driver made a bad decision.
We know that if you were hurt in an accident with another driver, it is more likely that it’s the other driver’s fault. We are prepared to fight misconceptions to get you the compensation you deserve when another driver caused your accident.
If you were hurt while riding a motorcycle, hire a qualified lawyer immediately. Otherwise, misconceptions about and bias against motorcycle riders will lead to lower settlement offers and make it hard for you to get compensation for your injuries.
Compensation Available for Motorcycle Accident Victims
After a motorcycle accident, you can get compensation for all the negative impacts of the accident. This can include:
- Medical bills, including:
- Emergency medical treatment, including ambulance fees
- Hospital bills
- Physical therapy
- Psychological counseling
- Cosmetic surgery for disfigurement
- Prosthetics for lost limbs
- Lost wages, including:
- Missed work
- Diminished earning ability
- Long-term disability expenses, including:
- Medical equipment such as wheelchairs
- Changes to your home, such as a wheelchair ramp
- Hired help around the house for work you can’t do
- Damaged property, such as your motorcycle
- Noneconomic damages, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of lifestyle enjoyment
- Disfigurement
- Wrongful death
The exact compensation available in your case will depend on the specifics of your situation. It will also depend on how much money the responsible parties have, including their insurance, and how much you were responsible for your accident (see “comparative negligence” below).
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
The most common primary factor in motorcycle accidents is that a car driver failed to see the motorcycle. The second most common primary factor in motorcycle accidents is that the driver made a bad decision that led to the accident.
What scenarios are the most common for motorcycle accidents? Here are the ten most common sequences of events for motorcycle accidents involving more than one vehicle, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB):
- Vehicle turns left in front of motorcycle
- Motorcycle tries to avoid vehicle and falls on the road
- Vehicle sideswipes motorcycle
- Vehicle turns in front of motorcycle when traveling opposite directions
- Motorcycle impacts rear of vehicle
- Vehicle makes a U- or Y-turn in front of motorcycle
- Motorcycle overtaking vehicle when it turns right
- Vehicle impacts the rear of motorcycle
- Motorcycle overtaking vehicle when it turns left
- Motorcycle turns left in front of vehicle
Although this list includes both errors by the motorcyclist and the vehicle driver, vehicle driver errors are much more common. For example, a vehicle is 15 times more likely to cause an accident by turning in front of a motorcycle than the other way around.
Proving Negligence After a Motorcycle Accident
In order to get compensation from other drivers with a personal injury claim, you need to establish four elements of negligence:
- Duty of care: In order to be liable for your injuries, a person must have a duty of care toward you. That means that they have a responsibility to take your safety into account in their actions. Under California law, every driver or rider has a duty of care to everyone else on the road.
- Breach of duty: This is when someone’s actions don’t align with their duty of care. They act in a way that puts other people at risk, such as turning in front of a motorcycle driver. The breach can be either because they weren’t paying attention or because they made a decision that didn’t weigh the safety of the people around them.
- Causal link: You have to establish that the accident was responsible for injuries or damaged property. This is why it’s vital to get medical care immediately after a motorcycle accident – it can help you link your injuries to the accident. It is normal for insurance companies to argue that your injuries were pre-existing at the time of the accident.
- Significant damages: Finally, you have to demonstrate that you have significant damages related to the accident. This can include both economic damages (such as medical bills, lost wages, and property damage) and noneconomic damages (such as emotional distress, diminished quality of life, and ongoing trauma). In addition, you might be granted punitive damages if the conduct of someone in the accident was so egregious that the court feels punishing the conduct will deter future problems.
An experienced motorcycle accident attorney knows how to make the link between these different elements to establish this in court. Most of the time, your motorcycle accident case won’t need to go to court, but if there is an obvious weakness in any part of this chain, the party responsible for your accident will make very low offers because they don’t think you can win a judgement in court. A motorcycle accident attorney with a record of success can convince them of the opposite: they will make higher offers to avoid ending up in court.
Comparative Negligence in Motorcycle Accidents
People often ask: “Can I sue if I was partly responsible for my accident?” Yes. Under California’s comparative negligence system, you are allowed to bring a claim against someone who caused you harm, even if you are partly responsible for the harm you suffered. However, the amount of compensation you receive will be reduced by the degree to which you are responsible.
Consider a situation where a large SUV turns slowly in front of you, but you are distracted and don’t notice as quickly as you should. You try to apply the brakes, but a manufacturing defect in the brakes reduces their efficiency, so you are unable to stop before striking the large SUV. The court might decide that the SUV driver is 50% responsible for the accident, while the manufacturer responsible for the quality of the brakes is 40% responsible, and you are 10% responsible. In this situation, you would be able to get compensation for 90% of your damages: 50% from the other driver (or their insurance company) and 40% from the motorcycle manufacturer.
What to Do If You Are Involved in an Accident
Once an accident happens, your actions can significantly influence your ability to get compensation for your injuries. Here’s a quick breakdown on what you should and should not do after your motorcycle accident:
Do:
- If possible, move to a safe location out of traffic.
- Dial 9-1-1 for emergency response if anyone is injured.
- Call local police for minor accidents.
- Give a basic, factual account of the events to the police. Don’t talk about your motives or emotional state. Don’t guess at other drivers’ motives or emotional states.
- Obtain names, insurance information, and contact information from all drivers.
- Get the vehicle identification number and license plate number for all drivers. Make sure the insurance information matches the vehicles.
- Use your camera phone to document the scene, including injuries, damage to vehicles, road conditions, and any skid marks.
- Get contact information from any witnesses.
- Notify your insurance company within 72 hours (or other period noted on your policy)
- Get medical care, even if you don’t think you’re injured.
- Notify the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days if the accident resulted in injuries and/or $750.00 of property damage.
- Contact a motorcycle accident attorney.
- Discuss the accident with anyone other than the police officer at the scene.
- Make accusations or apologies at the accident scene.
- Refuse or delay medical attention.
- Post accident details on social media – a brief note letting friends and family know about the accident is enough.
- Give recorded statements to insurance companies or adjusters until you’ve spoken to an attorney.
- Skip any of the “do” items above. These are all essential to protecting your rights.
Following this guidance will help you get the compensation you’re due after your motorcycle accident. If you miss any of the steps or make a mistake, don’t give up. Your lawyer can help you make the most of the situation. Often, minor mistakes will make little difference in the final outcome once you start working with a motorcycle accident lawyer.
How We Can Help
At Fisher & Talwar, we have helped many people get compensation for their accident injuries, winning settlements and verdicts for millions of dollars. Not only that, but we’ve helped victims navigate the complexities of life after an accident, when little money is coming in and numerous bills need to be paid.
Here’s how we can help you:
- A free consultation to answer all your questions. Even if we can’t help you, we can direct you to someone who can.
- We will come to your home or hospital room to work with you while you recover.
- Help you get medical care with medical liens that postpone payment until after you get compensation.
- Help you put bills on hold whenever possible. Sometimes we can negotiate payments for a fraction of the total cost.
- Investigate your case. We will collect evidence, including getting camera footage from the area that might document what really happened.
- Assemble experts who can testify about technical aspects of the case. This is especially important if vehicle or road defects contributed to your accident. It can also help if the other driver or their insurance company disputes your account of events.
- Build a complete picture of your losses, both economic and non-economic losses, to help you get the maximum compensation appropriate in your case.
- Take on anyone responsible for your accident. No one is too big, not a motorcycle manufacturer, not a trucking company, and not a government entity like the State of California.
- Fight all the way to court if you’re not satisfied with the offers you’re getting.
From start to finish, we will be here to support you throughout the process.
Why Choose Fisher & Talwar as Your Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
There are many law firms that want your business. However, consider Fisher & Talwar because of the benefits we offer:
- Personal attention: When you work with us, you know that your case will be handled by one of our partners. We never take more cases than we can handle personally, and we won’t take your case unless we think you will get more money working with us than you would on your own or with another attorney. Taking a smart case load means we never have to hand your case off to a less-qualified attorney – one you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself.
- A record of success: We’ve recovered millions of dollars for our clients, including $6 million in one case, $4 million in another case, $3 million in a third, and numerous other multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. This record of success has earned us the respect of insurance companies and other opponents, so they will take your claim seriously.
- No win, no fee: We will take your case on a contingency basis. That means we don’t collect a fee unless we win money for you. You and your family are going through a lot right now – you don’t need additional bills until you have money to pay them.
- No expenses, ever: In addition to their fees, many lawyers pass their expenses on to their clients. This means that if they win your case, you will pay both their fee and additional expenses that you didn’t count on. Sometimes, it might mean that you have to pay for expenses even if they don’t win your case. With Fisher & Talwar, we cover our expenses as part of our fee. Our fees might seem a little higher up front, but there are no surprises, and you won’t be stuck with a bill if we don’t win your case. Always ask a potential lawyer how they handle expenses and fees.
When you consider these benefits, we are confident that you will choose Fisher & Talwar as your Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorneys.
Contact Us Today for a Free Consultation
When you were hurt in a motorcycle accident due to someone else’s negligence, you shouldn’t be stuck with the bills. Let Fisher & Talwar put the law to work for you and get you the compensation you deserve. Please contact us today for a free initial consultation. It’s completely confidential, and there’s no obligation.
Free ConsultationMotorcycle Accident FAQ
In your claim, you can seek economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages are those with a direct monetary value: hospital bills, property damage, and lost wages, for example. Noneconomic damages are those that aren’t easily assigned a monetary value, but are still real, such as pain and suffering, diminished quality of life, and disfigurement.
Yes, but you might not get as much compensation. Since California law requires that all riders wear a helmet, failure to do so can be considered contributory negligence. Under California’s comparative negligence system (see above), this can reduce your compensation for injuries where a helmet is proven to reduce a rider’s risk (including wrongful death).
If you were driven off the road by an unidentified driver, your injuries would be covered by your uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage. Sometimes, though, your insurance company might dispute the existence of another driver. A skilled motorcycle accident attorney can help you fight for the compensation you are due, as well as potentially find evidence to help identify the driver.
Sometimes, we might be able to get additional compensation if we can show that your insurance company was acting in bad faith when they disputed your account of events.
It isn’t always necessary to hire a motorcycle accident attorney. If your injuries were minor – and are fully healed, you didn’t miss any work beyond your saved-up PTO, and the property damage was below your deductible, it doesn’t make sense to work with a motorcycle accident attorney. However, if your injuries were serious and are still being treated, you should talk to someone who understands what your total damages are likely to be. If you have missed work, have extensive property damage, or have other significant expenses, a motorcycle injury lawyer can help you recover more for damages.
If an attorney offers a free consultation, though, there’s no risk in talking to one. If you don’t know whether an attorney makes sense in your situation, it’s best to make the call.
Lane splitting is legal in California, and won’t stop you from getting compensation after a motorcycle accident.
Insurance companies love to use the inherent bias against motorcycle riders to avoid paying them what they are owed. This is one of their favorite tricks. With the help of an experienced motorcycle accident attorney, you may be able to show that you weren’t fully responsible for your injuries. In addition, an attorney may be able to get you additional compensation if they can show that an insurance company was acting in bad faith when they rejected your claim on this basis.
In most situations, you have up to two years to file a personal injury claim, which includes motorcycle accidents. However, if you are making a claim against a government agency, you have a much shorter window: just six months after the accident.
No matter how much time you have, it’s smart to start the claims process as soon as possible. Evidence in your case can begin to disappear immediately, making it harder to get compensation with each passing day.