Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorney

Many attorneys who handle plaintiffs’ personal injury cases consider a motorcycle accident as just another car accident case. Because they do not recognize or understand the differences between automobile accidents and automobile/motorcycle accidents, they can make serious mistakes in the prosecution in handling of motorcycle injury cases. 

 It is important for an lawyer handling a motorcycle accident case to be aware of the special rules and regulations which apply to the operation of motorcycles. For example, there are attorneys, and even judges, that are unaware of the legal right of motorcycles to “lane-split”. If you are a motorcyclist reading this article, then you will remember the special study you had to do, training you had to receive, and the specialized license that you receive from the Department of Motor Vehicles for the operation of a motorcycle in California. (If you were injured in a motorcycle accident and did not have a motorcycle operator's license, that does not prevent you from recovering from the party responsible for the accident. You should contact a lawyer immediately, though, to assess and protect your rights.) Obviously, an attorney who does not understand the unique aspects concerning the operation of a motorcycle is ill-prepared to handle a case on behalf of an injured motorcyclist.

 Insurance companies are well aware of the differences between an automobile verses automobile accident and an automobile verses motorcycle accident. Unfortunately, there are many biases against motorcyclists. The automobile-driving public has stereotyped biases against motorcyclists, and even more unfairly, police officers often entertain the same biases and will improperly assign blame or fault to a motorcyclists and protect the automobile driver.

 There are many issues that are very unique to a motorcycle injury case. It is common to erroneously assign a high speed to a motorcyclist simply because an uninformed person or witness may hear the changing of gears, or the engine, and they will assume a high rate of speed when in fact the motorcycle is being operated at normal speeds, and even speeds under the speed limit. There are also issues involving calculations of time, distance, and speed which differ for motorcycles compared to cars. Visibility is a key issue that needs to be assessed. 

 Insurance companies, being aware of these differences, will often find ways to blame the motorcyclist for an accident when in fact the motorcyclist is blameless. They have many deceptive practices and allegations that they use to deny claims to injured motorcyclists, and unfortunately an inexperienced lawyer will often not recognize these tactics for what they are, and may give poor advice, or miss crucial issues in a motorcycle injury case. 

 Because of the nature of the collision, it is often true that the only one injured is the motorcyclist. Moreover, because the motorcyclist is being hit by a several thousand pound vehicle the injuries are frequently severe and devastating. Despite what may be suggested to you as a motorcyclist, the fact that you may have been riding a motorcycle, instead of being an occupant in a car, does not mean you deserve your injuries, or that you are entitled to less compensation than what is owed for such injuries. A motorcyclist has every right to operate that motorcycle on the roads in the state of California, and a car driver who negligently operates their motor vehicle and causes injury to that motorcyclist, owes the motorcyclist full compensation for all injuries the motorcyclist suffered as a result of the car driver's actions. In summary, if you are a motorcyclist who has been injured in a collision, you are not a second class citizen, and you should not let the responsible insurance company treat you like one, nor hire an attorney who considers you as one. 

Insurance companies often go to great lengths to try to obtain tape recorded statements from motorcyclists in order to give them some excuse to deny payment of the claim. It is very easy for a motorcyclist to make an innocent mistake in a statement because of the differences in speed and distance capabilities between the vehicles, and under no circumstances should you, as a motorcyclist consent to any recorded statement. In fact, you should not even discuss the facts of the accident with the other side’s insurance company without first having obtained a free consultation from an experienced personal injury attorney who handles motorcycle accident cases.