Understanding Fault and Liability in MotorcycleAccidents in California
Motorcycle accidents tend to be incredibly devastating for motorcyclists since they have little to shield them from the impact of a crash. If you were injured in a motorcycle accident, you will need to file a claim for your injuries. Since California is an at-fault state, that means the motorist who caused the crash will be responsible for paying the damages. However, it’s not as simple as it seems to recover your money.
Determining Fault in a California Motorcycle Wreck
In some cases, it may be clear who caused a motorcycle accident. For example, you may have stopped at a red light when a car barreled into your motorcycle from behind. Unfortunately, few cases are as obvious, with many of them involving lane changes and left-hand turns.
When it’s hard to immediately determine who caused the accident, an investigation will need to be conducted to look at all the contributing factors. While at-fault laws apply, so do the state’s pure comparative negligence rules, which allow for shared blame.
Even though pure comparative negligence allows a motorcycle accident victim to recover compensation when they are up to 99% at fault, it will diminish the compensation award. The insurance company will investigate and then assign a percentage of fault to all motorists involved in the crash. In the above example of being stopped at a traffic light and hit from behind, it would be hard to assign you blame. Things will take a different turn if you were speeding when a driver made a left-hand turn in front of you.
The insurance company will argue that if you weren’t speeding, the accident wouldn’t have happened. They would then assign you some of the blame in a percentage. In terms of dollar amounts, if your compensation was $100,000 and you were assigned 50% of the fault, you would only receive half of that award, or $50,000.
Motorcyclists often get the brunt of the blame because insurers want to absolve themselves of liability. It is common for riders to be unfairly blamed or be assigned a larger percentage of fault simply because they ride a motorcycle.
How Is Liability Determined in California Motorcycle Accidents?
Determining who is liable requires proving negligence, which has four crucial elements that must be satisfied. The other driver needs to have owed you a duty of care and they breached that duty by way of their actions. This breach needs to be the cause of the accident and it needs to have caused you to sustain damages.
In order to prove negligence and determine liability, investigations and evidence play a vital role. Taking photos and videos at the scene of the crash can show where your motorcycle wound up in relation to the other vehicle. These images can show the extent of damage on your motorcycle as well as any physical injuries.
Calling the police is a crucial step as well since officers will create a police report that details their findings. If the other driver was ticketed for violating traffic laws, this information will appear on the report and provide another piece of evidence for your case. In a majority of motorcycle accidents, motorcyclists sustain serious injuries, even when wearing helmets and protective gear. You may have been transported to the hospital before you could begin taking photos or other steps to protect your rights.
When you suffer severe injuries from a crash on your motorcycle, you need to get help from a Los Angeles injury attorney who can provide the support you need in your case.
Why Injured Motorcyclists Need Legal Representation
The deck is not stacked in your favor when you get into a motorcycle accident, even if you did absolutely nothing to cause it. There is extreme bias towards motorcyclists, and trying to handle your injury claim on your own could cost you the compensation you deserve.
If you sustained major injuries that resulted in expensive medical bills, will need ongoing medical care, and are unable to work due to your injuries, consulting a lawyer is essential. They will be able to calculate the full extent of your damages and prevent you from settling for a sum offered by insurers that falls short of the expenses you’ve incurred.
Being blamed for a motorcycle accident won’t just impact your compensation. It will also affect your insurance premiums, and that’s not something that should happen if you didn’t cause the crash. Talk to a lawyer to find out how to protect yourself from liability after a motorcycle crash.
