Motor Vehicle Collision Lawyer Serving the Los Angeles Area

Seeking Compensation for Injuries in a Motorcycle Accident

If you are injured on a motorcycle due to a collision with a larger vehicle, you most likely will need to prove the negligence of the other driver to recover compensation. You would try to establish the driver’s duty toward you to use reasonable care, the driver’s failure to live up to this duty, causation, and damages. A driver’s breach of duty may consist of numerous different acts and omissions, including driving while distracted, drunk driving, driving while fatigued, or failing to obey traffic rules, such as yielding the right of way.

When a driver violates a safety rule, and this violation is the cause of your accident, you may be able to establish negligence per se. This theory is also known as negligence as a matter of law, and it applies when a defendant violated a safety rule, the violation caused the plaintiff’s injuries, the plaintiff is the type of person that the rule was intended to protect, and the accident was the type of event that the rule was meant to avert. For example, if your loved one was killed on a motorcycle because a truck driver violated hours of service regulations or ran a red light, you may be able to allege negligence per se. In general, if negligence per se applies, the primary issue in a lawsuit becomes the scope of the compensation that the defendant must pay.

In some cases, motorcycle accidents are the result of dangerous property conditions rather than another driver’s negligence. For example, a motorcyclist driving through an unmarked construction zone may be seriously injured by the uneven pavement. In a premises liability case, a motorcyclist must establish that there was a dangerous condition about which the property owner knew or should have known, and the property owner failed to take steps to correct the condition or provide warnings. If the owner of the road is the government, there is a much shorter window of time within which to provide notice to the government of your claim, so you should consult an attorney right away.

Forms of compensation that commonly may be recovered if you establish a defendant’s negligence include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, medical bills, lost income, and the costs of future treatment, among others.

Discuss Your Motorcycle Accident Case with a Los Angeles Attorney