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The California Office of Traffic Safety provides that motorcycle accidents have caused injury to 545 individuals in Sacramento County in 2018. With motorcycle accidents prevalent in Northern California, many injured motorcyclists find insurance companies readily deny claims or offer meager settlements. Motorcycle accident victims should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer to aggressively pursue their claim or lawsuit to level the playing field. An organized motorcycle accident attorney can leverage their experience, education, and resources to fight the insurance company and secure optimal compensation for damages.
I help clients secure financial compensation for their injuries. Specifically, I help injured clients recover compensation from insurance companies, negligent drivers, and other liable parties.
The first step to financial recovery is a free consultation. Call my office at (916) 270-6880 Monday – Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM to learn more about your personal injury rights and damages.
The basic allegation in a motorcycle accident lawsuit is that the at-fault driver is negligent. More specifically, the at-fault driver did not act with the same level of care a reasonably prudent driver would have exercised under similar circumstances. In California, to be successful in a negligence lawsuit, five (5) elements must be established: duty, breach of that duty, causation, proximate causation, and injury.
Anyone who uses the road must use reasonable care to protect himself and others. The duty of safety to oneself and others applies not only to drivers but also to pedestrians, motorists, bicyclists, and passengers. Hence, a plaintiff or victim who fails to do this is deemed negligent and liable for his injuries. Defendants must show that the plaintiff caused the accident; otherwise, the defendant cannot use comparative negligence as a defense.
The doctrine of comparative negligence essentially allocates fault between the plaintiff and the defendant in a motorcycle accident based on the degree of their negligence or fault that contributed to the accident. The assigned blame limits the amount of damages that a plaintiff may recover. If a court finds that the motorcyclist was 30 percent negligent and the other driver 70 percent at fault, the motorcyclist may only be compensated 70 percent of the damages.
(a) A “motorcycle” is a motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground.
(b) A motor vehicle that has four wheels in contact with the ground, two of which are a functional part of a sidecar, is a motorcycle if the vehicle otherwise comes within the definition of subdivision (a).
(c) A farm tractor is not a motorcycle.
(d) A three-wheeled motor vehicle that otherwise meets the requirements of subdivision (a), has a partially or completely enclosed seating area for the driver and passenger, is used by local public agencies for the enforcement of parking control provisions, and is operated at slow speeds on public streets, is not a motorcycle. However, a motor vehicle described in this subdivision shall comply with the applicable sections of this code imposing equipment installation requirements on motorcycles.
