Practice Area
Los Angeles
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Riders get hurt worse and get blamed more. The adjuster's file often starts from the assumption that the motorcyclist was speeding, splitting lanes recklessly, or "came out of nowhere." The job in a motorcycle case is to replace that assumption with evidence. Here is how California law treats these claims, and how I build them.
The short answer
Lane splitting is legal in California, and a rider who was lane splitting is not automatically at fault. Not wearing a helmet violates California law, but it only affects a claim to the extent it contributed to a head injury; it has no bearing on a broken leg. Fault is divided by percentage under pure comparative negligence, and the most common serious motorcycle collision, a car turning left across the rider's path, is usually the turning driver's fault. Injury claims must generally be brought within two years.
The bias problem, and what to do about it
Insurance adjusters, and later jurors, carry assumptions about motorcyclists. The adjuster reads a police report that says the driver "did not see the motorcycle" and treats that as a description of the rider's fault rather than the driver's failure to look. That bias has a price: it shows up as a higher fault percentage assigned to you and a lower offer.
The answer is not to argue about it. It is to make the file so specific that the assumption has nowhere to go: the driver's sight lines, the rider's position in the lane, the speed analysis from the damage and the rest positions, the witness who saw the car turn without signaling, the intersection camera footage pulled before it was overwritten. Riders' cases are won on detail.
How motorcycle crashes happen
- Left-turn collisions. A car turns left across the rider's path at an intersection or into a driveway. This is the most common serious motorcycle crash, and under California law a driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic close enough to be a hazard.
- Lane changes into the rider. A driver merges without checking the mirror or blind spot.
- Rear-end collisions. Even a low-speed rear impact throws a rider from the bike.
- Dooring. A parked driver opens a door into a rider's path. California law puts the duty on the person opening the door.
- Road hazards. Potholes, gravel, uneven pavement, and debris that a car would drive over can put a motorcycle down. When the hazard is a public road, the claim is against a government entity with its own short deadline.
- Hit and run. Shifts the claim onto your own uninsured motorist coverage.
Lane splitting, helmets, and what they actually mean for fault
Lane splitting
California expressly permits lane splitting, and the California Highway Patrol publishes safety guidelines for it. Riding between lanes is not a violation, and a rider who was splitting lanes is not presumed to be at fault. Expect the adjuster to argue that the rider was going too fast for conditions or split where it was unsafe. Those are arguments about the specific facts, and they are answered with the specific facts.
Helmets
California requires every rider and passenger to wear a helmet. If you were not wearing one, the insurer will raise it. What it can legally argue is narrower than what it will say: the lack of a helmet is relevant only to injuries a helmet would have prevented or reduced, meaning head and facial injuries. It has nothing to do with fault for the collision itself, and nothing to do with a broken wrist, a shattered femur, or road rash. If you were wearing a helmet, keep it. It is evidence of the impact.
Who is liable
California uses pure comparative fault. Responsibility is divided by percentage, and your recovery is reduced by your share rather than barred by it. In a motorcycle case the fault fight is usually the whole case, because the injuries are rarely in dispute.
The turning or merging driver is the usual defendant. Depending on the facts, responsibility may also reach a driver's employer if the driver was working, a government entity for a dangerous road condition, a rideshare company's coverage if the driver was on the app, or a parts or motorcycle manufacturer where a mechanical failure caused the crash.
Coverage for riders
Motorcycle injuries are expensive and the at-fault driver's policy is often at the state minimum. Finding coverage beyond that policy is where much of the recovery comes from.
- Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, on your motorcycle policy and possibly on an auto policy you or a household member holds.
- The driver's employer's commercial policy, if the driver was working.
- Umbrella coverage above the driver's auto policy.
- Medical payments coverage, which pays early regardless of fault.
Reading policy layers and finding coverage that is not volunteered is the part of this work I came to injury law already knowing how to do. I check every case for every layer.
What a claim may include
- Medical
- Emergency care, surgery, hardware, skin grafts, rehabilitation, and future treatment. Road rash and fractures often need more care than people expect.
- Lost income
- Time off work and reduced earning capacity where the injury is permanent.
- Pain and suffering
- Physical pain and what the injury took from your life, including riding.
- Property
- The motorcycle, and your helmet, jacket, gloves, and other gear, which is regularly forgotten and adds up.
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Recognized separately in California, and significant in motorcycle cases.
Deadlines
- Injury claims
- Two years from the date of the collision.
- Property damage
- Three years.
- Road hazard or government vehicle
- Six months to file a written government claim.
- UM/UIM claims
- Governed by your own policy's notice and demand terms, which can be shorter than the statute.
How I handle a motorcycle case
I start with the physical evidence, because the fault fight is decided there: the police report and any diagram, the damage to both vehicles, the rest positions, camera footage from the intersection and nearby businesses before it is overwritten, and any witness who saw the car move. Then coverage, on every policy that might respond. Then the case follows your treatment.
- You deal with me. No case manager between us; I review your records and take your calls.
- I build the file as if it will be tried, because that is what makes an adjuster's bias expensive for the carrier. When a case needs a courtroom, it gets one.
- No attorney fee unless there is a recovery. The fee and case costs are written down before any work begins.
Motorcycle accident questions
I was lane splitting when I was hit. Do I still have a claim?
Yes. Lane splitting is legal in California, and a rider who was splitting lanes is not presumed to be at fault. The insurer will argue you were going too fast or splitting where it was unsafe. Those are fact questions, and they are answered with evidence about speed, position, and what the driver did.
I wasn't wearing a helmet. Does that ruin my case?
No. Not wearing a helmet is relevant only to injuries a helmet would have prevented or reduced, meaning head and facial injuries. It does not affect who was at fault for the collision and has no bearing on injuries to the rest of your body.
The driver says they never saw me. Whose fault is that?
Usually the driver's. Drivers have a duty to look before turning or changing lanes, and 'I didn't see the motorcycle' describes a failure to look, not a defense. The adjuster will try to treat it as the rider's fault, which is why the physical evidence and any camera footage matter so much.
What if the driver who hit me is uninsured or underinsured?
Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply, on your motorcycle policy and sometimes on an auto policy held by you or a household member. Employer, umbrella, and rideshare policies may also respond depending on what the driver was doing.
What is my motorcycle case worth?
It depends on the injuries, the treatment, whether anything is permanent, lost income, how fault is likely to be divided, and how much coverage can be reached. Anyone quoting a number before seeing records and coverage is guessing. What I can do on the first call is tell you what the claim likely involves and what would change it.
Should I fix or sell the motorcycle?
Not yet. The bike is evidence of the impact speed and angle. Photograph it thoroughly and do not let it be repaired, salvaged, or discarded until a lawyer has confirmed it has been documented.
No cost, no obligation
Find out where you stand.
Tell me what happened and I will give you an honest read on the claim, including whether you need a lawyer at all.