Of the tens of thousands of motorcycle riders who are killed or injured each year, up to 45 percent of them are killed or injured in a single motorcycle accident, in which the motorcyclist collides with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment. In single motorcycle accidents, operator (driver) error is the cause of the accident in about two-thirds of these types of cases. The most common errors in single motorcycle accidents are slideouts and falls due to overbraking, and running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering. Bad weather is not a factor in 98 percent of all motorcycle accidents. If you were riding as a passenger on the motorcycle and get injured in a single motorcycle accident caused by the operator’s carelessness (“negligence”), you have the right to sue the operator for all of the costs and expenses relating to your injuries, including all medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Up to 75 percent of single motorcycle accidents are due to causes other than operator error. A dangerous condition of the roadway is a cause of many single motorcycle accidents. Debris on the road making the motorcyclist swerve suddenly to avoid it is a common type of single motor accidents. Loose gravel on the road that makes it difficult to control the bike, especially while making a turn or negotiating a curve is another cause of single motorcycle accidents. A growing number of single motorcycle accidents take place on rural roads, as such roads are not maintained in good condition as regularly as roads in urban areas. The cause of the accident may be a mechanical defect in the motorcycle, which would give you the right to file a products liability lawsuit against the store that sold you the bike, the distributor of the bike, and the manufacturer.

Suppose you buy a new tire for your motorcycle and a few weeks later while you’re riding down the highway at 55 miles per hour, the tire blows-out or the tread separates because of a defect. You are seriously injured and require months of medical treatment, are unable to work, and are in severe pain and suffering. The police, CHP, or other agency that responds to the accident should be instructed to keep all pieces of the tire so that it can be examined by an expert in tire failure in anticipation of a lawsuit against the store that sold you the tire, the distributor, and the manufacturer of the defective tire.

Almost 60 percent of single motorcycle accidents occur at night, when the operator cannot see a hazard until it is too late to stop or swerve and avoid it. Where there are objects on or next to the roadway, the owner of the property has a duty to mitigate the danger by putting reflective tape or a light on the object.

If, say, you were exceeding the speed limit at the time of the injury, but couldn’t see the danger in the road, this does not necessarily mean that you don’t have a case. When you are partially at fault for the accident, the amount of money you can recover for your injuries and property damage will be reduced by the percent you were careless. For instance, if your speeding was 25 percent responsible for the accident, you are still entitled to recover 75 percent of your injuries and property damage from the other party. This is known in legal terms as the doctrine of  “comparative negligence.”

California law requires that all persons riding on a motorcycle wear a helmet that meets certain federal standards. Statistics show that properly wearing an approved helmet cuts down on the risk of death and head injury to the operator and his or her passenger. However, even though you are wearing an approved helmet, you can still suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI) from the force of the accident and your brain being bounced around. Also, you can still suffer a broken neck (quadriplegia) or back (paraplegia) despite wearing a helmet.

If you were not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, the other party may bring up the doctrine of comparative negligence and use the fact  that you wouldn’t have been hurt as badly if you had been wearing a helmet in an attempt to reduce your recovery. For example, if you suffered a fractured skull and significant brain injury that the other party can prove you would not have suffered had you been wearing a helmet, your award may be reduced accordingly.

If you were injured in a single motorcycle accident due to a dangerous condition of the road, a defective part of a motorcycle, a blow-out of a new tire, or other cause, you may have the right to recover your monetary losses from the other party. Monetary damages you can recover include such things as all of your hospital, doctor, physical therapist, and other medical expenses, your lost wages, your loss of earning potential if appropriate, and property damage not only for your motorcycle but also the clothes you were wearing, along with anything else you had with you that was damaged or destroyed in the accident. You are also entitled to be fully compensated for your pain and suffering and any emotional or mental damages you may have suffered as a result of the incident.

If you have been injured due to dangerous condition of a public road, you will have to seek compensation against the government that owns the road, be it the state, a county, or a city. You need to be aware of the fact that, before you can file a lawsuit against a public entity such as a state, county, or city, you must first file a claim for damages with the appropriate governmental agency within six months of the accident or you will lose your right to sue. An experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to file a claim and the proper government body to submit it to.

If you have been injured or a loved one killed in a single motorcycle accident due to the carelessness of another person or defect in the motorcycle, you should contact an experienced personal injury law firm as soon as possible. When deciding on which attorney or law firm you should hire to represent you, you should be guided by several factors. First of all, you should choose someone with experience in your type of injury. Second, you will want a lawyer or law firm that is competent, able to handle the case. Third, you want a lawyer or law firm with integrity. Fourth, you want to retain a lawyer or law firm that has the highest ethical standards.

It is also important to contact an experienced personal injury law firm promptly, as the law firm may want to send its own investigators to examine the evidence before it is lost or changed. In a single motorcycle accident, the lawyer’s investigator may want to go to the scene of the accident to inspect and take pictures of the damaged motorcycle, the accident site, and any dangerous condition that caused or contributed to the accident, especially before there is a change in the condition of the area or vehicle. Finally, the investigator will want to talk to any and all witnesses to the accident as soon as possible, while the facts are still fresh in their minds. The lawyer will want to have an expert in tire failure examine the remains of the tire to see if the precise defect can be found.

An experienced personal injury law firm can also help with seeing to it that you obtain appropriate and thorough medical care for your physical, emotional, and psychological injuries suffered as a result of the accident. The attorneys in the firm can also do everything possible to ensure that you obtain full compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, property damage, lost wages, and all of your other injuries and damages.

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