Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Discusses Rider’s Guide to Motorcycle Accident Law, Liability and Safety

In our latest YouTube video and Podcast episode, motorcycle accident lawyer, Andrew Iacobelli, discusses motorcycle accident law, liability and safety.  You can watch the video below or on YouTube now.  

Motorcycle Accidents are different than when two large vehicles collide.  They are treated differently by our firm because they have unique features that are unlike other motor vehicle crashes. 

Introduction to Motorcycle Accidents and Liability
Motorcycles, as we all know, are much smaller vehicles than passenger vehicles or trucks. Motorcycles expose the rider to far less protection. Injuries from motorcycle accidents tend to be more severe. There's a far higher likelihood of a fatality. And then there are also specific issues that come up in motorcycle accidents with respect to liability.
Liability is just a legal phrase. In layman's terms, it essentially means fault or blame. So in a civil case like we do, we're civil litigators, we need to establish on behalf of our clients that somebody else is at fault for causing the harms and losses. 

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
When it comes to how the motorcycle crash occurred, there are scenarios that we see over and over again that tend to stand out as the most frequent.

Probably number one is vehicles turning in front of an approaching motorcycle. Left turning vehicles, lane changes. Passenger cars and trucks pulling in and out of private driveways. What we often hear from the defendant or the at fault party and sometimes even witnesses is, I didn't see them, they weren't there a moment ago.

And invariably that leads to, the motorcyclist came out of nowhere, the motorcyclist must have been making erratic lane changes, the motorcyclist was speeding. 

Perception and Misjudgment in Motorcycle Crashes
Studies have been done on this and these perceptions and what the studies have often found is that people's perception and recollection, as much as they're trying to be honest and forthcoming, often are wrong. There's a high incidence of this with motorcyclists. 

Because I do this for a living, because I also ride motorcycles myself. I go out of my way to try to be really conscientious of motorcycles on the road and sharing the road with motorcyclists. 

Your mind, your eyes, learn to detect distance, speed, what's safe and unsafe, how much room you have to make a turn, all based on your experiences. And if all of that experience, 80 or 90 percent of the time, is based on a certain sized vehicle, our mind will use that as kind of the benchmark. Most people won't turn in front of the dump truck, even though there's as much distance where they would feel comfortable turning if it was a regular passenger sized vehicle. Because in your mind, the dump truck appears closer than it is because it's a much larger vehicle than what you're used to seeing. The same is true with a vehicle that's much smaller. 

In the case of a motorcyclist approaching, which is much smaller than the passenger vehicle that you're used to, the driver often has the wrong perception and thinks that the motorcycle is further away than it is and thinks that they have more time and more distance than what they actually do. And unfortunately, that error could lead to really serious injuries for a motorcyclist and sometimes death. 

I say this often to people, if you see a motorcyclist approaching, wait, just assume for a moment that the motorcyclist is closer, let the motorcycle clear your path and then commence the turn. In our experience, once you peel back the layers of those initial observations or what people think they saw, sometimes you get independent video recordings from traffic cameras or nearby CCTV or surveillance. We often find that what the witnesses reported is not correct. The motorcyclist wasn't speeding and it was just simply an error in judgment on the part of the car or truck that turned across the path. 

Sound and Speed Perceptions in Motorcycle Incidents
Sound is another feature that can sometimes confuse us. We've come to learn that certain sounds are associated with speed.

There's a saying amongst motorcycle riders that loud pipes save lives. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. But motorcyclists very often believe that. You know, motorcyclists are very conscientious of the risk they're taking every time they get on a bike and they want to often do as much as possible to make themselves safe. And so I think that's another reason why the observers, whether it's the person who crashed into the motorcycle or the independent witness who observed the crash, might also form the impression that the motorcycle was accelerating or speeding in the moments before the crash, again because they're relying on the sound that they heard. 

You know, this is more for people who pass judgment quickly on motorcyclists. Just keep in mind that sometimes what you think you've observed or heard might be misleading you. Your own eyes and ears may actually be misleading you.
 
Legal Nuances in Motorcycle Accident Cases
This leads me to some of the differences with motorcycle cases, because there are these biases, it takes a lawyer that understands these nuances and these differences with motorcycle cases to really investigate, collect the evidence, retain the appropriate experts, whether it's engineers to do accident reconstruction or human factors experts.

Depending on the jurisdictions, helmets may be mandatory or not. Some motorcyclists ride with protective jackets, gloves, and footwear, and some don't. And so insurance companies sometimes will look at the equipment and try to blame part of the injuries on the motorcyclist for failing to take steps to protect themselves with protective gear.

So insurance companies say, "Well, person's not wearing helmets. Had they been wearing a helmet, they wouldn't have been hurt." But very often the insurance companies just point out something without any evidence at all to support it, other than the absence of the safety equipment. But they haven't actually connected the dots.

Would the helmet have actually made a difference in this crash? Would the boots have made a difference? Whatever it might be. In the case of a car accident, they do that with seatbelts. Would it have made a difference? That's really important too, and oftentimes that requires a very detailed analysis of the mechanics of the crash, the mechanics of the occupants, where they traveled, how they moved, what forces were exerted on their body, to see what if any difference it would have made.

In our experience, sometimes where the insurance company's put it out there, the injury would not have been as extensive had the motorcyclist been wearing certain safety equipment, but then when you actually break it down, you realize that the safety equipment would have made no difference in the circumstances, or sometimes very little difference to the ultimate outcome.

That's really important to investigate because it can have a major impact on damages, the amount of money recoverable. Those are some of the factors that we see that are really unique to motorcycle cases. 

Common Motorcycle Injuries and Insurance Claims
Common injuries that we see in motorcycle accidents are head injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries.

It's important to explore the full nature of the injuries because there's lots of motorcyclists that are grateful that they had a close call. They were able to get up and walk away from the scene without breaking a bone, but there are a lot of forces still exerted on the motorcyclist, because they're not a restrained occupant. The reality is the body's gone through a lot of trauma. And so while it may not have broken a bone, there could still be torn muscles, head injuries. 

It's really important for motorcyclists, especially, to take stock and inventory of all of their symptoms, all of their injuries, report all of that to their healthcare providers and get checked out. 

Passenger Rights in Motorcycle Accidents
So what happens if you're a passenger on a motorcycle and you're injured in a crash? As a passenger, you almost always have the right to advance a claim. It's really unlikely that the passenger did anything to cause or contribute to the crash. 

We've represented passengers that were injured sometimes because of the negligence of the motorcycle rider. Sometimes it could be equipment failures, motorcyclists just not maintaining their bike. I've seen blowouts, like tire blowouts, speed and losing control. As a passenger, you can advance a claim against the Operator of the motorcycle, if it was the operator's negligence or fault that caused the accident and injury. And also, if there was another vehicle involved, they can advance claims against all at fault parties.

Safety Tips for Drivers and Motorcyclists
People associate motorcycles with good weather, but in fact, they can be on the road 12 months a year. There are riders that ride motorcycles as a way of life. So for drivers, it's important to pay attention at all times. If you do see a motorcyclist, give them plenty of room, plenty of space. Try not to tailgate motorcycles. You know, it goes a long way. Motorcyclists definitely appreciate courteous drivers. 

​Have Questions? Contact Us Today for a  Free Consultation
If you or a loved one was injured while riding a motorcycle. Feel free to reach out to us. I'm sure you have questions about your rights and remedies. We're happy to talk to you. We provide a free consultation. You can reach our office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, either by calling us on our toll free number or visiting our website.
Thanks for watching and drive safe.

Andrew Iacobelli is an experienced personal injury lawyer who established Iacobelli Law Firm with offices located in Ontario, Canada and Florida, U.S.A. Andrew restricts his practice to the representation of personal injury victims in claims involving serious injuries, Catastrophic Injuries, and wrongful death in Canada and the United States.  Andrew is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and  the author of "Are You a Canadian Injured in the United States? Claim the Damages and Insurance Coverage the Right Way". Andrew also hosts a popular podcast and YouTube channel on the subject of personal injury law and the rights of injury victims. ​