Long Beach Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

Although all vehicle-related accidents have the potential to result in serious injuries, our Long Beach motorcycle accident lawyers can express with certainty that collisions involving motorcyclists are often especially devastating, as motorcyclists do not have the benefit of the protections offered by seat belts and airbags. Furthermore, motorcyclists are forced to suffer the full and direct impact of a collision, unlike motorists who have several thousand pounds of vehicle between them and the road.

Because the injuries in motorcycle accidents tend to be so serious, many victims are left struggling to pay thousands of dollars worth of medical bills, while also being forced to take time off from work. In some tragic cases, riders even lose their lives as a result of the severity of their accident-related injuries. To ensure that you have the best possible chance of recovering compensation for your motorcycle accident, please contact one of our dedicated Long Beach personal injury attorneys today.

CAUSES OF MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS IN LONG BEACH

Like any car accident, motorcycle accidents can have several causes, but most are the result of one of a few specific actions, including:

• Improper lane changes by motorists who fail to use their turn signals drift into another lane, or change lanes without warning;
• Distracted driving, which is the cause of most rear-end collisions involving motorcycles;
• Opening a car door while parked on the side of the road without checking for nearby riders, who could easily come into contact with the door in what is referred to as a dooring accident;
• Failing to properly yield in an intersection, can result in side-impact crashes or head-on collisions, both of which can be deadly for motorcyclists; and
• Failing to properly maintain roadways or to repair potholes, uneven road surfaces, or broken asphalt.

Who is held liable for accidents resulting from this type of behavior depending on the circumstances of the case? Cities and government agencies, for example, can be held liable for failing to properly maintain the roadways in their area, while negligent drivers who violate traffic laws or fail to drive reasonably can be required to compensate injured motorcyclists for their losses.

Who is Liable for a Motorcycle Accident in Long Beach, CA?

Unfortunately, negligent parties and insurance companies often try to blame injured motorcyclists for a crash. People often view bikers as reckless and dangerous individuals who take unnecessary risks on the roads. This is simply untrue. The parties who are most commonly found at fault for a motorcycle crash are as follows:

• Negligent drivers: Many studies have shown that the vast majority of motorcycle accidents are caused by negligent drivers of passenger vehicles. Drivers simply do not watch for bikers the way they should, and they can even become aggressive when around them and not respect a biker’s right to use the roadway.
• Manufacturers: Motorcycles are made up of many moving parts, and they are all critical to ensuring the bike is safe and functions properly. When any bike or part of a bike, such as the brakes or tires, are defective the manufacturer can be held liable for paying damages to compensate for the biker’s losses.
• Property owners: Property owners are always responsible for making sure their property is safe for others to enter. Property owners must also make sure their premises are safe for motorcyclists. For example, if a hotel owner knew of a large pothole in their parking lot and they did not correct the situation or warn others about it, the hotel owner could be held liable.
• Government entities: Just as private property owners can be held liable for unsafe conditions, so too, can government entities. When roadways are not designed properly, do not have proper signage, or are otherwise defective and cause a crash, the government entity responsible for the property can be held liable.

It is not always easy to determine who was at fault for a motorcycle accident. For example, while it may seem as though a biker is at fault for a crash because they did not stop, it may later be found that the brakes on the bike were defective.

COMMON MOTORCYCLE INJURIES

The injuries sustained by a motorcyclist are wide-ranging, but are often life-threatening or at least require months of rehabilitation. The most common include:

• Compound fractures;
• Amputations;
• Facial fractures;
• Traumatic brain injuries;
• Road rash;
• Severe lacerations;
• Abrasions and contusions;
• Spinal cord injuries; and
• Organ damage.

If you sustained any of these types of injuries in a crash, you could be eligible for compensation. Please call our legal team today to learn more about how we can help.

Compensation Available in Motorcycle Accident Claims

The injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident are serious. They are extremely painful, and they are also incredibly costly to treat. A personal injury claim is meant to compensate you for all of your losses and restore your health as wholly as possible to the same condition it was in before your crash.

The specific damages in your claim will depend on the facts of your case and the actual losses you incurred. Still, some types of damages are more common than others. These are as follows:

• Medical costs, including the costs of transportation to and from doctor’s appointments and treatments
• Loss of income, benefits, bonuses, vacation pay, and sick pay
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage

Tragically, motorcycle accident victims do not always survive the crash. In these cases, loved ones can file a wrongful death claim. Through this type of personal injury claim, relatives of the deceased can claim their losses such as burial and funeral costs, the lost income of the deceased the family depended on, and damages for the loss of the support and companionship of the deceased.

California law also allows for survival claims, which compensate for the losses the deceased incurred before their death, such as their medical expenses. Any damages awarded in survival actions are given to the estate.

PREVENTING MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS

Taking preventive measures to avoid motorcycle accidents is the responsibility of motorists and motorcycle riders. For instance, both types of drivers should be careful to pay attention at all times when driving, even at red lights and in traffic where many collisions between vehicles and motorcycles occur. Creating a crumple zone by pulling over to the side of the lane in which the rider is driving can also go a long way toward preventing collisions.

However, even motorcycle riders who take this precautionary step could still be involved in an accident if a nearby motorist fails to properly check his or her mirrors or doesn’t use a blinker.

CONTACT OUR LONG BEACH MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT LAWYERS NOW

If you were involved in a motorcycle accident and suffered a serious injury, please contact the experienced Long Beach motorcycle crash attorneys at El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers by calling (213) 985-1120 today to learn more about filing a claim against the at-fault party.