When following a motorcycle, it's easy for a driver to miscalculate the distance they need in order to safely come to a stop. In the event that the motorcyclist is forced to stop suddenly, the following vehicle could hit the person from behind.
]]> In this type of accident, it's common for the motorcyclist to be thrown from his or her bike. As a result, the person can suffer a variety of injuries, such as: neck and back injuries, shoulder injuries, burns and abrasions, scars, head injuries, and brain injuries.If you are injured in a sudden stop motorcycle accident, the first thing you should do is contact police. While this sounds easy enough, if you are seriously injured, you may need to rely on someone else, such as the other driver or a witness, to call for help.
From there, make sure you receive the appropriate medical treatment.
At our law firm, we know that motorcycle accidents happen for many reasons. We also know how much pain this can cause the victim.
If you need professional assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We can be contacted online or via phone. Either way, you will be in good hands once we connect. It is our job to make sure your rights are protected and that you receive the compensation you deserve.
]]>In this post, we wanted to discuss three brief motorcycle safety tips that can help improve safety for motorcyclists. To learn more about what you can do to reduce your chances of being seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, please read the following post.
]]> Wear a helmetSome riders are reluctant to wear a helmet. They think that a helmet restricts their view and makes it more difficult to see traffic alongside their bike. It is important to note that California requires helmets for all motorcyclists. Should you be injured in a crash and not be wearing a helmet, it may have an impact upon your potential claims.
Be aware of the vehicles around you
Unfortunately, many motorcycle accidents happen because motorists simply are not paying attention to the road. They make a move or lane change that places them directly into your path. In some circumstances, you might not have the ability to react in time to avoid a crash.
You need to pay close attention to other drivers when you are out on the road. If you see another motorist who seems to be distracted or driving aggressively, let that vehicle pass, if possible. A few moments of caution can help you prevent serious injuries.
Realize that any road can be dangerous
There are many freeways throughout Los Angeles, and you know that driving on these roads can sometimes be dangerous. You will have to share the road with vehicles of all different sizes, and they will be traveling at higher rates of speed. If you get into an accident on one of these roads, you stand a very high chance of suffering significant injuries in the crash.
However, side streets in residential areas can be just as dangerous as interstates and freeways. When you come to an intersection of two busy roadways, there is still a chance that you could be hit by another driver.
What to do if injured in a crash
If you are in an accident, you need to reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. An attorney will be able to examine your accident, and determine whether or not you have claims against those who caused the crash. You will receive a clear picture of the value of your case, and your lawyer will be able to negotiate on your behalf with the insurance companies of the other parties.
]]>If you or a loved one have been involved in a motorcycle accident, it is essential to answer a variety of questions. These include but are not limited to:
]]> -- Who was responsible for causing the accident?-- What did the other party do that led to the accident?
-- What types of injuries did you suffer as a direct result of the motorcycle accident?
-- Are you required to inform police if you are involved in a motorcycle accident?
-- Are you in position to receive compensation for injuries and damages?
These types of questions are not always simple to answer, but you should be able to address them over time. Once you collect more information in regards to your accident, it is easier to decide which steps to take next.
Although you never plan on being involved in a motorcycle accident, this could happen at some point in the future. The best thing you can do is wear protective clothing and a helmet every time you take to the road. This can go a long way in preventing serious injuries in the event of a crash.
As you learn more about motorcycle accidents, including answers to common questions, you will be more prepared should you find yourself in this difficult position in Los Angeles.
Source: FindLaw, "Motorcycle Accident FAQ," accessed May 05, 2016
]]>No, it's too restrictive.
]]> Those two dual and polar-opposite perspectives regarding the so-called practice of motorcycle lane-splitting are at least in part what reportedly and summarily stalled a legislative bill regarding that subject last summer in California.We noted the for-one-moment "clear momentum" of Assembly Bill 51 in our July 29, 2015, blog entry, as it seemed poised to sail through the California State Legislature.
And then that momentum abruptly stalled, with the bill's author taking the legislation off the table for its alleged need of further deliberation and potential revision.
And so the matter stands, with no lane-splitting law in effect in California nearly eight months after an enactment seemed to many people to be a nearly done deal.
Is motorcycle lane-splitting and its safety rationale permanently shelved subject matter, or is there a likelihood for the topic to be revisited any time soon?
Persons with a gambling streak might want to bet on the latter, given the clear support that AB 51 had among many state legislators, coupled with strongly supportive conclusions for its enactment that were voiced in a widely cited university safety study.
A recent media article discussing lane-splitting states that legislators "may take up the issue again." As has been often noted, no American state has formally enacted any lane-splitting law, although -- and even in its absence -- the lack of any statutory provision addressing the matter has not stopped legions of California riders from engaging in the practice for many years.
If lane-splitting once again becomes a front-burner issue in California, we'll be sure to keep readers fully apprised of the details.
]]>That being said, there are many motorcyclists who refuse to wear a helmet despite the law. It is often seen as a matter of personal freedom. If you are among this group, you are certainly entitled to your beliefs. But in today's post, we'd like to discuss three reasons why choosing to wear a helmet is the smartest idea any rider can make.
]]> Reason 1: The personal safety benefits are indisputableAccording to the World Health Organization, wearing a motorcycle helmet reduces your risk of severe injury by 70 percent and reduces your risk of death by 40 percent.
Even if you are a skilled and careful rider, you can't control the behavior of other motorists on the road. But you can control your risks of serious injury or death if an accident does occur.
Reason 2: Injury and fatality statistics nationwide are overwhelming
A national analysis of motorcycle crashes from 2009 through 2013 clearly shows the benefits of wearing a helmet. The analysis found that riders who didn't wear a helmet were 2.8 times more likely to be killed in a crash and 1.4 times more likely to suffer serious injury.
In the late 1960s and throughout most of the 70s, nearly every state had a universal helmet law. Since then, many states have chosen to weaken or repeal helmet laws altogether. In states where laws were weakened or repealed, it didn't take long for helmet use to decline and for motorcycle death and injury rates to shoot up accordingly.
Reason 3: Not wearing a helmet could reduce a jury award in a personal injury suit
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident caused by a negligent driver, you will likely be able to seek damages regardless of whether you were wearing a helmet. But the amount of damages you receive could be limited if it is determined that your failure to wear a helmet contributed to the severity of your injuries (but did not cause the accident itself).
Riding a motorcycle can come with a great sense of freedom. But please don't let that freedom cause you to overlook your responsibility to yourself and to those you love. Wearing a helmet is the best way to protect your health and your life.
]]>His bottom-line take: It's going to be far safer than it is now. In fact, Dexter Ford states that bike-related "fatalities and serious injuries are going to fall like unicycles on ice" within the next decade.
]]> Although that's a nice thought, of course, and something that every motorcyclist fervently hopes for, is such a salutary outcome likely?In other words: As much as every rider and traffic safety official fervently wishes for materially reduced accident statistics for motorcyclists and their passengers, is Ford's projection likely to be even remotely accurate?
It certainly could be, of course, given that he bases it largely on progressively evolving safety enhancements being made to both passenger vehicles and motorcycles. Ford specifically refers to things such as accident-avoidance technology and automatic braking and steering capabilities that could become standard features soon in vehicles. A next-generation car, notes Ford, could have capabilities for "looking left and right, forward and back, up and down, all at the same time."
And that would of course bode well for motorcyclists.
The most relevant question to perhaps be posed, though, relates to human shortcomings -- among both passenger vehicle drivers and motorcyclists -- that will always challenge next-step tech developments. Those assists will almost certainly help to reduce adverse road outcomes involving motorcyclists, but they will always be pitted against human limitations (read distracted driving, especially).
A flat reality regarding motorcycles is that they are comparatively small conveyances, don't offer much protection at all for their drivers, and are routinely disrespected by many drivers of passenger vehicles. Unless the day comes when drivers entirely relinquish the wheel to robotic-type forces operating their cars and passenger trucks, human error will continue to be a catalyst in large numbers of accidents that seriously hurt and kill motorcyclists in California and nationally.
]]>While a helmet is surely better than no helmet, new technology could have people asking: Is a so-called "smart helmet" better than the traditional head gear? Reuters reports that a new option in motorcycle safety gear will be available for purchase this holiday season that was designed by a motorcyclist himself.
]]> After having a survived a motorcycle accident, the inventor of the helmet Marcus Weller, had a dream that inspired him to work toward the creation of a helmet that gives riders "eyes on the back of their heads." Essentially, that is what the camera/viewing system of the helmet does. Riders will have no blind spots with the helmet and, therefore, have a higher chance of avoiding the unseen conditions that tend to cause accidents day-to-day.Safety gear is a crucial component of rider safety, but an even more crucial component that no safety gear can prevent is others' bad driving. Even a smart helmet can't make a smart driver out of someone who fails to see that a motorcyclist is turning or has the right of way.
By all means, riders should go ahead and wear the gear that makes them feel safe. No matter the kind of helmet they wear, they can still be injured in a collision with another motor vehicle. When that happens, it is a victim's right to pursue the compensation they need to move on after a crash.
Source: Reuters, "Smart helmet gives you eyes on the back of your head," Ben Gruber, Nov. 12, 2015
]]>Intuitively, most of our readers know immediately that asking for that right is not something that drivers of mammoth-sized 18-wheel trucks routinely request.
]]> Indeed, drivers sitting up high and behind the wheel of tractor-trailers and other ultra-sized commercial vehicles on Southern California freeways and interstates typically just assume their roadway dominance.In other words, when a trucker wants to changes lanes, he or she, well, often just changes lanes.
That "I know I'm paramount out on the road" attitude is far from being equally shared by another select group of riders in California, namely, motorcyclists, who are at the other spectrum of size and girth as they negotiate their comparatively -- and, thus, vulnerable -- vehicles through traffic in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.
We note on our Motorcycle Lane Change Accidents website page an especially alarming reality for many bikers, namely, the sudden potential for a larger vehicle to unexpectedly swerve over into a lane occupied by a motorcyclist.
In many instances, and irrespective of how quick a biker's reflexes might be, there is nothing that can be done to avoid being struck and injured.
Such accidents happen all the time, and despite the various excuses offered up by drivers in larger vehicles for striking motorcyclists, there is one predominant reason underlying such a result: negligence.
For obvious reasons, motorcyclists who are sideswiped on the road often suffer severe injuries. Many see their bikes totally destroyed, suffer downtime at work, have huge medical expenses and a need for follow-up rehabilitative therapy, and deal with numerous other accident-related exactions.
Those bikers have legal rights that can be pursued against negligent drivers and insurance companies.
Our firm has long-tenured and proven experience helping them gather relevant evidence and pursue remedies that fully compensate them for their injuries and crash-related costs.
We welcome readers' online visits and the opportunity to respond to their questions and concerns.
]]>Without doubt, there is no seasoned motorcyclist anywhere in California who couldn't stand up at a safety-related venue and readily recount an instance -- likely, multiple instances -- where he or she had a very close encounter with the pavement because of the flat-out negligent driving of a motorist in a passenger vehicle.
]]> That is just a given and a fact-of-the-road reality that every motorcyclist lives with. Sadly, it is also of course a reality that regularly results in the fatalities of California motorcycle riders, as well.Here's a baseline premise regarding licensed California drivers: Every motorist who is duly credentialed to drive in the state is assumed to be reasonably competent.
Impliedly, that means that drivers' eyes should be sufficiently focused on the road to see everything that is important. That includes bicyclists, walkers, babies in carriages, stray animals -- and, of course, motorcyclists.
It is never excusable for a driver to offer up a defense that he or she "didn't see the motorcycle." Negligence is negligence, and it can never be discounted.
We note on the Motorcycle Intersection Accidents page of our website at the Los Angeles personal injury law firm of Scott J. Corwin that motorcyclists are frighteningly vulnerable to the bad driving behaviors of other motorists, especially at intersections.
Negligent drivers offer up countless excuses seeking to justify deficient skills and to shield themselves from liability against the injuries that their substandard driving inflicts upon bikers.
We hold them accountable, with our premise being that licensed motorcyclists driving responsibly have just as much right to the road as anyone else.
Motorcyclists injured through third-party driving negligence have a legal right to compensation. That is an important right to pursue to help defray accident-related expenses and to help convey a message that unprincipled -- and often glaringly bad -- driving behaviors are flatly unacceptable on California roadways.
]]>It is sad to note that, when fatal motorcycle crash statistics are extrapolated across a calendar year, California motorcyclists are dying at a rate that far exceeds one rider every day.
]]> And what is worrying to safety officials and advocates is that fatality numbers are trending in the wrong direction. According to the state Office of Traffic Safety, 447 riders died in crashes in the state in 2012. In 2013 (the most recent year for which relevant numbers can be gleaned), that number rose to 453.Such numbers are obviously worrisome. What might be centrally contributing to them?
Economic constraints continue to pose tough challenges for many people, of course, and some commuters looking to save money might be opting for the comparatively cheap conveyance provided by a bike. At the same time, a general economic rebound has put more motorists of passenger vehicles back behind the wheel.
Simply put, the single variable of more traffic out on the roads can be a directly contributing factor in some accidents.
Accident statistics similarly show an upward spiking trend in fatal outcomes involving pedestrians and bicyclists, which the above-noted article calls "dramatic." More than 700 pedestrians died in California in 2013 after being struck by vehicles, with that number evidencing a nearly seven percent rise from the preceding year.
And the surge in bicyclists' deaths was even more pronounced, with the 141 fatalities reported in 2013 marking a jump of 8.6 percent from 2012.
It is manifestly evident why state officials are unremittingly focused on accident avoidance and safety-enhancing measures across California.
]]>We now ask those readers to disregard much of what we passed along in that post -- at least the bottom line conveyed -- in light of important news regarding lane-splitting that surfaced not long after our entry went online.
]]> We stated in the above-cited post that we would keep our reading audience duly apprised of key happenings relating to state Assembly Bill 51, following its recent (and easy) passage through the California Assembly. We certainly didn't expect seminal news concerning the legislation to arise so quickly following Assembly approval, though.Here is that noteworthy and surprising news: Notwithstanding AB51's clear momentum, its author -- Assembly member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) -- summarily yanked the bill back from active consideration earlier this month, citing law enforcement concerns.
We noted in our earlier post that the legislation "has passionate detractors and advocates," and the former camp certainly voiced its opinion in the wake of the bill's sudden stalling.
One group opposing motorcycle lane-splitting has consistently argued that the proposed speed limits for bikers traveling between passenger vehicles are too lenient. Motorcycle groups -- which generally favor the practice -- have also weighed in, voicing a view that the limits are too restrictive and need to be revised upward.
A Quirk spokesperson says that the legislator "needs more time to work out the details."
Given the recent developments, it seems unlikely that lane-splitting legislation will be enacted into law in California any time soon.
Source: Los Angeles Times, "Motorcycle lane-splitting bill is withdrawn," Charles Fleming," July 10, 2015
]]>Importantly, though, it was also instructive and even important for the spotlight it put on the practice, which, as the reporter noted, has passionate detractors and advocates, respectively.
]]> The former camp comprises mostly drivers of passenger vehicles, who often creep along slowly or are at a complete standstill while idling on Southern California's crowded grid of interlocking freeways and interstates. As they inch along in traffic, bikers occasionally pass by in the narrow spaces between them and an adjacent lane.Interestingly, that seems to be neither explicitly legal nor illegal in California. Authorities, well, condone it without really saying much about it.
As the Times article points out, legality might eventually win out as regards lane-splitting, with a legislative bill recently passing through the state Assembly and soon to be considered by the California Senate.
There is some empirical evidence to support the practice, with a UC-Berkeley report concluding that lane-splitting "appears to be a relatively safe motorcycle riding strategy" when certain speed-related limitations are imposed on riders.
Passage of the lane-splitting legislation would be more than novel; in fact, it would make California the only state in the country to have such a law.
Most motorcyclists across the stat enthusiastically endorse the idea. A particular concern that many riders often point to is their fear of being struck from behind by inattentive drivers while stalled in traffic.
We'll be sure to keep readers in the loop on the lane-splitting legislation's fate in the Senate.
]]>But even though other drivers are a major cause of crashes with motorcycles in California and other states, there are other hazards on our roadways that can be equally as dangerous as other drivers and they are things like roadway design and maintenance.
]]> Here in California, traffic engineers are supposed to design roadways that keep public safety in mind. Unfortunately, engineers don't always take into consideration the needs of two-wheeled vehicles like motorcycles. This can lead to designs that, while safe for vehicles with four or more wheels, are not particularly safe for motorcycles, oftentimes resulting in serious or fatal crashes.Poor roadway maintenance is another thing that can lead to possible crashes as well. Things like loose gravel, potholes or even road debris might not be an issue for the driver of a car or larger vehicle because they are more stable and are not affected that often by these road hazards. But for motorcyclists it's different. Even a small pothole could cause a rider to lose control of their vehicle, resulting in a catastrophic crash depending on the physics of the accident.
Though society tends to focus its attention on educating drivers about the importance of seeing motorcyclists, state officials and traffic engineers need to be just as observant of the fact that motorcyclists share our roadways too. This means making safer road designs that keep motorcycles in mind and to quickly fix road hazards that could be potentially deadly to a motorcyclist.
]]>The reason we're bringing this up to our Los Angeles readers is actually because of an out-of-state case that highlights the reality of these two definitions. The case also shows people in California that even if an accident turns out to have been deliberate, a victim may still seek compensation from the at-fault party.
]]> The case we are referring to is one out of Florida where a vehicle struck a man on a moped while he drove down the highway. When the other driver fled the scene, police assumed it had been a hit-and-run accident. It wasn't until after talking to the owner of the moped that police learned he had refused to sell it to another man who was angry about this decision. After learning this piece of information, police quickly realized this wasn't an accident at all. This was deliberate.Even though the moped owner did suffer injuries in the crash, reports indicate that he did survive. He's lucky in this sense, especially when one considers how little protection mopeds offer their riders. More good news was the fact that police did arrest a man in connection with the accident and could upgrade the charges against him to attempted murder. Depending on the victim's desire to seek compensation, on top of criminal litigation, the at-fault driver could face civil litigation later on for his reckless decision.
Though a case like this may seem isolated, incidences of road rage are common in states across the nation, including here in California. But just because a crash wasn't an accident, doesn't mean a victim can't seek compensation. In fact, knowing that a crash was intentional could bolster a victim's personal injury claim because it shows negligence on the other driver's behalf, which should lead to redress for the victim.
Source: WYFF News, "ACSO: Suspect hit, tried to kill man who wouldn't sell him moped," Alex Ramsey, April 29, 2015
]]>Most often, failing to wear a helmet will not prohibit you from filing a personal injury claim if the accident was caused by another person's negligence. However, it can affect the amount of compensation you receive.
]]> Personal injury matters are determined based on who was negligent in causing the accident. Because failing to wear a helmet usually is not the cause of an accident, you will likely still be able to file a personal injury lawsuit if you suffered severe injuries after your accident.If it is determined that the other motorist was negligent in causing the accident that led to your injuries, determining an appropriate amount of compensation is the next step. This is where not wearing a helmet can hurt you. If it is determined that your failure to wear a helmet contributed to the severity your injuries, it can limit the amount of compensation you are eligible to receive. At the same time, if not wearing your helmet had no effect on your injuries, it may also have no effect on the amount of compensation you can obtain.
Although this is a brief overview of how not wearing a helmet can impact your personal injury case, it is not meant to be taken as legal advice. If you were injured in a serious motorcycle accident, an experienced personal injury attorney can better explain, in detail, how your unique situation may be handled.
Source: FindLaw, "Helmet Laws and Motorcycle Accident Cases," Accessed April 6, 2015
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