Motorcycle Accidents

Mishaps may involve a single motorcycle or other vehicles. Head-on collisions with cars or trucks are the most common fatal ones. Accidents often occur when a vehicle trying to make a left turn fails to notice a motorcycle going straight or seeking to pass. A bike may collide with vehicle that stops short ahead of it, causing the rider to be thrown. Another frequent cause of accidents is “lane splitting,” where a motorcycle tries to navigate between two lanes of traffic, often without sufficient room.

Single-motorcycle crashes can occur when a bike skids on a slick surface, toppling to one side and crushing or throwing the rider. It can also hit a road hazard such as a pothole, road gap, grade depression, construction fixture or piece of road debris. Speeding, impairment or careless driving on the part of the biker can increase both the chances of an accident and the degree of resulting injury.

With our experience in these often complex cases, we know how to get to the heart of who shares the fault for a motorcycle accident, including private or government parties responsible for road conditions that may have been contributing causes. To resolve questions of how the accident occurred, we send our investigators and accident reconstruction experts to the scene to gather and preserve evidence for analysis and we research all other data needed to formulate a plausible theory of causation.

Maryland bars victims from suing for their injuries if their own negligence contributed to an auto accident. In the case of motorcycle accidents, it’s important to show that the biker complied with Maryland Rules of the Road that specifically prohibit motorcyclists from:

• Carrying a passenger in anything other than a seat designed to do so or in a way that interferes with the operation of the motorcycle
• Pass another vehicle by driving in the same lane as that vehicle or between two lanes
• Having more than two motorcycles operating abreast in the same lane
• Clinging to any other vehicle
• Driving on a highway on a motorcycle with a rating of 1.5 brake horsepower or less, or a capacity of less than 70 cubic centimeters piston displacement
• Driving a motorcycle with handlebars more than 20 inches higher than driver’s seat

However, in the case of a seriously injured biker whose own negligence factored only minimally in the accident, we may be able to negotiate a favorable settlement.

Once we establish who shares in the liability, we will claim money damages for:

• Your past and future medical expenses
• Your pain and suffering
• Your lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
• Repair of your damaged motorcycle
• Reimbursement of your related out-of-pocket expenses

In all accident cases, we are skilled at negotiating with insurance companies and defense counsel to achieve fair compensation, but we never shy away from litigation where necessary to recovery.