Do I Have a Case? Why retain a bicycle accident attorney for a crash on a motorcycle? The answer is simple. They are interrelated and usually involve similar injuries to your body.
The fact is, bicycle and motorcycle riders have the same rights, duties and obligations as a passenger vehicle. There are many times when you may be involved in crash and need experienced attorney. The question that arises is: How do I know if I need a lawyer for my case? Well, if your hurt bad, you need one. If not, you may want to consider small claims court (read more.) If serious though, read on.
Bicycle and Motorcycle Injuries are Among the Worst
A roadway negligence victim will know just how difficult it can be to find qualified counsel. The statistics don’t lie. In fact, as will be shown, fatalities and lawyers who help with cases like that, are often required in these types of catastrophic accidents.
In fact, accidents are highly likely to result in a fatality, permanent brain injury and deadly friction burns. When there is a motor vehicle that causes or contributes to the wreck, if your lucky enough to survive, you have a lot of medical bills and out of pocket costs. These collisions when used in this section, shall all have the same meaning. The following are some current statistics in the State of California and in the United States generally. You will clearly see just how important experienced experienced legal counsel is when you see how many deaths an serious injuries arise from these catastrophic injury cases.
Bicycle Accidents and Bicycle Accident Trends in the United States:
“Between 1989 and 1993, there were 35,239 total reported vehicle accidents and 2,353 reported accidents involving a bicyclist.”Source Official San Francisco City & County Web Site” (read more.)
Motorcycle Accidents
“Motorcycles are the most dangerous type of motor vehicle to drive:
- These vehicles are involved in fatal crashes at a rate of 35.0 per 100 million miles of travel, compared with a rate of 1.7 per 100 million miles of travel for passenger cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported increasing numbers of motorcycle deaths associated with alcohol-impaired driving in recent years, especially among persons aged 40 years.” (Source CDC)
For additional information on these issues, the has tremendous resources (Click Here; See also: California State Motorcyclist Requirements)
Even great riding skills are not enough to avoid serious personal injury.
Because of the danger of motorcycle accidents in Los Angeles in particular, it has been Ehline’s experience that many insurance carriers and defense attorneys believe that the bike owner, or rider, consents to being injured by a rogue or inattentive driver of a dangerous motor vehicle. This is not the state of the law in California, however. If the other car driver wasn’t negligent, the chances are, there is no recovery against him, unless the car manufacturer is liable for strict products liability, or negligent products liability. Negligence does not mean accident, as it has commonly and improperly been used by many civil defense lawyers and automobile insurance companies who pay the defense lawyers; in order to avoid having to pay for the injured party’s monetary claims.
Remember that “Accident” implies a mistake. “Negligence” is not a mistake, negligence is improper, sometimes reckless, avoidable behavior, that causes or creates an injury to a motorcycle rider or motorcycle passenger, bicyclist, making the person causing the personal injury liable for money damages and sometimes even punitive damages for extremely reckless conduct. Negligence is avoidable. But because the term is understood to mean negligence, when Ehline uses the term “accident”, Ehline means “negligence”. (learn more.)
The Pizza Delivery Guy Example of Multiple Defendants and Sources of Recovery
For example, if an employer allowed an employee in Santa Monica, with a bad driving record to deliver pizzas in a Santa Monica company truck and there was a bicycle collision in Huntington Beach, the tortfeasor employer could be held liable for negligent entrustment and negligent hiring. If an employer allowed an employee with a bad driving record, who delivers pizzas in his own car, and there was a motorcycle death, the employer could be liable for negligent hiring, but not for negligent entrustment because there was no vehicle entrusted to the employee by the employer. Both are negligent, because both situations could be avoided by the employer’s exercise of reasonable, ordinary care, and both resulted in a personal injury accident. The lawsuit could be filed in Huntington Beach where the injuries occurred, or in Santa Monica, where the defendant employer has his pizza place.
Both above fact patterns require that the deep pocket negligent employer pay you, rather than the typically judgment proof, or penniless pizza delivery guy, but he too is also liable for the Huntington Beach motorcycle accident or bicycle accident, as a matter of California tort law.
This is a matter of California public policy and helps avoid the “self help” of the days of old – like the wild west – where people were dueling and taking out physical revenge for payment for their personal injuries. But without a good California bicycle accident lawyer, or California motorcycle accident lawyer, you face an insurance company that increasingly treats valid insurance claims as “junk”, or “frivolous lawsuits.” (e.g., the recent insurance company television campaign of “swoop and swat” commercials, & political “junk lawsuit” speeches, that are not based upon sound statistics, clearly pander to big insurance company political donors, and taint potential civil juries) Ehline will act as your sword and as your shield against the insurance company and its team of highly paid trial lawyers and politicians.
If the below elements are met, your case would be desirable to Ehline Law Firm PC, to determine whether or not you have a claim against another, the following California Jury Instructions will be helpful.
First, the reader must determine whether or not the owner, driver or operator of the injuring causing vehicle was negligent.
If you are seriously injured when you are run over by a car, you will need help. You will need money for hospital bills, lost wages and loss of use of your motorcycle or bicycle. Contact a licensed professional and get free legal advice as a confidential communication that is private, privileged and confidential. Our local attorneys are local because we are statewide.
If we mutually decide to enter into to a legal, binding relationship with our local law firm, you will get prompt, attentive, caring support and will deal with a highly experienced trial attorney and highly trained staff of legal secretaries and paralegals. We are the best. We are a cut above. We want to protect your legal rights. We want to protect your claims. We hope you learned why you should retain a bicycle accident attorney in Los Angeles for crash on motorcycle incidents.