Articles Posted in Motorcycle Injury Accidents

In most accidents, there are two sides to the story. Often, each party’s version of what happened is partly based on reality and partly based on their own biases. However, in some accidents, due to the nature of the injuries involved, there may only be one side to the story. That is often the case in motorcycle accidents in which the motorcyclist sustains a serious injury to his or her head.

Police are supposed to do more than ask each person involved their side of the story. Indeed, police and accident investigation teams should conduct a thorough investigation of the scene, plugging in what each party claims to have happened to determine which scenario is closest to the truth. In some cases, however, there is no reliable evidence on which the police can base their investigation, and an accident reconstruction team is called in to reconstruct the accident in hopes of determining how the accident was caused. This determination is important for police to determine if either of the drivers should be issued a citation, and it may also be the basis for a personal injury lawsuit in the future.

Reconstruction Team Deployed to Figure Out Recent Motorcycle Accident

Earlier this month, an accident involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck left one man in critical condition. According to a news report covering the incident, the collision took place during the morning commute in Rochester, Minnesota.

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Unlike accidents involving just cars or trucks, the fault in motorcycle accidents is often unfairly placed on the motorcyclist without any evidence that the motorcyclist caused the accident. Looking at news headlines reporting on motorcycle accidents makes this clear. The language used often focuses on how the motorcyclist could have avoided the tragic result had he been wearing a helmet or slowed down to avoid the collision. These articles are clearly written from the perspective of someone who drives a car.

However, the reality is that fault in these tragic accidents should not be hastily assigned in the moments after the accident. The fault in motorcycle accidents, like accidents involving other motorized vehicles, cannot be readily determined solely based on the type of vehicle one of the drivers was operating at the time of the accident. Instead, an in-depth investigation should take place, and fault should only be assigned after examining the surrounding circumstances and applying the relevant traffic laws. And while helmets should always be worn to protect against the worst-case scenario, the mere fact that a motorcyclist does not have a helmet on at the time of an accident does not mean that the accident was his fault in the first place. That is not how the law operates.

When a motorcyclist is involved in an accident that was not their fault, they may be entitled to monetary compensation for the injuries they sustained through a Maryland or Washington, D.C. personal injury case.

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Accidents that occur when a moving vehicle strikes one or more vehicles that are pulled off to the side of the road have unfortunately become a familiar sight. As much as we’d like to think otherwise, sometimes cars or motorcycles break down and end up on the side of the road until help arrives. Other times, an officer pulls over a motorist for a violation of the motor vehicle code, and the officer and motorist are on the side of the highway for a short time while the officer writes the citation. In either case, those on the side of the road are extremely vulnerable because they are only feet from cars and trucks sometimes passing at speeds upwards of 60 miles per hour.

Maryland’s “Move Over” Law

To limit the dangers to those stuck on the side of the road, the Maryland Legislature passed a bill to protect roadside emergency workers, commonly dubbed the “Move Over Law.” The Move Over Law requires that drivers approaching an emergency vehicle with its lights or sirens on must move one lane over or slow down to a safer speed as they pass. Currently, the law applies to police, fire, and emergency medical vehicles, as well as other government vehicles.

There is also a related law that protects bicyclists and electric personal assistive mobility devices. This law requires that drivers give these operators a berth of at least three feet as they pass them.

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Earlier this year, a state judge approved a settlement between a motorcyclist and the person he claimed was responsible for the accident that left him seriously and permanently injured. However, the motorcyclist’s claim against the manufacturer of the helmet that he alleges failed to protect him has not yet been resolved.

Potential Parties in a Motorcycle Accident Case

While it is commonly held knowledge that a person who negligently causes a serious motorcycle accident may be held financially liable by the injured victim of the accident, that is not necessarily where liability ends. Manufacturers of motorcycle helmets represent that their product can help save lives and reduce the impact to a motorcyclist’s head in the event of an accident. When a motorcycle helmet is flawed and does not do its job, the manufacturer may be held liable under a products liability theory.

The general principle underlying products liability claims is that a manufacturer should be held accountable for what they represent to the public. There are several different product liability claims available, depending on the specific circumstances of the case. They include defective design, manufacturing defect, and breach of warranty claims. Each claim is slightly different and requires a plaintiff prove different elements in order to be successful.

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Earlier this month, a Maine court heard a case brought by a woman that arose out of a motorcycle accident in which her husband was found to be at fault. In the case, Wood v. Wood, the court had to decide whether interim payments made by Husband to Wife counted towards the final verdict amount. Ultimately, the court determined that it needed further clarification as to whether the payments were based on Husband’s liability to Wife, or whether the payments were made to Wife based on her own coverage under the very same policy.

The confusion in this case arose because both Husband and Wife were on the same insurance policy. After the accident, but before the trial had concluded, the insurance company had paid roughly $5,000 to Wife. After the trial, Wife received a verdict in the amount of $50,000. The insurance company then sought credit for the $5,000 it paid prior to the court’s ruling.

Wife’s position was that the $5,000 was not a medical liability payment but was a payment made to her as an insured party who was involved in an accident. The insurance company, through Husband, claimed that credit was deserved because Husband was ultimately determined to be at fault, and thus the payment was a liability payment that should be credited towards the total.

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