Oftentimes, the Maryland motorcycle crashes that we write about in this blog are crashes that involve both a motorcycle and a car, usually with the car making a careless error and hitting the motorcycle, causing the crash. But it is important to recognize that sometimes, Maryland motorcycle accidents can occur solely because of a rider’s careless error—sometimes not even involving another vehicle at all. In these situations, anyone injured as a passenger on the motorcycle may have a claim against the motorcyclist.
For an example of this second type of accident, take a recent incident from last month. According to a news report covering the incident, the motorcyclist, a 42-year-old man, was riding east on the highway with one passenger on his motorcycle, a 41-year-old woman. According to state police officers, the cyclist failed to negotiate a left-hand curve in the roadway and lost control of his vehicle. Both he and his passenger were thrown from the motorcycle off the shoulder of the roadway, sustaining serious injuries. Tragically, the passenger’s injuries were fatal, and she passed away. The cyclist was flown to a nearby hospital and treated for life-threatening injuries, ultimately surviving the accident. The crash remains under investigation.
This tragic accident serves as a reminder that Maryland motorcycle accidents are not always caused by a car crashing into a motorcycle, or even by another vehicle at all. Sometimes, they can just be caused by the motorcyclist themselves. In these cases, it is important to remember that there could still be liability—if a motorcyclist is negligent and gets into an accident while they have a passenger on their motorcycle, and their passenger is subsequently injured, they can then be held liable for their passenger’s injury in a personal injury lawsuit.