A motorcycle rider is more likely to sustain a serious injury or die on the road than someone riding in a passenger car. That’s a fact. Car drivers and passengers are protected from the force of the crash by extra layers of hard metal, while the bodies of motorcycle riders are fully exposed to the impact.
Fact: The risk of dying on the road is 35 times higher for a motorcycle rider compared to a car driver or passenger.
This risk of injury and fatality is accepted by motorcycle riders who are well aware that they sacrifice their safety for the thrill of riding a bike and being able to bypass traffic jams by engaging in the practice of riding between lanes or rows of slowed or stopped traffic, also known as “lane-splitting.”
And yet, recovering compensated after a motorcycle accident is not nearly as easy as you think. On top of the unwarranted bias against motorcycle riders in California, bikers have a hard time proving that the other party (more often than not, a car driver) was at-fault for the accident.
The car driver claims he/she did not see the motorcyclist
One of the most common defenses used by car drivers after they have hit a motorcyclist on the road in California is claiming that they did not see the motorcycle rider. With a Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorney by your side, you can easily fight that defense and successfully recover compensation for all the damages caused by the accident.
So can you sue a car driver who hit you on your motorcycle if the driver claims he or she did not see you? Well, the answer is quite simple. If you replace the word “motorcycle” with “car,” you will immediately understand that your question makes little to no sense.
Answering your question, yes, definitely, you do have a right to sue a car driver even though he or she claims he/she did not see you before the collision occurred. However, in order to file a lawsuit against that car driver, you will have to prove that the driver was negligent, careless, or reckless at the time of the crash. More often than not, legal help from an experienced motorcycle accident attorney in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California.
Did the car driver not see you because of his/her negligence?
Even if the car driver sounds convincing when claiming that he or she did not see you on your motorcycle before the crash, you can challenge his/her side of the story with a thorough investigation comprised of reading the police report, interviewing witnesses, fact-checking both sides of the story (both the motorcyclist’s and car driver’s), and, if necessary, hiring an accident reconstruction expert to determine whether or not the car driver had a non-negligent reason for not seeing you before the collision. The investigation can also determine whether or not you violated traffic rules or were otherwise negligent, making yourself invisible or less visible to the car driver.
Do keep in mind that if the car driver did not see you because of a negligent act, he or she can still be held responsible for the motorcycle accident. For example, if the car driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash, which led to him/her failing to see the motorcyclist, the driver will be at-fault for the crash.
Also, if the car driver claims he/she did not see the motorcyclist at the time of the crash, it might be worth investigating whether or not the driver was drowsy, sleepy, exhausted, or tired at the time of the motorcycle accident. Let our experienced attorney look into your particular case today. Contact the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg for a free case evaluation. Call our offices at 310-997-0904 today.
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