Any Saturday or Sunday – especially on days with good weather – you can find dozens of motorcycle riders in Allentown and across the Lehigh Valley. Some riders wait for nice days like these, while others ride a motorcycle for their daily commute or errands. In any case, riders deserve safety on the road, and when other drivers take that away and cause crashes, the injured motorcyclists could be entitled to damages.
Our attorneys can fight to get you compensation for your injuries, holding the drivers who caused the crash responsible. In many cases, these accidents involve commercial vehicles whose owners and operators might be responsible in place of their drivers. Our lawyers can help with all kinds of injuries, no matter how serious.
For a free case evaluation, call our motorcycle accident attorneys at Leeson & Leeson today at (610) 890-6332.
Holding Drivers Responsible for Motorcycle Crashes in Allentown
Drivers who fail to look out for smaller vehicles on the road and treat motorcycle riders with equal respect often end up being responsible for serious crashes involving riders. When they are, our motorcycle accident attorneys can step in and hold them liable.
Assigning Fault
In Pennsylvania, we use a “modified comparative fault” system for many accidents. This allows a court or insurance company to assign partial blame to each person involved in the accident and assign them that same share of damages. For example, if two drivers are each 50% at fault for a crash that caused the victim $100,000 worth of damages, they will each pay $50,000 to the victim.
For a driver to qualify as “at fault” or “liable,” there must be something they did wrong to cause the crash. This usually comes in the form of a traffic violation, as breaking a law meant to keep others safe is considered negligence automatically. Alternatively, it can come from unreasonable actions behind the wheel. This means that something like drunk driving would be negligent because it is illegal, but something like eating while driving could also put a driver at fault even if it does not rise to the level of distracted driving or another violation.
Courts can assign partial blame to each driver, including the victim. As long as you are 50% at fault at the max, you can still get damages for your injuries. This leaves out your share of fault from the total payment but allows you to collect the rest of the damages.
Proving Fault
Motorcycle accidents often happen in an instant, and it can be hard to recall the facts of what happened, especially if you were knocked unconscious or suffered a head injury or traumatic brain injury. Even so, your own testimony about how the accident happened will be important evidence.
Many motorcyclists do not ride alone – and many use helmet cameras to protect themselves from potential legal issues. As such, you may have witnesses or video that also helps tell the story of what happened and shows that the other driver was at fault. It is also possible that a home or business on the road where your accident occurred had a security camera that recorded the crash, and we can help track down and request such videos.
In many cases, the damage to the vehicles also helps tell the story. For example, if the other driver’s damage is on the front of their vehicle and yours is on the side – including damage to your leg – then it becomes quite clear that the front of their car hit the side of your motorcycle. Evidence like this is more valuable with an accident reconstruction expert who can take in all the evidence and help explain the accident, when necessary.
Insurance Claims vs. Lawsuits for Injured Motorcycle Riders in Allentown, PA
If you also drive a car, you may be familiar with Pennsylvania’s “limited tort” or “full tort” insurance options. Limited tort works as a no-fault system where victims often cannot sue in court and claim pain and suffering damages unless they have “serious injuries.” With a full tort policy, you can go straight to court and claim these additional damages. Motorcycles are not covered by these policies, meaning that riders are allowed to sue the other driver for their injuries and claim full damages.
You will often start your case with an insurance claim, given that it might be the easiest and fastest path to compensation. If you have some kind of first-party coverage on your insurance policy, it may even supplement your coverage immediately while you resolve the rest of your case. However, you will need to show the other driver’s insurance company evidence that their driver was at fault before they will offer to pay you. Even when they do offer to pay, the coverage might be lower than you deserve.
Our lawyers can help take your case to court, where the jury will decide the damages and order the defendant and their insurance company to pay. As long as their insurance is high enough to cover your injuries in full or they have the funds to do so out of pocket, this could result in much higher compensation.
We can discuss your options with you and advise you as to whether any settlement offers are appropriate or whether you should keep going to trial. In the end, most cases will settle instead of going to trial.
Suing Commercial Drivers for Motorcycle Accidents in Allentown
If your accident involved a delivery truck, a delivery van, an 18-wheeler, or even a pizza delivery driver, you may be able to sue the company they work for rather than ending your case with the individual driver. As long as the crash happened while they were doing their job, our lawyers may be able to hold their employer liable, potentially opening up access to higher-dollar insurance policies and more funds to pay for serious injuries from your motorcycle crash.
Call Our Allentown Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Right Away
If you were seriously hurt in a crash, call (610) 890-6332 for a free case evaluation with Leeson & Leeson’s motorcycle accident lawyers.