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If The Road Conditions Or Weather Conditions Were At Fault For The Motorcycle Wreck, Who Would Be Liable?

We recently handled a case involving a pothole that was in a private driveway of a business. Since a business has to maintain their property in a safe condition, there was liability in that case. If the pothole had been on a public roadway, then the government would have been held responsible for that roadway. In California, many immunities may need to be overcome in order to find liability in a case involving the government. It can definitely be done, but the injury has to be pretty severe for an attorney to be willing to sue a public entity over a pothole in the road. In other words, the damages recoverable would need to be large enough to incentivize the attorney to handle a case against a public entity for a defective or dangerous roadway.

What If My Passenger Was At Fault For Causing The Motorcycle Crash?

If the passenger distracted the driver in a way that caused the driver to violate a rule of the road, then the passenger could be liable to the driver. Decades ago, there was a rule against this in order to protect against the possibility of passengers and drivers filing lawsuits as a joint enterprise. Nowadays, comparative negligence principles apply, and the passenger would be liable for causing the crash. Unfortunately, I am not sure that insurance coverage would be available, even if the passenger had their own auto policy or homeowner policy. This is because there are likely exclusions in both types of policies. As a result, it may be necessary to try to recover from the passenger's personal assets, which may or may not be worthwhile. Most drivers would hesitate to make a claim against their passenger, because in most cases, it will be a friend or family member. Unless there was a big fallout between the two over the accident, the driver probably won't want to sue the passenger, or the passenger will be willing to offer compensation for the driver's losses.

How Are Settlement Amounts Calculated In Motorcycle Accident Cases Involving Severe And/Or Permanent Injuries?

There isn't a separate calculation for injuries based on whether it was a motorcycle crash or a regular motor vehicle accident. With that said, a motorcyclist's injuries will likely be much more severe than those of the occupant of an automobile or truck. In California, the only way to determine a good settlement amount for a case involving serious injuries is to research the settlement amounts in cases involving similar details (e.g. type and severity of injury, age and gender of victim). A couple of services have databases of verdicts and settlements wherein an attorney can find the values that juries and insurance companies have paid for similar types of injuries. For less serious injuries, insurance companies have been using computer databases which generate values for non-economic damages based on the specifics of the case and ICD-10 codes, which indicate diagnoses.

For more information on Motorcycle Accidents In California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (760) 721-8182 today.

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