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Recovering Damages in a Motorcycle Accident

By Megan Roth

Yesterday I touched on the high numbers of motorcycle injuries and fatalities, which have been on a steady increase in recent years. I commented how the increased occurrence of such injuries/fatalities has led to an increase in lawsuits and litigations regarding who's at fault in such incidents.

As we all know, such accidents can place a huge financial burden on both the victim (assuming he/she survives) and his/her family. But should it?

This is a touchy subject that requires us to look at degrees of fault (in certain cases the driver is wholly responsible, in other cases he's partially to blame and still in certain situations he/she happens to have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and falls victim to an accident/injury). Regardless, it remains to be seen whether the victim should be held liable for the thousands upon thousands of dollars they are bound to lose between medical bills, loss of wages, property damages, punitive damages and both physical and emotional pain and suffering.

After all, there's a long list of expenses such an accident is bound to incur and I can't help but wonder, who should be held liable?

In the event that the accident results from an inadequate stop sign (or other roadway marking), an unmarked curve or change of terrain or a dangerous state of public property (such as a roadway defect – among many others), there's a good chance the city/state entity responsible for the affected body (or roadway condition) is liable.

Most often, such cases will be tried for negligence on the part of one of the parties involved; in the case a roadway is in disrepair, the entity responsible for that roadway should be proven negligent for posing a dangerous, potentially life-threatening risk.

In the event that another vehicle strikes the motorcyclist, the driver of that vehicle should be proven negligent for reckless driving and disregard for others on the road.

Should the accident happen to be the result of a faulty part on the bike, the manufacturer (or even a mechanic who worked on the bike) could be to blame.

Considering the circumstances surrounding such incidents vary greatly and can result in serious injury and/or death (and the aforementioned list of expenses that go with it), individuals involved in such accidents should follow an established series of steps whenever possible and reach out to an experienced lawyer in order to recover the greatest costs possible.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on April 06, 2009 (boomark / email).