Santa Clarita Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcycle Accident Attorney in Santa Clarita, CA

Being injured in a motorcycle accident can leave you facing substantial hospital bills and the potential for lifelong disability. If you’ve sustained serious injuries during a crash, a Santa Clarita motorcycle accident lawyer can help you seek compensation that you can use to pay medical bills and find ways to move on with your life.

Trust Duque & Price

The team here at Duque & Price has years of experience in handling personal injury cases, including motorcycle crashes. We have a keen understanding of motorcycle accident laws and the ability to leverage them to get you fair compensation. We can help you with every aspect of your motorcycle accident case.

Why Hire a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?

In 2023, there were 36 motorcycle crashes in Santa Clarita that led to fatalities or serious injuries. That’s not surprising given that California is the #1 state for total motorcycle registrations as of the same year. As of 2023, there were 936,809 motorcycle registrations in the Golden State. While motorcycle fatalities in California decreased 10.2% from 2022 to 2023, one death or severe injury is too many.

If you’ve been injured or a loved one has been killed in a crash, you can hire a motorcycle accident lawyer to help you recover fair compensation from the responsible party or parties. Your lawyer can handle everything from dealing with paperwork to negotiating with insurance companies, leaving you more time to focus on what’s important: healing from your injuries and moving on with your life.

Common Types of Motorcycle Accident Injuries

Motorcycle accident injuries range in severity from cuts and contusions to spinal cord injuries, causing permanent paralysis or even death. The severity of your injuries may depend on the speed at which you were traveling and the size of the other vehicles involved. Some of the most common motorcycle accident injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Whiplash
• Broken bones
• Organ damage
• Road rash
• Back injuries
• Burns

The nature of your injuries can help to determine the amount of your settlement.

Understanding Negligence Rules in California

California is a pure comparative negligence state. As a result, you may be able to recover damages if you were partly, or even mostly, to blame for the accident. There is no threshold for recovery, which means it doesn’t matter whether you were 10% or 90% at fault. You are still allowed to pursue a claim. Your damages can simply be reduced by the amount of fault you’ve been assigned.

Damages Available for Motorcycle Riders

Your Santa Clarita motorcycle accident attorney can help you determine the full extent of the damages from your accident. Depending on the severity of your injuries and the extent of your liability for the crash, you could be entitled to significant compensation. Depending on the specifics of your accident, you could be compensated for:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of future income
• Future medical expenses
• Disability or disfiguration

This is just a short list of some of the most common damages recovered following motorcycle accidents. You can trust your attorney to get you fair compensation.

Factors Affecting the Amount of Compensation You Receive

Many riders want to know how much their claims are worth before getting one started, but it’s impossible to say without understanding the specifics of the case. Factors that affect the amount of compensation you could receive include:

• Amount of medical expenses
• Severity of injuries
• Whether you lost wages or earning capacity
• How much damage your bike sustained
• The policy limit for the other driver’s insurance
• How skilled your lawyer is at negotiating with insurance companies

Whether you got into an accident at a busy intersection like Newhall Ranch Road and Bouquet Canyon Road, or while riding down the I-5, we can help you seek fair compensation.

FAQs About Motorcycle Accidents

What Kills Most Motorcyclists?

The types of injuries that kill most motorcyclists are head and traumatic brain injuries. These fatal injuries typically result from striking the head on the ground, another vehicle, or other objects around the crash site after the rider has been ejected from their bike. Lethal TBIs are most likely when riders are moving at high speeds before their crashes or are not wearing helmets.

In What States Do Police Not Chase Motorcycles?

There are no states in which the police never chase motorcycles. Some law enforcement agencies, including many in the State of California, have policies that prohibit officers from chasing motorcycles for minor offenses such as traffic violations because of the dangers these chases pose to both the riders and the public. However, the police may still give chase if the rider has committed a particularly egregious crime.

Where Do Most Motorcycle Accidents Occur?

Most motorcycle accidents occur at intersections. These crashes are often the fault of other drivers. Some fail to see motorcycles. Others misjudge their speed. Cars often turn left into motorcyclists’ paths, as well, making accidents all but impossible to avoid for the biker. The only good news about intersection accidents is that the vehicles involved tend to be moving at lower speeds, which reduces the chances of catastrophic injuries.

Do Bikers Always Have the Right of Way?

Bikers do not always have the right of way. Like all motor vehicle operators, they’re required to follow the rules of the road. There is a slight exception when it comes to lane splitting. Lane splitting is legal in California when traffic is moving at slow speeds, and other motor vehicles are supposed to cede the space necessary to split lanes to bikers. However, motorcyclists still do not have an absolute right of way in these circumstances.

Your Santa Clarita Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

If you’ve been involved in a crash on your bike, you need to hire a skilled Santa Clarita motorcycle accident lawyer who can help you recover compensation for your injuries. You can trust the team here at Duque & Price. We’ve been practicing personal injury law for years. In that time, we’ve tackled countless complex motorcycle accident cases. We can help with your claim, too. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation today.