Greenville, SC Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcycle accidents have the capacity to cause much more serious injuries than those typically sustained in car crashes.  While a car sits around you, protecting you from injury with things like seat belts, windshields, crumple zones, and even head rests, a motorcycle might just have your helmet and your wits to keep you safe.  When other drivers cause these crashes, everything that happens to you is their fault.

Our lawyers can help injured motorcycle riders get compensation for their injuries in insurance claims and lawsuits against these negligent drivers.  We fight to hold them accountable and get your damages paid in full after a serious crash.  Even in more minor crashes, you might still have medical bills and lost wages we can help you collect.

For help, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ motorcycle accident lawyers today at (803) 219-4906.

How Drivers Cause Motorcycle Accidents in Greenville, SC

Motorcycle accidents can happen for many reasons.  There are, of course, tragic accidents where a motorcycle crashes without hitting another car.  In these cases, a victim might be able to sue the operator if the operator caused the crash.  The operator might also be able to sue the manufacturer if the crash was caused by a vehicle malfunction.  However, a vast number of motorcycle accidents are caused by another driver on the road committing one of these errors or mistakes, leading to death or injury for the rider:

Failing to Look Out for Motorcycles

Motorcycles are smaller than cars, and many drivers simply do not pay attention to them.  If a driver changes lanes without “seeing” the motorcycle rider, that is their fault because they failed to keep a proper lookout, not your fault for using a smaller vehicle.

Failing to Respect Motorcycles

Other crashes happen simply because other drivers refuse to accept that motorcycle riders have all the same rights on the road as them.  If a driver moved into your space, tried to pass you in a single lane, tried to overrun you, or otherwise failed to give you the space you need while driving a vehicle on the roadway, the crash should be their fault.  In fact, many of these things are blatantly dangerous and could constitute recklessness rather than the typical “negligence” responsible for most crashes.

Drunk Driving

Drunk drivers have slowed reaction times, reduced decision-making abilities, and potentially even reduced motor skills, all contributing to their danger behind the wheel.  If you were hit by a driver who put you and others at risk by getting in the driver’s seat while drunk or high, the law is on your side.

Distracted Driving

While motorcycles are smaller than cars, they are still quite easy to see, but only if the driver’s eyes are on the road.  Drivers who distract themselves with texts, other cell phone use, arguments with passengers, eating while driving, and other things could potentially cause a crash.  In these cases, drivers often fail to even try to stop because of how suddenly – from their perspective – the crash happens.  From your perspective, a vehicle with a distracted driver is no better than an uncontrolled vehicle, and our motorcycle accident lawyers can help you get compensation from them for the injuries they caused you.

Proving Fault in a Motorcycle Case in Greenville, SC

When you bring a case against the driver who hit you, you have to prove that they are at fault before the insurance company or the court will be convinced to get you the payments you need.  How to do this depends on the specifics of your case, but the same rules apply in all cases.

The common causes of crashes discussed above all involve one common factor: something that the driver did wrong.  You cannot hold someone responsible for a crash unless they did something wrong to cause the crash, which usually comes in the form of a traffic violation.  In some cases, there might be no explicit law-breaking, but what they did instead violates the more general duty to drive as “an ordinary driver of reasonable prudence” would drive.

This standard is considered objective in that we can imagine what an ordinary driver of reasonable prudence would do in any given situation.  If the driver did something unreasonable instead, they are liable even if it does not break the law.  For example, there might not be a law that says you have to keep both hands and eyes on the wheel, but it would be objectively dangerous for a driver to grab a map with both hands and look down at it while they are supposed to be driving.

You also have to prove that the driver’s mistake or violation was the thing that caused your crash.  If someone else’s actions intervened, you might be better off suing them instead.  If your own actions contributed to the crash, the defense might try to reduce your damages by showing that your actions supplied partial fault.

Evidence Needed for Motorcycle Crashes in Greenville, SC

To prove fault, you need to supply evidence.  The plaintiff – the injured party – has the “burden of production” in an injury case, meaning they need to bring the evidence to court and show the judge and jury what happened.

Most evidence is easy to acquire, and the vast majority of evidence will come from your own testimony.  On top of getting on the stand to tell the jury what happened, you can also provide pictures you took at the scene, any videos of the crash from security cameras or dashboard cameras, and any other evidence you might have collected.  Your testimony will be particularly important when it comes to details like where the other driver was before the accident, what actions everyone took, and what the lighting and weather were like.

Some evidence is harder to obtain and might require hiring experts.  For example, some crashes can be analyzed by accident reconstruction experts who can then give their expert opinion on how the crash happened and why the other driver was responsible.  This is especially helpful in cases that involve multiple vehicles or crashes where the motorcycle rider ended up far away from the crash scene, and the expert needs to parse out each step of what happened.

Call Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Today in Greenville, SC

For help with your injury case, contact the motorcycle accident attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (803) 219-4906.