The area in and around Livermore is nearly perfect motorcycle country, and with gasoline prices increasing in and around Livermore, motorcycle use is increasing too. That increased use translates into an increased number of motorcycle accidents though. On a roadway, motorcycles present low and narrow profiles. Sometimes, motorcycle accidents occur because drivers of motor vehicles either just don’t see a motorcycle, or don’t see it until it’s too late, even when riders have their lights on.
Common Types of Motorcycle Accidents in Livermore
There are a wide variety of causes of motorcycle accidents with other vehicles. Here are a few examples of their common causes:
- Left Turns: These are caused when a driver makes a left turn in front of a motorcyclist who is traveling straight through an intersection. The motorcyclist typically has less than two seconds to try and avoid a collision.
- Right Turns: A motorcyclist will be traveling straight ahead with the right-of-way on a roadway when another vehicle turning right either pulls out in front of it or strikes it from its side.
- Lane Changes: These accidents occur most often on a roadway with four lanes of traffic, two lanes going in each direction. A motorcycle might be traveling next to a vehicle when the vehicle tries to change lanes.
- Lane Splitting: It’s perfectly legal in California for a motorcyclist to ride between two lanes of stopped traffic. Drivers just don’t understand that somebody might be passing them in between two lanes of traffic that is stopped in the same direction.
- Distracted Driving: A driver of a motor vehicle might be talking on a cellular phone, texting or using an infotainment center while moving and never see a motorcyclist. These types of accidents might fall under inattentive driving or failure to yield the right-of-way.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Other than maybe a helmet, nearly all motorcyclists are far less protected than somebody driving or occupying a passenger car. Motorcyclists don’t have the safety benefits of a steel body and frame around them, or airbags and seat belts. They’re far more exposed to injury than anybody in a motor vehicle. Here are some common motorcycle accident injuries that are seen in emergency rooms throughout California:
- Skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries.
- Spinal cord injuries.
- Rib fractures with damage to internal organs.
- Fractures of the upper and lower extremities.
- Joint damage to the shoulders, knees and ankles.
- Road rash with the likelihood of infection.
Don’t Let the Insurance Company Make You Take the Fall
Experienced motorcyclists are well aware of the fact that motorcycle accident injuries can be severe and permanent or even fatal. That’s precisely why the overwhelming majority of them ride defensively. Regardless of that awareness, insurance companies are biased against motorcycle riders. They’re going to try to push that prejudice off onto everybody involved in the case, including you, the victim, to have you believe that you were the sole cause of your crash.
When you retain us at Maison Law to represent you for your injuries and damages suffered in a motorcycle accident, we begin attacking that bias from the onset. We will tirelessly work until you are treated fairly and will fight for the compensation you deserve.
Contact a Livermore Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
After being injured in a motorcycle accident that was caused by the carelessness and negligence of somebody else, don’t give the opposing insurer any type of a statement about how the accident happened or the injuries that you suffered. California law doesn’t require you to give any such statement, and the opposing insurer only plans on using your own words against you in the future.
Rather than taking the risk of harming your case, preserve and protect it by contacting Maison Law right away after being injured in any motorcycle accident. If we’re retained to represent you, our goal will be to maximize any settlement or award to the fullest extent of the law.
