A serious accident can force an injured motorcyclist to give up riding for weeks, months, or even years. Maison Law of Bell, CA, protects the victims of motorcycle collisions and makes sure at-fault drivers are held accountable for their careless mistakes.
Contact us to schedule a free case review. Your consultation comes with no obligation. It’s a no-risk chance to find out how much your injury is worth and how to hold an insurance company fully responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer After a Motorcycle Accident?
If you suffered a serious injury in a motorcycle crash caused by a reckless driver, you may be able to recover substantially more in injury compensation with the help of a Bell CA motorcycle accident lawyer. A serious injury can involve something like a broken leg or head trauma that will require expensive medical care.
When medical bills run higher, auto insurers turn to their tried and true tactics to avoid accountability. They like to pin the fault for all accidents on motorcyclists, no matter what really happened. They also love to question how badly a rider is hurt. Your lawyer is your shield against their shady practices. Your lawyer fully investigates your crash and backs your case with evidence. Your lawyer then demands the maximum in compensation for you.
What If I Can’t Afford to Pay a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?
Maison Law attorneys work under a contingency agreement. It means that all victims can afford strong legal representation after a motorcycle accident.
Under a contingency agreement, lawyers front all investigative costs and don’t charge anything unless the case is won. If the case is unsuccessful, motorcyclists don’t owe anything.
If the case is successful, the lawyer’s fees would come out of the settlement an unhelpful car insurance company would have to pay you.
Motorcycle Accident Dangers in Bell CA
Local motorcyclists can be out for a ride on a busy route like Florence Avenue or up for a trip on the Long Beach Freeway. They may be heading to work, out for a meal, or just wanting to find some open road to relax and unwind. Unfortunately, the kinds of careless drivers who cause accidents are found inside city limits and outside in Los Angeles County.
California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) reports that in 2024, Bell roads were the scene of at least 16 motorcycle accidents involving injury. But local riders often head out for longer rides into the County. The data shows how much more dangerous riding in L.A. can be. In 2024, L.A. County recorded 2,869 serious motorcycle accidents and at least 81 tragic deaths.
It’s no surprise that Los Angeles traffic would prove to be such a hazard for riders. L.A. drivers are known for their distracted and unfocused driving. That’s a major threat to motorcyclists. Drivers often say they never saw the riders they hit, but that’s not usually the full truth. It’s usually more true to say the driver wasn’t paying enough attention to mirrors and blind spots, and out their own front windshields to pay riders the type of caution they should get.
These are just a few of the many types of accidents that put local motorcyclists at risk:
- Dangerous Lane Changes – Drivers in cars, SUVs, and trucks sometimes don’t bother to check their mirrors and blind spots and veer over onto a motorcyclist beside them. It’s also a common danger when traffic is merging onto highways.
- Distracted Driving Accidents – Drivers looking at the latest news on their cellphones and not watching out for the smaller profile of a motorcyclist.
- Traffic Slow Downs and Rear-end Collisions – Another problem for drivers who aren’t watching the lanes. They may not see a traffic jam ahead, or even a light turning red. They may never hit the brakes before striking a vulnerable motorcyclist from behind.
- Lane Splitting – This is legal in California, but drivers who are ignorant of the practice can put motorcyclists at risk of an impact. Lane splitting allows motorcyclists to travel between two lanes of slow-moving traffic. It usually occurs at a red light where traffic is stopped. Drivers can open their doors without checking to see if they are sharing the lane with a motorcyclist. They can also veer between lanes or switch lanes while passing through an intersection and sideswipe a motorcyclist.
- Road rage and Aggressive Driving – Drivers can become overcome with rage, even over the legal moves a rider makes. They can also exceed Freeway 710’s already elevated speed limits. Drivers may get aggressive and try to cut motorcyclists off or pass them in an unsafe spot.
Insurance companies love to blame motorcyclists for every accident, even when investigation officers back up the rider. Insurance adjusters can get away with giving an injured victim no help for medical bills if they can get a rider to accept blame.
Many motorcycle collision victims end up paying for much of their own care out of their own pockets because they don’t have a lawyer to help them hold an insurer accountable.
How Much Should I Expect in a Motorcycle Accident Claim?
Your lawyer won’t be able to give you a reliable estimate on what you may receive until you are able to sit down and tell the whole story. Your attorney will also need to investigate what occurred and go over your injury prognosis with doctors.
The amount you receive will largely depend on the final total of your hospital bills and the total on the paychecks you’ve had to forfeit while being unable to work. The emotional stress and anguish a frightening accident may cause should also factor into the amount of a settlement check.
These and other hardships should determine what you’ll receive:
- Exact totals on all hospital and physical therapy expenses and estimates on future care.
- All costs associated with a permanent physical disability. A disability may keep a motorcyclist from returning to work or ever riding a bike again. Lifelong medical monitoring and medical equipment could be needed.
- Compensation for the constant physical pain victims suffer and may continue to cope with.
- Compensation for emotional trauma suffered, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms stemming from the moment of impact. This can add up to substantial compensation when riders lose their enjoyment of life while dealing with a difficult recovery and having to be off their bikes for prolonged periods.
- Money for a new motorcycle after a bike is totaled in a collision.
- Past and future lost benefits and wages at work.
- Wrongful death support for families. After a family loses a loved one in a tragic motorcycle accident, they can ask for help paying funeral bills and replacing the future income the deceased would have provided.
The skill of your attorney can also make a huge difference in what you take home. You’ll want an experienced attorney who has taken on giant insurance companies many times and has won substantial support for clients. There is no set settlement amount in motorcycle accidents. Two injured riders with very similar injuries can receive very different settlement amounts.
Your lawyer should be a powerful negotiator in order to make sure you receive the maximum in compensation available for your injuries.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do at the scene of my motorcycle accident?
Call 911 and request an ambulance if anyone is hurt. If you are left strong enough and it’s safe, try to gather some evidence on the scene before it’s cleared away. Take photos of the car damage and the damage to your bike. Show your helmet if you were wearing one. Take photos of any visible injuries and damage to clothing. Get witness contact information.
How long can I wait to file a Bell motorcycle accident claim?
Two years. You have up to two years from the date of your accident to file a claim. But don’t delay. The sooner you turn your case over to an attorney, the easier it will be to gather fresh evidence, secure security footage, and track down witnesses.
What type of documents do I need to bring with me to a meeting with a motorcycle accident attorney?
If you’ve obtained a copy of the Bell police accident report for your case or the CHP accident report, bring it in for your lawyer to look over. If you don’t have it, and you hire Maison Law, your attorney will secure this document for you. Medical records and billing invoices for every visit you’ve made to doctors, physical therapists, surgeons, and other specialists will help. Paystubs will be helpful to show how much income you are losing each week while you can’t work.
Contact a Bell Car Motorcycle Lawyer
We’re pleased to offer free case reviews to all victims and their families in Bell, CA. Tell us what happened and how your injury has affected your life. We can answer all of your questions. Keep in mind that there’s no obligation to you or your family for this case consultation.
We’ll help you determine the best path to getting the most out of your motorcycle accident injury claim. If we can’t help you earn more, we’ll tell you that. We’ll also point you in the right direction for getting the most by filing yourself.
If we can help you, the investigation into what happened to you will start immediately. Our Bell Motorcycle Accident Lawyers get aggressive with car insurance companies. We inform them of their duty to act as quickly as possible to respond to your claim and to turn over the support you’ll need to rebuild your life.
