Motorcycle accident victims must often fight to get support for their medical bills and reimbursement for the paychecks they lose.
Maison Law of Fort Bragg CA is ready to stand with injured riders hurt by careless drivers and make sure they can’t be unfairly blamed for collisions.
Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers hold reckless drivers liable for all damages. Contact Maison Law to talk with a real lawyer about your options in a free, no-obligation consultation. You’ll learn what your injury is worth and how to secure the compensation you need to recover.
How Do I Know If I Need a Lawyer for My Motorcycle Accident Case?
When injuries are serious and a driver caused your accident, you should bring your case to a lawyer. When medical bills run high, insurers are incentivized to seek ways to reject or devalue claims. They often try to blame riders for accidents, even if the proof says otherwise. They might also downplay the severity of your injuries to get away with providing you with less.
Your Fort Bragg Motorcycle Accident Lawyer fully investigates your accident and collects evidence so you can fight back when insurance adjusters look to reject your claim. Your lawyer protects your case from attacks and demands the maximum possible so you can heal and get back to riding a motorcycle again. Your lawyer can often earn you much more for recovery and motorcycle repairs than you could earn yourself.
Motorcycle Accident Dangers in Mendocino County
Motorcyclists in any part of California are too often put at risk by careless, inattentive drivers. But all along the coast, there will be more riders enjoying the view, along with more tourists not used to steep grades and sharp curves.
The Pacific Coast Highway and Highway 101 will be hotspots for accidents due to the increased traffic and number of sightseeing drivers. Trips through the mountains on Highway 20 and out to Mendocino Lake might also put riders in conflict with reckless drivers.
It’s a common danger that’s reflected in accident data each year. California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) reports that Fort Bragg and Mendocino County recorded 33 motorcycle accidents involving injuries in 2024. Those accidents resulted in at least 3 tragic deaths. Almost half of those accidents (15) occurred on Highway 101 and Highway 1.
A motorcyclist can be put in harm’s way on any stretch of local road. It’s when Maison Law’s Motorcycle Accident Lawyers take action to make sure injured motorcyclists receive the financial help they need to pay hospital bills. We want injured riders to be able to return to their motorcycles as soon as possible without worrying about medical debt.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Motorcyclists ride in the open air with little protection in a collision. It’s why drivers are expected to pay extra attention to the lanes when traveling around a rider. Sadly, they rarely pay enough attention to spot the rider until it’s too late.
Patients can end up in a bed at Adventist Health Mendocino Coast after a driver makes a left turn directly in front of the oncoming motorcycle. The injury may occur in a collision after a driver pulls out onto a highway in a right turn without seeing an approaching rider. A driver simply looking at a cellphone instead of monitoring a traffic slowdown ahead on Highway 1 may ram a motorcyclist from behind.
The injuries suffered can be devastating and life-threatening. These are some of the most common motorcycle collision injuries that leave victims in desperate need of financial help:
- Brain Injuries – Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) occur when the brain quickly jerks back and forth inside the skull. This violent motion causes bruising and tearing in brain tissue. TBIs can result in memory loss, seizures, concussions, and other serious symptoms. Motorcyclists can suffer TBI even with a helmet on.
- Spinal Cord Injuries– Spinal cord injuries can result in full paralysis or loss of sensation in the affected area. Serious motorcycle accident injuries can result in a permanent physical disability. A simple neck or back injury is enough to keep victims off their feet.
- Broken Bones– Motorcycle accidents can cause fractures to the bones in the body, including the arms, legs, and pelvis. The bones that form the chest, like the collarbone, breastbone, and ribs, are also vulnerable.
- Road Rash– Victims suffer road rash when the skin comes in contact with the road surface. Road rash can range from mild scrapes and bruises to severe abrasions that require skin grafting. Disfigurements are a very serious consequence.
- Soft Tissue Injuries– Soft tissue injuries, such as sprains and strains, can occur as a result of the sudden impact of a motorcycle accident. Longer-lasting conditions like tendinitis and bursitis develop in some victims.
- Internal Injuries– Motorcycle accidents can cause damage to internal organs, such as the liver, spleen, or kidneys, which can be life-threatening if not treated promptly. Nerve damage that results in radiating pain and sometimes a burning sensation or numbness is also common.
What Insurance Providers Won’t Tell You After a Motorcycle Accident
In some cases, insurance adjusters will be trying to get you out the door as soon as possible. They want you to sign off on a “lowball” settlement offer before you realize how long your injury may affect your life. Once you sign away your rights, you can’t go back to ask for more in support.
In other cases, insurance adjusters will stall you as long as possible. They hope you give up on your case or become so desperate for any money to pay your growing bills that you will accept any amount.
There are several other things insurance providers won’t bring up, hoping to keep you ignorant of what they should be providing:
- Won’t tell you how much your case is worth – Serious injuries can end up costing motorcyclists tens of thousands of dollars for care. Victims may need surgeries and physical therapy years down the road and may never reach a level of improvement that allows them to ride again. Insurance companies don’t want you thinking about these costs. They simply want to reimburse you for a night in the emergency room and not much else.
- Won’t bring up deadlines – Waiting until the statute of limitations on injury claims in California is past will cost you any chance you had at earning compensation. California permits victims up to two years from the date of a collision to file their claim. Don’t expect an insurance adjuster to alert you that you are close to the deadline.
- Won’t assign an agent to your case — Large insurance companies use big networks of phone representatives, sometimes they aren’t even located in California or the U.S. You may never talk to the same person twice, and these reps don’t have the authority to really help you. This makes it hard to make progress and get updates on your case. It’s another delay tactic. Having a personal injury lawyer on your side usually means getting a dedicated insurance agent on your case. This should be someone who can give you real answers and up your settlement offer.
- Won’t mention how a motorcycle accident lawyer can help you — Insurance companies will often move quickly if they don’t think you have legal representation. They want to get a “lowball offer” in front of you in the hopes you’ll sign it without a legal professional going over it. Once you sign on to let a personal injury attorney handle your case, your role in the claims process gets much easier while the insurance adjusters’ part gets much harder. They’ll probably try to stall while they figure out how to handle you. Your attorney will call them out on these unfair tactics and demand basic human decency.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file an injury claim after a motorcycle accident?
The statute of limitations on your motorcycle crash injury is two years. You should take action as soon as possible, though. Give your lawyer a chance to secure evidence before it disappears.
Can I get motorcycle accident compensation if I’m struck by a hit-and-run driver who is never identified?
Yes. You would file a claim on your uninsured motorist coverage. You could receive money to help pay all of your medical bills, even if a hit-and-run suspect is never found.
What types of things are compensated after a motorcycle injury accident?
Your Fort Bragg Motorcycle Accident Attorney would demand compensation to pay all current medical bills and to cover any future care that’s needed. The paychecks and job benefits lost while you can’t work must be reimbursed. You should also expect assistance with non-economic hardships, like the pain they are left with and the emotional trauma caused by a frightening accident and difficult recovery. The cost to repair your motorcycle or replace it must be factored into the size of a settlement check.
Support for Fort Bragg and Mendocino County Motorcycle Accident Victims
If you or a loved one is seriously injured due to the carelessness of a driver, discuss your options with a real Fort Bragg motorcycle accident lawyer. We want to help you demand what’s fair from insurers before they get away with providing you far less than you’ll need to recover physically and financially.
Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We want to hear what happened to you. We’re going to answer your questions and make sure you are fully aware of the insurance tactics you’ll face. These shady practices are meant to limit the money you receive.
