If you’re driving a car or truck, hitting a pothole is usually a nuisance. But sometimes, it can result in a damaged vehicle. But if you hit a pothole while riding a motorcycle, it can result in far more serious problems, like an accident. If you or someone you love has been injured in a motorcycle accident caused by a pothole, the motorcycle accident lawyers from Maison Law can get you the financial recovery you deserve. Contact us today for a no-obligation, free consultation.
Motorcycle Accidents Caused By Potholes
The City of Tulare, as well as Tulare County, offers great opportunities for motorcycle riders, especially those who enjoy the Sierra Nevada mountains. However, these pleasant rides can become nightmares when there are uneven pavement and road surfaces.
For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 10% of all fatal motorcycle accidents are the result of uneven terrain.
And when these accidents occur, they can lead to any number of traumatic injuries.
Common Types of Motorcycle Injuries Caused by Potholes
If a motorcyclist gets injured due to a pothole, it can lead to:
- Lacerations
- “Road rash” skin abrasions
- Knee injuries
- Fractured jaw or damaged teeth.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Internal injuries to vital organs
- Shoulder injuries
- Broken ribs
- Broken wrist
- Broken collarbone
- Neck and spine damage
Who’s Liable for Pothole-Related Injuries?
When a motorcycle accident is caused by a pothole in Tulare, there’s often more than one potential at-fault party. In most cases, one or more of the following parties could be potentially responsible:
- City of Tulare
- State of California
- County of Tulare
- Road construction company
- Road maintenance company
- Private property owner (if the pothole existed on private property, like a parking lot)
Often, the injured motorcycle rider can seek recovery from more than one potential liable party. This is because the pothole, as well as the accident itself, likely has different responsible entities.
For instance, another driver might have caused the motorcycle rider to veer into the pothole. The pothole might exist because of inadequate road maintenance, which is handled by the City of Tulare and/or the County of Tulare. The pothole might have formed sooner than it should have because the road wasn’t properly paved when it was first constructed.
In this hypothetical, there are several potential responsible parties: the other driver, the city or county, the road construction company, and the road maintenance company. And should they all be brought into a lawsuit or insurance settlement negotiations, they’re highly likely to point their fingers at each other to assign blame. This is why it’s important to have a personal injury lawyer on your side after a motorcycle accident, such as one from Maison Law.
What To Do After Getting Hurt in a Motorcycle Accident Caused By a Pothole
If you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself in a pothole motorcycle accident, you need to follow the steps below to protect your health and legal rights.
- Get immediate medical attention for any injuries you might have. Even if you’re not sure if you’re hurt, or if your injuries are serious, you need to see a doctor or other healthcare professional. This is important to keep you safe, create a record of your injuries, and document how much those injuries cost you financially.
- Contact the police. If you’re seriously hurt from the accident, the police will probably show up after you (or someone else) calls 9-1-1-. Even if you’re not hurt, it’s important to contact the police. This is so you can have a police officer create an accident report. This document may prove invaluable later on if an insurance company doesn’t believe your side of the story, or the at-fault party denies liability.
- Gather evidence. Ideally, you want to do this immediately after the accident, while you’re at the accident scene. If you’re not seriously injured, you can take pictures of road conditions (including the pothole), damage to other vehicles (if applicable), and obtain witness statements and contact information. If another driver was involved in the accident, you can also get their name and insurance information. If you’re unable to do this right after the accident, you can still gather evidence by getting a copy of the police report, revisiting the location of the accident, and seeing if any cameras recorded what happened.
- Follow medical recommendations. You might feel fine, but if your doctor or other healthcare specialist recommends additional treatment, you should follow their advice. It’s important for your recuperation and healing, but it also creates additional documentation as to the extent of your injuries.
- Report the pothole to the City of Tulare. Most likely, the City of Tulare’s Public Works Department will be responsible for filling in the pothole. You can report the pothole at the City of Tulare’s Submit Your Citizen Request webpage. You’ll need to provide details about the pothole (which can include pictures).
Motorcycle Liability in Tulare
The reason why motorcycle riders can potentially seek financial recovery for their injuries following a pothole accident is that the City of Tulare and/or other entities have a duty of care in making sure public roads are free from hazards. This doesn’t mean potholes are never allowed. But it means there’s a duty to fix them within a reasonable amount of time and build roads in a way to make them less likely. If the responsible party breaches this duty, they could be legally liable under the theory of negligence.
What If I Contributed To Causing My Motorcycle Accident?
In some cases, you might be held to be partially responsible for causing your injuries. If this happens, don’t panic, as this is unlikely to prevent you from obtaining compensation for the harm you suffered. This is due to California being a pure comparative negligence state. Therefore, any recovery you receive will be reduced by your level of fault.
Imagine you’re entitled to $50,000 in damages for your motorcycle repairs, lost income, emotional distress, and out-of-pocket medical expenses. However, you were riding at 51 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone. So the court decides you’re 10% at fault for your damages, which will reduce your recovery to $45,000 ($50,000 x 10% = $5,000; $50,000 – $5,000 = $45,000).
Recoverable Damages After a Pothole Motorcycle Accident
The exact damages you can receive depend on the specific facts of your case, but you may be eligible for one or more of the following types of damages:
- Economic damages for things like medical bills, lost income, and property repair costs.
- Non-economic damages for subjective losses, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium.
- Punitive damages as a means of punishing the responsible party for especially reckless or egregious conduct. The goal of punitive damages is to deter similar conduct in the future, not compensate the motorcyclist for their damages.
Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
Not all traffic accidents require you to hire a lawyer, but motorcycle accidents caused by potholes that result in injuries are almost always going to benefit from an attorney. Before hiring one, you’ll want to meet one for a consultation.
This is your opportunity to see if your attorney is a good fit for you and your case. It’s also the attorney’s chance to analyze the facts of your case and provide recommendations on your best legal options. As a result, you should be well-prepared before the consultation. This means:
- Having extra copies of important evidence, like accident reports, video footage, medical invoices, etc.
- Bringing notes about the key facts of your case, including names of witnesses and their contact information.
- Creating a list of questions to ask the attorney about their billing practices, their experience handling motorcycle accident cases, and what they anticipate happening with your case.
Finding the right personal injury attorney involves not just checking boxes, but also seeing how comfortable you feel with them. If you’re not sure you can trust them or that they’ll give you the attention you need and deserve, then you should schedule a consultation with a different lawyer.
Meet With a Tulare Motorcycle Accident Attorney
You can’t undo what happened, but you have some say in obtaining compensation for your damages. The best way to get this compensation is to talk to a motorcycle accident lawyer from Maison Law.
To learn how we can help, contact us to schedule a no-obligation consultation. There’s no charge for this meeting, as we don’t receive a dime unless you obtain a financial recovery on your behalf.
