- Available 24/7
- 206-209-5585
- 206-858-1380
Menu
Any accident involving a motorcycle can be catastrophic. This is particularly true when the injury was caused by a car. While the driver of a vehicle is protected by seatbelts, airbags and the vehicle itself, as a motorcycle rider you’re only protected by a helmet and the clothes you have on.
In 2019, there were nearly 2,000 reported accidents involving motorcycles in Washington State according to the highway patrol. Out of these, approximately 500, or 25%, resulted in either serious injury or death. Another 1,150, representing about 54%, reported a more minor injury. This means only about 20% of motorcyclists are able to walk away from an accident unscathed. This is an alarmingly high rate of injury. Because of this, insurance companies are always looking for ways to blame you for the accident and pay out as little as possible for your injures.
Whether you were injured by a car or by another means, if the other party was negligent, you deserve to be made whole financially. Your job is to focus on recovering from your injury. We will handle the rest. Unlike the insurance companies, our only interest is in protecting you and putting you in the best position possible.
This is a common issue that we see. Car/Truck drivers are notorious for trying to blame a “reckless” motorcycle rider for “coming from out of nowhere” and causing the accident. And you can be sure that the insurance companies for those drivers will fully support them so they can try to avoid paying you anything.
So what can you do? Fight back. We seek to find witnesses and/or cameras in the area that may have captured the accident. We may need an expert in the field of accident reconstruction to analyze the crash. We look into whether the driver was distracted, under the influence, etc. The bottom line is if you were not at fault then we will do everything we can to establish the other party is to blame for the accident.
We see a variety of injuries with motorcycle accidents. Among the more common include:
Possibly. Helmets are mandatory for motorcycle riders in Washington State. Thus, if your accident resulted in a head injury and you were not wearing a helmet, you will likely be considered to share in the fault for that injury, even if you were not at fault for the accident itself. Because Washington is a comparative/contributory fault state, the percentage you are ultimately determined to be at fault will be deducted for your overall settlement or jury award.
Despite the above, if you were not wearing a helmet but suffered a broken arm and/or other injuries not associated with your head or neck, then whether or not you were wearing a helmet doesn’t really matter from a contributory fault standpoint.
First, we are very sorry for your loss. We understand that despite this horrible loss, you may still be stuck with medical bills, funeral costs, and other expenses. You may be able to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit to recover these costs and more. Please visit our wrongful death page and reach out at any time for a consultation.
The responding police officer(s) may put their opinions into the police report but ultimately both parties’ insurance companies will conduct their own independent investigations to try and determine where the fault lies. You want to have your own attorney to protect your claim.
Yes. As of July 2019, Washington State motorcycle riders are no longer exempt from mandatory insurance laws.
In WA State, all drivers must carry proof of auto/liability insurance, including motorcyclists. RCW 46.30 requires anyone who drives a motor vehicle or a motorcycle in our state to do one of the following options:
If you were not at fault for the accident, then we seek recovery from the other driver’s insurance company. If you were at fault, then you can seek coverage from your personal injury protection (PIP) if you have it.
PIP is offered through your insurance provider. If you have it, it will cover medical bills and loss wages as a result of an accident. There may be some exclusions, however.
No. In fact, Washington State insurance companies are not required to offer PIP coverage if you only ride a motorcycle. This is different from car insurance where the insurance companies are required to offer PIP, and the only way you don’t have it is if you specifically reject it in writing.
Not necessarily. The policy must specifically state that it covers both cars and motorcycles.
It depends on your policy. You can take a look at the following sections of your policy for this:
The other driver’s liability insurance is supposed to pay.
Your Personal Injury Protection pays first. If/When that were to run out, then health insurance may start picking up the tab. However, if they do, you may need to reimburse them out of any compensation you receive from a settlement or trial verdict.
Nope. Let us do that.
If your bills/expenses get paid by your own insurance company, they will seek to recover their costs from the at-fault person. This is a process called subrogation. Once a settlement or verdict is reached in your favor, your insurance company will start this process.
It’s not uncommon for injury victims to be partially at fault for an accident. This does not mean you are completely responsible and you very well may still be entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Washington State uses a “pure comparative negligence” calculation, where the amount of money you recover gets reduced by the percentage you are considered to be at fault. For example, Let’s say you recover $100,000 but are determined to be 25% at fault, your total recovery would then be $75,000.
No. In the handful of states with “No Fault” coverage, you can recover funds for medical bills and costs through your own insurance company regardless of who is at fault for the accident. In Washington State, as in most states, you instead have the option of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance.
Your own insurance policy may cover you for uninsured motorists (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) collisions. If so, you may be able to file a claim with your own insurance company. Your collision and personal liability coverage can help cover your losses. The same often goes for a collision where you are the victim of a hit-and-run driver.
Also, UIM coverage is a floating layer of coverage. In other words, it’s coverage in addition to the coverage held by the at-fault driver.
UM/UIM is required to be offered in the same amount as your liability coverage.
Under Washington law, the party with legal liability for economic damages may have the right to pay them to the person harmed in periodic installments, instead of in a lump-sum.
In a personal injury case, medical bills can skyrocket and healthcare providers understandably want to get paid for their services. In many cases, they do not get paid up front or at the time of service, but rather place a lien on your insurance claim. In other words, when there is a medical lien involved with your personal injury case, when you ultimately settle your case or win at trial, the unpaid medical bills are then paid to the healthcare provider out of your settlement.
If the healthcare provider is not willing to wait for payment, your insurance company can pay these medical bills instead and then the insurance company will in turn place their own lien on your settlement so they can recoup these payments. This is a process called subrogation.
Overall, a medical lien can be very helpful in that you do not have to pay out of pocket for your needed treatment. We step in to the process to negotiate the lien to reduce what is owed for medical bills and leave more of that money in your pocket.
A Phantom Vehicle refers to a vehicle that causes damage or injury without making physical contact. For example, let’s say another car swerves into your lane, and to avoid a collision, you swerve out of the way, but then you hit something else.
Do what you can to stop the “Phantom Vehicle” and exchange information; if you are unable to do this, at least get the license plate number.
Washington State requires that you report a “Phantom Vehicle” collision to the police within 72 hours if you intend on filing an insurance claim.
This is a common occurrence and there is often a responsible party to be found. Cities and counties are charged with the duty of maintaining safe roadways for both cars and motorcycles alike and if they fail to do so, they could be held liable.
Quite possibly, yes. Manufacturers must produce motorcycles that comply with stringent safety standards so if there was a mechanical failure of some kind, they may be liable.
We also look into issues with tire blowouts and other causes. For instance, did you go in for a recent service that was performed negligently?
Uber and Lyft drivers have the same responsibilities as all other drivers on the road, so you can still pursue legal action. In fact, ride share companies carry supplemental insurance for their drivers when the app is ON as follows:
Absolutely. We want to know as much about what caused your injury as possible and who is to blame. In a motorcycle injury case, we look at many things, including:
The list above is not exhaustive, but gives you an idea of some of the areas we look into. The facts and circumstances of your particular case will ultimately dictate where the investigation takes us.
The most common defenses we see is that the insurance company will try to claim:
Despite these available defenses, we will do everything possible to still maximize your recovery.
We’ll keep this answer simple: Yes, you need an attorney if you want to maximize your recovery. It’s just one of those things that is best left to the experts.
This question will get you a very lawyer-like answer: it depends. We need to know a lot more about your injury and get deep into the case before we can fully answer this question.
The word “win” also means different things to different people. For instance, if an insurance adjustor offers you $500 to settle your case and then after we get involved the offer goes up to $20,000, many people would consider that a win. In some cases, we would agree with this. In others, we may believe that more money is deserved and will urge you to keep fighting.
What we can tell you is this. We will put you in the best position to maximize your recovery, whether that is through a settlement or trial.
The two primary types of damages that can be recovered are economic/special damages, and non-economic/general damages.
Economic damages are for out-of-pocket costs that are incurred due to the injury. For example:
General damages are for other harms that you have suffered but are more difficult to calculate, such as:
It’s not uncommon for injury victims to be partially at fault for an accident. This does not mean you are completely responsible and you very well may still be entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Washington State uses a “pure comparative negligence” calculation, where the amount of money you recover gets reduced by the percentage you are considered to be at fault. For example, Let’s say you recover $100,000 but are determined to be 25% at fault, your total recovery would then be $75,000.
