Los Angeles Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Get medical care, call law enforcement where appropriate, document what you safely can, and identify drivers and witnesses. Then preserve the motorcycle, the helmet and your gear before anything is repaired or discarded, because in a serious case those are evidence.

Yes. California Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines lane splitting, and CHP guidance is that it is legal when done in a safe and prudent manner. California is not a state where a rider is breaking the law simply by riding between lanes.

Lane splitting being legal does not mean a rider can never share responsibility, and it also does not mean the rider caused the crash. The facts decide it: traffic speed, the rider’s speed, the difference between them, visibility, lane position, and whether another driver made an unsafe manoeuvre. The fact of lane splitting alone establishes nothing.

It is the collision CHP specifically warns riders about, and the turning driver is very often responsible. It is not automatic though. Right of way, the signal phase, how visible the rider was from the turn position, approach speed, impact location and any video all get examined before responsibility is established.

That is an explanation, not a defence, and it does not automatically establish negligence either. The investigation looks at visibility, lighting, lane position, speed, driver attention, blind spots and road layout, together with witnesses and video.

Yes. California applies comparative fault, so damages are reduced by the percentage of responsibility assigned to you rather than barred. Being partly responsible reduces a claim; it does not end it.

No, and equally it is not irrelevant. California requires a DOT-compliant helmet. Whether non-use affects a particular claim depends on the injuries, on whether a helmet would have changed those specific injuries, and on how comparative fault is argued. It is a damages question far more than a question of who caused the collision.

It can support a claim, but a hazard existing does not by itself make a public entity liable. It has to be established who owned or controlled the road, that a dangerous condition existed, and that there was notice of it. Government-related claims also carry substantially earlier requirements, so those cases need advice quickly.

Where a defective motorcycle, tire or component contributed, yes. It means preserving the machine and the part, having it examined, and distinguishing a manufacturing defect from a design defect from a maintenance issue. We do not allege a defect without evidence to support it.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply, depending on your policy, alongside any other responsible parties and additional policies. Whether it does, and for how much, comes down to the policy wording, which we would want to read.

Motorcycle and gear damage is part of the loss, handled alongside but separately from the injury claim. California also treats property-damage actions differently from injury claims for limitation purposes, so the two are not on the same clock.

Many California personal injury lawsuits generally must be filed within two years of the injury. That is not universal. Government roadway claims and other circumstances can involve substantially earlier or different requirements, so it is worth asking early rather than assuming.

It depends on injury severity, future care, permanent impairment, lost earnings, fault, available insurance, the evidence and whether suit is needed. Insurance limits are not the same as case value, and anyone quoting a figure before reading the medical records is guessing.

We work on a contingency fee. There is no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery, and the percentage and costs are set out in the written agreement before anything is signed.