As you try to pick up the pieces after a motorcycle accident, you will no doubt have questions. For most motorcyclists, it’s hard to know which steps to take following. Car accidents of any type are traumatic and leave people shaken afterwards. Sometimes, it helps to sit down in a lawyer’s office and talk about your options and the likelihood of you receiving any compensation for your injuries. In accidents where cars hit motorcycles, the injuries and damages tend to be more serious than if the wreck occurred with another car.
One of the most common defenses that drivers will have is that they did not see the motorcyclist. Is this a valid excuse? Can you still sue the driver if this is the case?
Did You Violate the Rules of the Road?
The biggest question that you’re going to have to ask yourself and that you will have to prove when filing a suit is whether you had any fault in the accident. The next steps that occur when you establish fault has everything to do with your home state. Every state has its own laws and may classify as a fault or no-fault state. In some states, if you violated the rules of the road but did not contribute the most to the accident, then you can still collect compensation. However, in very few states, you cannot collect even if you have minimal fault.
Was the Car Negligent?
A driver may not see a motorcyclist for a number of reasons. If a motorcycle speeds into a car’s blind spot with no warning or speeds through an intersection, then the car may not be responsible for not seeing the motorcycle in time. However, if the car acts negligently and winds up hitting the motorcycle because the driver was not paying proper attention to his or her surroundings, then the motorcyclist can sue for damages. No matter what the driver’s excuse is, negligence still matters in determining fault during a motorcycle accident.
Odds are, if you are in a collision with another driver, you may hear the defense that the car did not see you. If this is the case, you can still pursue a case against that driver. All that matters is whether you can prove that the other driver acted negligently. To learn more about fault law in your particular state, you should call and set up a consultation with a lawyer, like a motorcycle accident lawyer in Memphis, TN from Patterson Bray, as soon as possible.