You are already at a disadvantage the moment the police arrive. When a car hits a motorcycle, the immediate assumption, by witnesses, officers, and especially insurance adjusters, is that the rider was speeding or being reckless. The truth is often the exact opposite: most motorcycle accidents in Los Angeles are caused by drivers who are distracted, impatient, or simply fail to check their blind spots. You don’t have a protective cage, airbags, or a bumper to absorb the impact. You take the full force of the collision.
California motorcycle accident laws exist specifically to counter this bias, and knowing them is often the difference between a lowball offer and full compensation. Haffner Law understands rider culture and the physics of a crash, and knows how to dismantle the “reckless biker” narrative before it ever reaches a jury.
Defeating “Biker Bias”
Insurance companies favor motorcycle cases because they bank on jury bias. They know many people view riders as risk-takers who “asked for it.” Their strategy is to shift blame onto you regardless of the other driver’s negligence, scrutinizing your riding history, your gear, and your speed. “I didn’t see him” is an admission of negligence, not a valid excuse, and we hold insurers to that standard.
Lane Splitting Is Legal, and Drivers Have Duties Too
One of the most common ways insurers try to deny claims is by blaming the rider for lane splitting, counting on the public misconception that filtering through traffic is illegal. It is not. Under California Vehicle Code section 21658.1, lane splitting is expressly legal, and California is the only state that permits it at moving traffic speeds rather than only when traffic is stopped.[1] The statute sets no specific speed number of its own; ordinary speed laws, including the Basic Speed Law, still apply to how a rider splits.[2]
What most people do not know is that this cuts both ways. California Highway Patrol guidance issued under this authority makes clear that it is illegal for a driver to intentionally block or impede a lane-splitting motorcyclist, and illegal to open a vehicle door into one.[1] We know the difference between reckless riding and safe filtering, and we hold drivers accountable when they violate these duties.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Crashes
- The Left-Turn Trap: the single most common cause of rider injuries, where a driver at an intersection turns left directly in front of a rider who has the right of way.
- Unsafe Lane Changes: drivers checking phones instead of mirrors merging directly into riders.
- Road Hazards: potholes, loose gravel, or uneven pavement that a car would roll over but that can be lethal for a bike.
- Doorings: parked drivers swinging doors open into traffic without looking, forcing a rider to impact the door or swerve into traffic.
Evidence That Proves Driver Negligence
- The Rider’s Gear: a scuffed helmet and shredded leathers are evidence, showing point of impact and severity of the slide.
- Video Footage: GoPros and business surveillance cameras often capture the seconds before impact.
- Skid and Yaw Marks: show that you reacted defensively and attempted to avoid the crash.
- Witness Statements: locked down immediately, before memories fade or adjusters can influence them.
Catastrophic Injuries That Demand Full Compensation
- Road Rash (Traumatic Dermatitis): often requires debridement, skin grafts, and months of painful recovery.
- Degloving Injuries: extensive tissue damage where skin is torn from underlying tissue.
- Lower Extremity Fractures: tibia and fibula breaks are common when the bike falls on the rider’s leg.
- Brachial Plexus Injuries: nerve damage in the shoulder from landing on the arm or shoulder, often called “biker’s arm.”
- Traumatic Brain Injury: even with a quality helmet, the brain can suffer a concussion or a bleed severe enough to require lifelong traumatic brain injury care.
Helmet Law and Comparative Negligence
California requires all riders and passengers to wear a helmet.[3] If you were not wearing one, you still have a case. California vehicle accident laws let you recover even if you were partially at fault for not wearing a helmet. If you suffered a broken leg, the lack of a helmet is irrelevant to that injury, and we make certain the defense cannot use a helmet violation to deny valid claims for injuries a helmet would not have prevented.
Compensation: Recovering What You Lost
- Medical costs, including past surgeries, physical therapy, and future needs like reconstructive surgery for scarring
- Gear replacement at full value: helmets, jackets, gloves, and boots
- Bike repair or replacement at fair market value, including aftermarket parts, not the low “Blue Book” figure insurers offer
- Lost earnings, both wages missed during recovery and any impact on future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering, including the loss of your ability to ride
Types of Motorcycle Accidents We Handle
- Left-Turn Crashes: a driver turns left across an intersection directly into a rider who has the right of way.
- Lane-Splitting Collisions: a driver changes lanes without checking mirrors, or intentionally closes the gap on a legally splitting rider.
- Rear-End and Sideswipe Crashes: a distracted driver fails to register a motorcycle’s smaller profile in traffic.
- Road Hazard and Single-Vehicle Crashes: potholes, gravel, or a dangerously maintained road can throw a rider even with no other vehicle involved, potentially creating a claim against the public entity responsible for the roadway.
- Drunk and Impaired Driving Crashes: motorcyclists suffer disproportionately severe injuries when the other driver is impaired.
Who Can Be Held Liable
The driver who caused the crash is usually the primary defendant, but liability can extend further. A government entity can share responsibility for a dangerous road condition. A parts manufacturer can face a product liability claim when a defective component, such as a tire or brake system, contributed to the crash. And when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, which happens disproportionately often in motorcycle cases, your own insurer’s uninsured motorist coverage becomes the source of recovery. California requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage on every auto policy, though a policyholder can reject it in writing, which is why confirming your own coverage early matters. If your own carrier denies or delays that claim without a legitimate basis, insurance bad faith becomes a separate claim in its own right.
How Haffner Law Builds Your Motorcycle Accident Case
Defeating biker bias takes more than telling a jury it exists. We depose the responding officer and any adjuster who assigned early fault, and we use “I didn’t see him” as an admission of negligence rather than an excuse. When lane splitting is part of the story, we retain accident reconstructionists who can show your speed, spacing, and lane position matched CHP’s own safety guidance, which flips the insurer’s favorite argument back on them.
We also build the medical side of the case as carefully as the liability side. Road rash, degloving injuries, and brachial plexus damage often require years of reconstructive treatment that an adjuster’s first offer never accounts for, so we work with treating physicians and life-care planners to document what your recovery will actually cost, not just what it has cost so far.
California Motorcycle Accident Law FAQs
Should I get a lawyer for a motorcycle accident?
Yes. Motorcycle claims are inherently harder than car accident claims because of injury severity and rider bias. Insurance adjusters will try to pin fault on you to save money, and a lawyer shields you from those tactics.
How much are most motorcycle accident settlements?
There is no average, since every crash is different. Value depends on medical bills, lost wages, available insurance coverage, and the severity of your pain and suffering.
How do I make a motorcycle accident claim?
Report the accident to your own insurer, but do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer until you have spoken to an attorney. We handle the filing, the evidence collection, and all carrier communication.
Is lane splitting ever used against me if I was riding safely?
Insurers will try. Because the statute sets no fixed speed limit, adjusters sometimes argue that any lane splitting was inherently unsafe. We counter this with the fact that splitting is expressly legal and by showing your speed, spacing, and conditions matched CHP’s own safety guidance.
What if the driver who hit me had no insurance?
Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage typically steps in. We handle that claim the same way we handle any insurer negotiation, since your own carrier still has an incentive to minimize your payout.
How long do I have to file a motorcycle accident lawsuit in California?
Generally two years from the date of the crash under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.[4] If a government vehicle or dangerous public road contributed to the crash, you may have only six months to file an administrative claim, so confirm your deadline early.
Speak With a California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Insurance companies build entire defense strategies around biker bias, and dismantling that strategy is what we do. Haffner Law operates on contingency, so you advance nothing and owe nothing unless we win. Our attorneys understand rider culture as well as they understand the law that protects you, and we represent injured riders throughout our California locations, based out of Sherman Oaks on Ventura Boulevard.
Call (213) 514-5681 for a free case evaluation. Ride safe, and if you go down, we are here to pick you up.
