Motorcycle Accident Claims: Fighting Rider Bias with the Facts
Motorcycle accidents often lead to catastrophic injuries that can permanently alter your life. Without the protection of a chassis or seat belts, motorcyclists remain among the most vulnerable motorists on the road—even when wearing protective gear like helmets. If you or a loved one has been injured, a Grand Junction motorcycle accident lawyer can help protect your rights and pursue the full compensation you need for medical care, lost wages, and recovery.
Veritas Injury Lawyers has successfully handled countless motorcycle accident cases, in addition to all other types of motor vehicle accidents. We have locations inGrand Junction, Montrose, Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Telluride, and serve areas throughout the Western part of Colorado and on the open roads of Eastern Utah. Our experienced personal injury accident attorneys have more than 60 years of combined experience working with insurance companies. We will effectively counter their efforts to make you settle for less than you deserve.
We Understand Insurance Companies When in a Motorcycle Accident
Attorney Gary Doehling formerly represented insurance companies. Drawing from this experience, we understand the strategic approaches insurance carriers take when defending against insurance claims. And we know how to identify when they make bad faith denials or delay paying legitimate claims.
When necessary, our Grand Junction attorneys bring in skilled accident reconstruction specialists and investigators to build the strongest motorcycle accident case, especially if going to trial is in your best interests. We also employ state-of-the-art technology to create animations, accident reconstructions, and other visual displays to accurately present your case to the jury.
Representation for a Wide Array of Catastrophic Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Motorcyclists involved in crashes with cars, SUVs, and trucks often suffer serious injuries, including:
These injuries can prevent you or a loved one who has been involved in a bike crash from returning to work and being able to perform your current responsibilities. You may even need long-term assistance to complete routine daily life tasks.
The consequences of such injuries can be devastating. You deserve to receive enough compensation to pay for your necessary treatment and quality of life alterations for as long as is needed. A Grand Junction motorcycle wreck lawyer can advocate on your behalf to recover compensation for both your short-term and long-term losses.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Motorcycle Accident?
After a motorcycle accident, victims may face significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges. Understanding the types of compensation available can help protect your rights and ensure you pursue the full extent of damages you deserve.
Victims may recover economic damages, which are quantifiable costs incurred due to the accident. These include medical expenses, such as:
- Hospital bills
- Rehabilitation costs
- Medication
- Future medical treatments related to your injuries
Lost wages from missed work and diminished earning capacity due to long-term disabilities can also be included.
In addition to economic damages, victims may seek non-economic damages for intangible losses. These encompass pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of companionship if the accident negatively impacts relationships.
Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence rule, meaning your compensation may be reduced if you share fault for the accident. However, as long as you are less than 50% at fault, you remain eligible to recover damages. Consulting a knowledgeable attorney can help navigate the legal process and ensure you pursue the compensation needed to rebuild after a motorcycle accident.
Many people are prejudiced against motorcyclists, including the judges, juries, and insurance providers who may be working on your case. Because motorcyclists are often associated with reckless driving and behaviors, such as speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, they may wrongly assume that the accident was the motorcyclist’s fault.
Our motorcycle accident lawyers in Grand Junction will help you overcome this image by clearly presenting the facts of the case. If you were wrongfully injured at no fault of your own, you deserve for your situation to be perceived correctly.
How Motorcycle Accident Cases Differ from Car Accident Cases
Motorcyclists may face unfair assumptions about how crashes occur. Insurance companies, opposing counsel, and even jurors may sometimes associate motorcycles with speeding, aggressive riding, or other risky behavior. A motorcycle collision lawyer in Grand Junction can fight to ensure these assumptions do not replace an objective examination of the evidence. The circumstances of the collision—including vehicle positions, traffic conditions, witness statements, photographs, video footage, and accident reconstruction evidence—should determine who was responsible.
The physical consequences of a motorcycle crash can also be substantially different from those of a typical car accident. A motorcyclist generally lacks the protective structure, airbags, and restraint systems surrounding an occupant of a passenger vehicle. When a motorcycle collides with another vehicle or the rider is thrown from the bike, the rider may have little between their body and the pavement, another vehicle, or roadside objects.
Colorado recognizes specific motorcycle equipment and safety requirements, including requirements concerning motorcycle safety equipment pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-232, while helmet requirements vary by age. The Colorado State Patrol notes that riders and passengers under 18 are required to wear safety helmets, while riders age 18 and older are not generally required to wear helmets under state law.
Motorcycle Traffic Laws and Safety Regulations
Understanding Colorado’s motorcycle traffic laws with the help of a motorcycle accident attorney can be important when investigating an accident in Grand Junction. Motorcyclists must comply with the same general rules of the road that apply to other motorists, while state law also establishes rules specifically governing motorcycle operation. A violation of a traffic regulation does not necessarily determine civil liability by itself, but evidence that a driver failed to follow an applicable traffic law may be relevant when evaluating how a crash occurred and who was at fault.
The state currently permits a limited form of motorcycle lane filtering, which is sometimes confused with the broader practice of lane splitting. Under C.R.S. § 42-4-1503, the driver of a two-wheeled motorcycle may overtake or pass another motor vehicle in the same lane when the vehicle being passed and vehicles in adjacent lanes traveling in the same direction are stopped, the lanes are wide enough to pass safely, the motorcycle is traveling at 15 miles per hour or less, and conditions permit prudent operation.
The law also prohibits certain maneuvers, including passing on the right shoulder, passing to the right of a vehicle in the farthest-right lane when the highway is not limited access, and passing in a lane carrying traffic in the opposite direction. Because the statutory requirements are specific, a rider’s maneuver should be evaluated based on the traffic conditions and circumstances that existed at the time of the crash rather than on a general assumption that motorcycles are either permitted or prohibited from traveling around stopped traffic.
Call a Grand Junction Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today
A motorcycle accident can change your life in an instant, leaving you facing painful injuries, mounting medical bills, lost income, and uncertainty about what comes next. You should not have to fight an insurance company or prove the value of your claim alone. The facts of your crash matter, and having an experienced legal advocate on your side can make a critical difference.
Contact Veritas Injury Lawyers today to speak with a Grand Junction motorcycle accident lawyer. Our team can investigate your accident, protect your rights, and pursue the compensation you deserve. Do not wait to take action—get in touch with us today to take the first step toward securing your future.
