Los Angeles Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
Motorcycle riders face unique challenges and are susceptible to more risks than are other motor vehicle operators. Common challenges motorcyclists face include:
Lack of exterior protection
Unlike automobile drivers, who can count on head restraints, airbags, seatbelts, and other systems of restraint, motorcyclists don't have such padding and protection. True, cyclists can wear helmets and other gear to protect against motorcycle accident injuries. However, it's simply a matter of physics that motorcycles -- due to their relatively low momentum -- can get pushed around by larger, faster moving vehicles on the road.
Motorcycles are harder to see
Motorcycles are smaller targets than are vehicles like trucks, cars, and buses. This issue is particularly critical at intersections and on freeways, where the vast majority of motorcycle collisions happen. The fact that a motorcycle operates as a kind of "neither nor" in traffic (neither a full-sized automobile nor a pedestrian or bicycle) complicates the ways in which other drivers interface with it.
Hazards on the road
Sticks, stones, spare tires, branches, potholes, and oil slicks can all present fatal risks to cyclists. Auto, bus and truck drivers, on the other hand, can either drive around - or even run directly over - these obstacles.
Statistics are not on the side of cyclists
Survey after survey taken over the past ten years suggest that motorcyclists are at unique risk on the road for dying in accidents. One study showed that bikers are nearly twenty times as likely as auto drivers to die in crashes and three to four times more likely to get hurt. Even if a biker drives defensively and with best care, that's no guarantee of safety. For instance, approximately 66% of motorcycle accidents involve a vehicle cutting off the cyclist's right of way.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a motorcycle accident, our personal injury attorneys can help you get the compensation you deserve under the law. Contact the experienced California motorcycle accident attorneys at Lewitt Hackman. For decades, this firm has provided experienced legal counsel for injured cyclists in the Los Angeles area. Please contact the firm today to get a free, no-obligation evaluation of your case.