Los Angeles Motorcycle
Accident Lawyers
Your Recovery Starts Here
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California, Midtown Law Group is here to protect your rights, investigate the crash, and pursue compensation for the harm you have suffered.
Free Consultation →Los Angeles Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Motorcyclists have little protection when a collision occurs. A careless driver, unsafe lane change, dangerous intersection, road defect, or vehicle malfunction can leave a rider facing severe injuries, extensive medical treatment, lost income, and long-term changes to their quality of life.
At Midtown Law Group, we represent motorcycle operators, passengers, and families affected by crashes caused by another party’s negligence. Our legal team investigates how the accident happened, identifies every potentially responsible party, preserves important evidence, and handles insurance negotiations on your behalf.
Motorcycle accident injuries may include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Neck and back injuries
- Broken bones and complex fractures
- Internal organ injuries
- Road rash and serious infections
- Nerve and soft-tissue damage
- Amputation or permanent disability
- Facial injuries and disfigurement
- Emotional and psychological trauma
We also represent families pursuing wrongful death claims after fatal motorcycle collisions in Los Angeles.
Midtown Law Group: Your Motorcycle Accident Advocates
When you choose Midtown Law Group, you gain a legal team focused on protecting your interests from the initial investigation through settlement negotiations or trial.
Motorcycle cases require careful attention to the actions of every driver involved, the condition of the roadway, available video footage, vehicle damage, insurance coverage, and the rider’s medical prognosis.
Our investigation may include reviewing:
- LAPD collision reports
- Traffic-camera and surveillance footage
- Dashcam or helmet-camera recordings
- Photographs of the scene and vehicles
- Witness statements
- Vehicle event and electronic data
- Medical records and treatment plans
- Road-design and maintenance records
- Commercial-driver employment records
- Motorcycle maintenance and repair history
We also challenge unfair assumptions that motorcyclists are automatically reckless or responsible for their injuries. Liability should be determined by evidence—not stereotypes about riders.
Our objective is to document the complete effect of the crash and pursue compensation that reflects both your immediate losses and your future needs.
Why Hiring a Motorcycle Accident Attorney Matters
A Los Angeles motorcycle accident attorney can help you:
- Investigate the collision before evidence disappears.
- Identify every driver, company, property owner, or government entity that may be responsible.
- Challenge attempts to unfairly blame the motorcyclist.
- Communicate with insurance companies and defense attorneys.
- Document medical expenses, lost income, and future treatment.
- Evaluate pain, suffering, disability, and reduced quality of life.
- Work with medical, vocational, and accident-reconstruction professionals when needed.
- Comply with Los Angeles filing and notice deadlines.
- Prepare the claim for settlement negotiations or trial.
- Focus on recovery while your legal team handles the case.
Practice Areas
Have questions about your motorcycle crash? Our legal team is available for a free consultation.
Every Case Is Unique.
We Are Ready to Investigate Yours.
Left-Turn Motorcycle Accidents
A common motorcycle collision occurs when a driver turns left across a rider’s path. These crashes may happen because the driver failed to see the motorcycle, misjudged its speed, ignored the rider’s right of way, or attempted to complete a turn before traffic cleared.
Unsafe Lane-Change and Blind-Spot Accidents
Drivers who fail to check mirrors and blind spots can move directly into a motorcyclist’s lane. These accidents are especially dangerous on congested Los Angeles streets, multilane avenues, bridges, tunnels, and highways.
Rear-End Motorcycle Collisions
Even a relatively low-speed rear-end impact can throw a rider from the motorcycle or push the bike into another vehicle. Distracted driving, tailgating, speeding, and failing to stop in traffic are common contributing factors.
Intersection and Failure-to-Yield Accidents
Intersections present significant risks when drivers run red lights, ignore stop signs, make unsafe turns, or fail to yield. Traffic-camera recordings and nearby surveillance footage may help establish how the collision occurred.
Motorcycle Dooring Accidents
A driver or passenger may open a vehicle door into the path of an approaching motorcyclist without checking for traffic. A rider may strike the door directly or swerve into another lane to avoid it.
Dangerous Road and Single-Motorcycle Accidents
Not every motorcycle claim involves another moving vehicle. Potholes, uneven pavement, construction debris, poor maintenance, unsafe work zones, missing warning signs, defective motorcycle parts, or spilled materials can also cause a serious crash.
Key Los Angeles Motorcycle Accident Considerations
Understanding the rules that apply specifically to motorcycle claims is essential. Motorcycle accident cases can differ significantly from ordinary Los Angeles car accident claims.
No-Fault Coverage Generally Does Not Protect Motorcycle Riders
California's Department of Insurance states that motorcycle operators and passengers are excluded from no-fault benefits. Unlike many occupants of cars, injured riders generally cannot rely on Personal Injury Protection to pay their medical expenses and lost earnings after a crash.
Instead, an injured motorcyclist may pursue the responsible party for losses from the beginning of the claim. Because motorcycle operators and passengers are generally not covered persons under the no-fault system, they ordinarily do not have to satisfy the no-fault serious-injury threshold before pursuing compensation from a negligent party.
This distinction makes it important to investigate liability and available insurance coverage as early as possible.
Identifying Every Liable Party
More than one party may be responsible for a motorcycle accident. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve:
- A negligent car, taxi, truck, bus, or rideshare driver
- The owner of the vehicle
- A driver’s employer
- A delivery or transportation company
- A motorcycle or parts manufacturer
- A maintenance or repair provider
- A construction contractor
- A property owner
- City of Los Angeles or another government entity
For example, a driver may cause a collision by making an unsafe turn, while a company may share responsibility if that driver was working at the time. A separate claim may exist when a defective motorcycle component or dangerous road condition contributed to the accident.
Understanding Los Angeles Comparative Negligence
Insurance companies may argue that the rider was speeding, lane splitting, following too closely, or otherwise contributed to the collision.
Under Los Angeles’s comparative-negligence rule, a claimant’s share of responsibility does not automatically prevent recovery. However, the compensation awarded may be reduced according to the percentage of fault assigned to the claimant.
Our attorneys examine witness accounts, video evidence, vehicle positions, physical damage, traffic laws, and other facts to challenge unsupported attempts to place excessive blame on the motorcyclist.
Dealing With Insurance Companies and Rider Bias
Insurance adjusters may attempt to characterize a motorcycle rider as reckless before completing a proper investigation. They may also question the severity of injuries, request a recorded statement, dispute medical treatment, or offer a settlement before the rider’s long-term prognosis is clear.
Before signing a release, accepting compensation, or giving a detailed recorded statement, speak with a motorcycle accident attorney who can evaluate how the decision may affect your rights.
Once a settlement is accepted, the injured person generally cannot demand additional compensation if future medical complications arise.
Calculating the Full Value of a Motorcycle Accident Claim
Motorcycle injuries often require emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and extended time away from work. A claim should therefore consider more than the bills received immediately after the accident.
Depending on the facts, compensation may be pursued for:
- Emergency medical treatment
- Hospitalization and surgery
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Future medical care
- Prescription medications and medical equipment
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Motorcycle repair or replacement
- Other damaged personal property
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent disability
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Wrongful death-related losses
Our legal team evaluates the rider’s medical condition, employment, future care needs, daily limitations, and the overall effect the crash has had on their life.
Preserving Motorcycle Accident Evidence
Important evidence can disappear quickly after a Los Angeles motorcycle crash. Businesses may overwrite surveillance recordings, vehicles may be repaired or destroyed, road conditions may change, and witnesses may become difficult to locate.
A prompt investigation may help preserve:
- Traffic and surveillance videos
- Vehicle and motorcycle damage
- Electronic vehicle data
- Photographs of skid marks and debris
- Road-construction records
- Maintenance and repair documentation
- Witness testimony
- Defective motorcycle components
The motorcycle itself should generally be preserved until an appropriate inspection can be completed.
Filing Your Motorcycle Accident Claim on Time
Los Angeles generally provides three years to commence a negligence-based personal injury action. However, a different deadline may apply depending on the defendant and type of claim.
Claims involving the City of Los Angeles or another municipal entity can have much shorter requirements. A notice of claim against Los Angeles generally must be filed within 90 days, and a lawsuit is ordinarily subject to a shorter one-year-and-90-day period.
These shortened deadlines may become important when a motorcycle crash involves a city vehicle, unsafe street, pothole, missing sign, defective traffic signal, or government employee.
Free Case Evaluation
Fill out the form below to get started.
Take These Steps.
Protect Your Rights.
Let Us Handle the Legal Stress So You Can Heal.
We offer free consultations to discuss your case and explore your legal options—at no obligation.
From the first consultation to resolving our claim, the team was with us every step of the way. Their expertise in employment and personal injury law is unmatched and absolute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Call 911, seek medical treatment, report the accident, and obtain the other driver’s insurance information. When possible, photograph the vehicles, motorcycle, road conditions, traffic controls, injuries, and surrounding area. Collect witness contact information, preserve your damaged motorcycle and riding equipment, and avoid discussing fault at the scene. Speak with an attorney before providing a detailed recorded statement or accepting a settlement.
Generally, no. Los Angeles motorcycle operators and passengers are excluded from no-fault benefits. An injured rider may instead pursue the party responsible for the crash for medical expenses, lost earnings, and other damages from the outset. A pedestrian struck by a motorcycle is treated differently and may be eligible to file a no-fault claim with the motorcycle’s insurer.
A motorcycle operator or passenger who is not a covered person under Los Angeles’s no-fault system generally does not have to meet the no-fault serious-injury threshold before pursuing damages against a negligent party. The rider must still prove negligence, causation, and the value of the claimed losses.
Potentially. Los Angeles comparative-negligence law generally permits an injured person to recover even when partly responsible. The final compensation may be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to that person.
Potential defendants may include another driver, the vehicle owner, an employer, a delivery company, a rideshare company, a repair provider, a motorcycle manufacturer, a construction contractor, or a government entity. The responsible parties depend on how the collision occurred and whether vehicle defects, employment relationships, roadway conditions, or other factors contributed.
The general Los Angeles limitation period for a negligence-based personal injury case is three years. Claims against government defendants can require notice within as little as 90 days and may have shorter lawsuit deadlines. Prompt legal review is important because the applicable deadline depends on the specific facts and parties involved.
