Recovering compensation for single-motorcycle accidents may be critical to a victim’s recovery. A motorcyclist who has capsized or been ejected from his or her bike may suffer a range of catastrophic injuries, including brain damage, spinal cord injuries, cuts, internal injuries, fractures, crushing, road burns, and more. To assert your rights, you should enlist a motorcycle accident lawyer who has helped Ocala residents and other victims explore their options. The Dean Law Firm can aggressively advocate for you as you pursue compensation.
Many people in single-motorcycle crashes assume they cannot get much compensation. However, Florida is a pure comparative negligence state. This means that a plaintiff’s recovery is reduced by his or her percentage of fault but is not completely eliminated unless he or she was totally responsible for the accident. Some insurance companies offer PIP coverage for motorcycles, separate from but similar to the mandatory car coverage. This insurance is unregulated and controlled by the terms of the policy.
In other cases, a motorcyclist may want to consider other possible causes of the accident. For example, if the motorcycle had a defective component, such as a defective tire or defective brakes, you may have a product liability case against the manufacturer. If the component was inappropriately manufactured or designed and therefore was unreasonably dangerous, you may be able to recover compensation under a theory of strict liability, regardless of whether the manufacturer was actually negligent.
In other cases, you may have to show that the manufacturer was negligent in making or designing the component. In most product liability lawsuits, an attorney will need to retain an expert to analyze and testify as to whether there was a defect, and whether the defect caused the accident. It would also be necessary to show that you were riding the motorcycle as intended and that the motorcycle had not been altered since you originally purchased it.
Compensation for a single-motorcycle accident sometimes may also be pursued from a property owner under a theory of premises liability. For example, if you are riding with authorization on a private road in the dark, and there is a huge, unmarked pothole that the owner of the road knew or should have known about in the exercise of reasonable care, you may be able to recover compensatory damages from the road’s owner.
Sometimes, these types of cases are brought against the government. There are often shorter time limits to sue the government. The government must have waived its immunity for circumstances such as the one under which your accident occurred in order to be able to sue it. Generally, decisions related to policy-making, planning, or judgmental governmental functions are not subject to a waiver of sovereign immunity. However, immunity does not protect the government from torts arising from operational functions. If you suspect that your single-motorcycle accident is the fault of a dangerous property condition on state-owned property, such as a public highway, it is important to retain an experienced attorney who understands the shortened timetable involved for providing notice to the appropriate government entity.
The injury attorneys at the Dean Law Firm represent people in the Ocala area and beyond who have been hurt by the negligence of others. We also have helped residents of Crystal River, The Villages, and other communities in Lake, Sumter, Marion, Levy, and Citrus Counties. Set up a free consultation with our attorneys at 352-387-8700 or via our online form.
