Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit in California – A Legal Guide

In 2021, there were 6,084 motorcycle deaths in the United States. Based on miles traveled, the risk of death for a motorcyclist is almost 24 times higher than for cars.

Motorcycle accidents are common in California and often lead to serious injury or death, especially for the riders. Liable parties often include:

• reckless drivers,
• the government for not fixing dangerous road conditions, or
• motorcycle manufacturers for selling faulty bike parts.

Under personal injury laws, anyone injured in a motorcycle accident or an ebike accident can file a lawsuit against those who caused the accident.

Below, our California personal injury lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about motorcycle accident lawsuits:

• When can I sue?
• What to Do After a Crash
• Money Damages
• Typical Settlements
• Wrongful Death
• Proving Negligence
• Shared Fault
• Proving Product Liability
• Additional Reading

If you have further questions after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

When can I sue?

After a motorcycle accident in California, you usually have two years to sue the responsible parties, such as:

• the other driver(s),
• jaywalking pedestrians,
• the motorcycle manufacturer, and/or
• the motorcycle mechanic.

However, to sue the city or county for bad roads or signage, you may have as little as six months.¹

What to Do After a Crash

1. Seek medical attention for yourself or other victims. Some motorcycle accident injuries do not manifest until later.
2. Gather information about the other involved vehicles and drivers. Also take photos and videos of the scene.
3. Do NOT admit guilt. There may have been a number of factors at issue that you never knew about.
4. Contact a motorcycle accident lawyer. Do not settle your case without talking to an experienced lawyer about your rights.

Money Damages

The damages available in a motorcycle accident lawsuit include economic damages such as medical bills, property repairs, lost wages, and lost earning capacity.

You can also pursue non-economic damages, which are more subjective, such as pain and suffering and loss of consortium. To calculate non-economic damages, California attorneys rely on either:

• The per diem method, where you multiply your daily wages prior to the accident by the number of days you have suffered; or
• The multiplier method, where you multiply your economic damages by an agreed-upon number (often “3”).

Typical Settlements

Every case is different, but your ultimate payout usually correlates with the severity of your physical injuries:

Motorcycle Accident Injury	Typical Compensatory Damages in California
Minor injuries or just property damage	$10,000 to $50,000
Moderate injuries	$50,000 to $150,000
Serious injuries (including traumatic brain injuries)	$150,000 to $500,000
Wrongful death	$500,000 and higher

Wrongful Death

If your spouse, child, or next-of-kin was killed in a motorcycle accident in California, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim for damages, such as.

• Burial and funeral expenses;
• Lost financial earnings the victim would have earned if they had survived; and
• Compensation for the loss of companionship and support.³

Proving Negligence

To recover damages after a motorcycle accident in California, you would need to show the other driver (“defendant”) was negligent. The “elements” you have to prove are:

1. The defendant owed you a duty of care, which is the duty to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances;
2. The defendant breached that duty of care; and
3. That breach was a substantial factor in causing your injuries.⁴

Typical evidence in these cases includes eyewitness testimony, video surveillance footage, and accident reconstruction reports.

Shared Fault

Even if you were partly to blame for the motorcycle accident, you may still be able to recover money damages under California’s “comparative fault” law. Your damages would just be reduced by your percentage of fault.⁵

Example: You sustain $10,000 in medical bills after a car hits your motorcycle. If a jury finds you 50% at fault for your injuries by not wearing a helmet, the jury would award you $5,000 (half of $10,000).

Proving Product Liability

Under California’s “product liability” laws, the business that designed, manufactured, or sold the defective motorcycle or motorcycle part is liable for injuries it caused.

In product liability cases, you do not need to prove the company was negligent. Instead, you have to show:

1. The defendant designed, manufactured, distributed or sold a defective product;
2. The product contained the defect when it left the defendant’s possession;
3. You used the product in a reasonably foreseeable manner; and
4. You suffered harm or an injury as a result of the defect.⁶

Additional Resources

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Products Liability: Motorcycle Design-The Outer Limits of Crashworthiness – Stetson Law Review.
• Factors associated with crash severities in built-up areas along rural highways of Nevada: A case study of 11 towns – Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering.
  
• Motorcycle Helmet Laws: The Facts, What Can Be Done to Jump-Start Helmet Use, and Ways to Cap Damages – Journal of Health Care Law & Policy.
• Helmetless Motorcyclists–Easy Riders Facing Hard Facts: The Rise of the Motorcycle Helmet Defense – Ohio State Law Review.
• Motorcycle Lane-splitting and Safety in California – Safe Transportation Research & Education Center, University of California Berkeley.

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