Sonoma Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcycles are popular throughout California, but they are also inherently dangerous for many reasons. If you or a loved one enjoys riding motorcycles in the Sonoma area, you must acknowledge the risks you face every time you take your bike on the road. The state enforces several strict laws for motorcyclists designed to prevent them from sustaining injuries in serious accidents, but even the best helmet and riding gear can only mitigate the harm you could suffer in an accident.

Legal Counsel for Victims of Motorcycle Accidents in Sonoma

Rush Injury Law has years of professional experience representing Sonoma area clients in a wide range of personal injury cases, including those generated by motorcycle accidents. Whether the driver who caused your accident did so because of intentional misconduct or plain negligence, if you know they are at fault, you can seek accountability and compensation. Our team is ready to provide the compassionate legal counsel you need to navigate your impending recovery efforts with confidence.

Common Reasons for Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists face all of the same risks as drivers of enclosed passenger vehicles. However, they do not have the same level of physical protection when an accident happens. While most modern cars have crash-absorbing frames, seatbelts, and airbags, all designed to reduce the chance of fatal injuries, motorcycles provide no physical protection to the rider when an accident happens. This means that a motorcycle accident has a much greater chance of resulting in catastrophic or fatal injury than most other types of vehicle accidents.

A few of the common reasons for motorcycle accidents in the Sonoma area are:

• Distraction behind the wheel. Even a couple of seconds of inattention is more than enough for a driver to hit and seriously injure a motorcyclist.
• Speeding, which is a leading contributing factor to fatal motorcycle accidents throughout the state each year.
• Moving violations that disrupt traffic, such as running red lights or performing illegal turns.
• Reckless and aggressive driving, which often leads to criminal charges for at-fault drivers.
• Driving under the influence (DUI), which is dangerous for the intoxicated driver and everyone around them. The penalties for DUI increase substantially when the defendant causes severe bodily harm or death.

Motorcycle accidents can potentially occur from other causes, but ultimately if any other driver is responsible for the recent crash, you can file an insurance claim against them to recover your losses. When your damages exceed their insurance coverage, you can proceed with a personal injury claim to recover your outstanding damages.

Filing an Auto Insurance Claim in Sonoma

California law requires every driver to have 15/30/5 liability coverage with their auto insurance policy. This means they must have $15,000 in bodily injury coverage for a single person, at least $30,000 in bodily injury coverage for multiple persons, and at least $5,000 in property damage liability coverage. This may seem like a generous amount of insurance coverage, but the damages resulting from a serious motorcycle accident can easily exceed the limits of the at-fault driver’s policy. Additionally, insurance carriers tend to look for all the reasons they can find to reduce settlement offers as much as possible or deny claims whenever they can to limit their financial losses.

When you have an experienced Sonoma motorcycle accident attorney handling your insurance claim, the entire claim process can not only unfold more quickly and more efficiently, but they can also resolve any unforeseen complications with the insurance carrier. Rush Injury Law has helped many past clients maximize their auto insurance claim payouts more than they initially expected, and we can leverage this experience on your behalf until you secure a favorable settlement offer.

Compensation Available in a Personal Injury Claim

Once you have secured as much as possible from the at-fault driver’s insurance policy, you can file a personal injury claim against them if you still have outstanding losses. State law allows the plaintiff to recover full repayment of all the economic losses a defendant caused, which are likely to include lost income, medical expenses, and property damage. It’s important to note that you can not only secure compensation for losses immediately realized after the accident but also the anticipated future losses your accident is likely to generate.

When you choose Rush Injury Law to help you with your personal injury case, we will help you seek compensation for your immediate and future medical expenses. This includes the costs of all medical care you require to fully heal from your injury. Similarly, you can claim compensation for lost wages and lost future earning capacity if your ability to work and earn income has been diminished by your accident. Again, an experienced legal team is the best resource for determining the full range of the economic damages available in your case.

Another important aspect of your recovery is pain and suffering. This may seem difficult to define in monetary terms, but state law allows a personal injury plaintiff to claim fair compensation for the physical pain and emotional distress a defendant has caused. The amount you can recover depends on the extent of your damages and the long-term effects the incident is likely to have.

Secure a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer You Can Trust Today

To have the best chance of recovering from your motorcycle accident as fully as state law allows, it is crucial to begin working on your recovery as soon as you stabilize from the initial aftermath of your accident. Additionally, it’s crucial to connect with the legal counsel you trust before discussing an insurance claim or any type of settlement with the at-fault driver. While worrying about the cost of legal fees is understandable, Rush Injury Law accepts personal injury clients on a contingency fee basis. We don’t take any fees from a client until we win their case, and once we do, they only part with a percentage of their recovery as our fee.

To explore your options for legal recourse against the driver who caused your motorcycle accident, contact Rush Injury Law today and schedule a consultation with our team.