Motorcycle accidents often are seriously harmful or even fatal for the motorcyclist involved. If you’ve been hurt while driving your motorcycle (or a loved one has been killed on his motorcycle,) you have certain legal options and you need to be sure that your legal advocate is a knowledgeable San Mateo motorcycle accident attorney who thoroughly understands the unique aspects of a motorcycle crash and the peculiar needs of a motorcyclist.
P. R.-V.’s accident, which occurred in 2017, is a story that is all too familiar to motorcyclists. According to a NBC 7 report, the man was driving his motorcycle down Main Street in Chula Vista when the driver of a SUV failed to see him and pulled out of the driveway of a storage facility. The SUV pulled directly into the motorcycle’s path and the two collided. According to at least one witness, the woman driving the SUV “stopped for 10 seconds,” but subsequently took off. The 30-year-old motorcyclist died at the scene.
The police eventually found the SUV after a few days and, several weeks after that, apprehended the hit-and-run driver. This man’s wife and child were fortunate that law enforcement officers were eventually able to track down the driver who collided with the motorcyclist. If the driver had never been located, it would have been vastly more difficult for the widow to obtain a successful outcome in court.
P. R.-V.’s case is also a useful reminder that, even if there things about you or your case that are potentially harmful, that doesn’t mean that you have no chance of success, that you should give up or that you should accept some exceedingly low-ball settlement offer. The motorcyclist was speeding when he and the SUV collided. The motorcyclist also had a criminal history in his past. Neither of those things stopped the man’s widow from obtaining a $1 million settlement earlier this summer.
You don’t have to be a perfect person with a perfect set of facts to win. The fact that you have a criminal past doesn’t change the facts of your accident if the other driver improperly failed to yield the right of way. If the evidence shows that you were speeding, that may indicate that you were guilty of a degree of negligence and were partially to blame for the crash, but if the other driver wrongfully pulled out directly in front of you, your negligence will not negate her greater negligence, which means that you can still succeed and still obtain an award of damages.
If you have complicated facts, though, you definitely need to be sure side is fully prepared. Winning your case may require a greater amount of pre-trial discovery than a case where it was completely clear that the other driver was 100% at fault. Once you and your legal team have done that extra prep work, success is still entirely possible. In the motorcyclist’s widow’s lawsuit, discovery revealed that the SUV driver’s view was blocked by a truck that was illegally parked, which helped bolster the plaintiff’s case.
If you’ve been hurt in a motorcycle crash, prompt action is your friend. The sooner you have retained legal counsel, the sooner your attorney can start working to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact the skilled San Mateo motorcycle accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, who have been providing knowledgeable representation for many years for people hurt aboard motorcycles. To set up a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys, contact us at 650-345-8484 or through our website.
A California Motorcyclist’s Widow Lands $1M Settlement after a Fatal Collision with a SUV
