A pair of tragic news stories from here in the Bay Area are distinct in several notable ways, but they both have some similarities as well, starting with the fact that both were fatal accidents in which the people who died were aboard motorcycles. Motorcycle fatalities are depressing frequent. Almost 1,000 motorcyclists and motorcycle passengers died in California in 2018-2019. This means nearly 1,000 families without the love, companionship, and support of a loved one. If that's happened to your family, be sure to take prompt action and retain an experienced San Mateo motorcycle accident lawyer to advocate for you.
The first of these two recent motorcycle accidents took place on Highway 101 in Menlo Park in the wee hours of the morning. After the driver of a Honda sedan crashed his vehicle, the Honda came to rest in a travel lane of the highway. The sedan had no lights on after the crash.
In the darkness, a motorcyclist slammed into the side of the unlighted car and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Honda suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police ruled out drugs, alcohol, or other impairment as causes in the motorcyclist's crash, according to a Palo Alto Daily Post report.
The second crash, which took place in Vallejo, occurred when a 43-year-old motorcyclist lost control on an Interstate 80 on-ramp, according to the CHP. Police said the man was speeding when the crash took place, according to KPIX.
Let's take a deeper look at both these accidents to draw out some lessons you can take away about your motorcycle accident... or the motorcycle crash that took the life of your loved one.
NHTSA: Motorcyclists Are '29 Times More Likely... to Die'
First, the Menlo Park accident is a reminder of just how vulnerable motorcyclists and their passengers are in accidents, especially when those crashes take place on highways or other open roads. In the Menlo Park crash, the car's driver suffered survivable injuries. The motorcyclist died at the scene.
Statistics prove that this is far from an anomaly. The federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that, for every vehicle mile traveled in 2019, "motorcyclists were about 29 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to die in a motor vehicle crash and were 4 times more likely to be injured."
What this means is that the motorcycle accident that touched you very possibly took the life of someone close to you. When that happens to you, you are entitled to bring a legal action and you may be entitled to wrongful death damages as part of the judgment. This award can compensate your family based on a variety of areas of loss, including the years (or, more likely, decades) of lost wages that would have supported your family, the pain and suffering, as well as the loss of companionship that you will endure going forward.
Don't Assume that a Police Report is Infallible
The Vallejo accident serves as a reminder of a more subtle point. The police said that the deceased man was speeding at the time of his solo accident. Similarly, the police report in the accident that killed your loved one may also say that your motorcyclist family member was speeding.
Don't simply accept that this was accurate and that the crash that killed your loved one was your loved one's fault. Instead, get legal counsel that can (and will) do the in-depth investigation necessary. With the right legal team supported by the right investigative team, you may find out that the police report was biased against your motorcyclist loved one (police reports unfairly slanted against motorcyclists happen a lot more often than you'd think) and that the driver of a car, truck or SUV actually was to blame for the accident.
Contact a Motorcycle Accident Attorney
If you've just lost a loved one in a motorcycle or other vehicle accident, now is undeniably an incredibly painful time for your family. A civil lawsuit is potentially massively important to your family's future well-being, but understandably may be far "off your radar" right now. Instead of dealing with it yourself, entrust it to the compassionate, diligent, and knowledgeable San Mateo motorcycle accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos. Rely on us to be the powerful legal advocate you and your family need to get justice. To set up a free consultation with one of our helpful attorneys, contact us at 650-345-8484 or through our website. Our Bay Area personal injury lawyers are here to help!
