What Difference Does it Make if my Lawyer is Experienced in Motorcycle
Accident Cases?
I just settled a case that another attorney turned
into a nightmare. The
client went to a firm that advertised themselves as motorcycle
lawyers.
He was a new rider with only six weeks experience. He bought a hooligan
bike, appropriate only for experienced riders. As he approached an intersection,
you guessed it, a car pulled out in front of him. He hit it in the side,
went over the top, and had a raft of injuries with tens of thousands of
dollars in medical bills.
The police report was divided between those witnesses that said he
was way over the limit, and those that didn't
think he was speeding.
It was a 25 mph zone, and the witnesses had him anywhere from 25 or
so up to 45 or more. The defendant said she was
doing 10 mph and that
the motorcycle came out of nowhere at an extremely
high rate of speed.
The attorneys handling the case hadn't been able to move it forward,
partly because they weren't getting the information to the insurance
company that was needed to evaluate the injuries. When
I got the case moving, an adjuster called to see where I was on settlement.
He started out by telling me how great the witness
statements were
that put my client at a high rate of speed.
The other firm was preparing the client to testify that he was only
going 25 miles per hour, that the defendant was going fast when she
pulled out in front of him, and the adjuster was playing the same game,
but from the opposite side.
Had the case continued in this vein, both sides would have been testifying
that they were going slowly, and that the other driver was going too
fast. Did anyone really expect the jury to believe that this bright
yellow Ducati Monster was being driven
at 25 miles per hour if there was no obstructing traffic? Of
course not. The jury would have concluded
that the motorcycle was speeding. This issue would have been the beginning
of blaming the motorcyclist for his own injuries. The jury would have
had a good time discussing how dangerous motorcycles are, and the verdict
would not have been very good.
I started out by acknowledging that I knew about the witnesses. Actually,
I continued, the motorcycle driver himself didn't really know
how fast he was going, and wasn't going to express an opinion
on this at trial. After all, he wasn't looking at his speedometer.
All he knows is that he didn't feel like he was going
too fast.
Further, he didn't really dispute how fast the driver
of the car was going. If she said she was going 10 miles per hour, well, he
didn't really know her speed, either.
What he did know is that she had plenty of time
to see him coming.
And she pulled in front of him when it was way too late for him to
do anything about it. It was worse because he wasn't that experienced
a driver. It took a second to realize that, yes, she
really was pulling across his path of travel. By that time, he was on top of her. He
tried to brake, but probably didn't actually get much braking done,
if any.
I then noted that if she was going that slowly, she certainly had a
lot of time to observe the motorcycle. Further, at that speed, she
blocked his path for a long time.
Notice the difference. All that has happened is that the motorcyclist
admitted the truth. He didn't really know his speed. He wasn't
planning on having an accident, and he didn't make a note of
it. He was concentrating on his driving.
Now the jury will not have a reason to think the motorcyclist is lying.
His speed didn't make much difference, anyway. What caused
the accident wasn't his speed, but the driver's
failure to see him, and to pull in front of him. After all, even at 45 miles per
hour, he wasn't invisible. He didn't come out of nowhere.
The driver, going 10 miles per hour by her own admission, had plenty
of time to see him.
In fact, the mental picture of someone pulling in front of a motorcycle
at 10 miles per hour is much worse for the driver of the car than the
mental picture of a car pulling out at a more normal speed. 10 miles
per hour sounds inattentive. It sounds like vague driving.
Next, I lowered the standard of care for the driver.
I admitted that he was a new motorcyclist, and perhaps not as good as a seasoned biker.
No jury would hold this against him, in my opinion. Instead, they would
recognize the truth that we all have to start somewhere. This
would avoid the jury concocting spectacular evasive maneuvers that
the cyclist could have done.
Faced with the obvious fact that my client was going to be believed,
that the defendant driver was going to come across as very inattentive
especially at her claimed speed, and that the witnesses' mixed
speed estimates were really not relevant to fault, the
case settled for full value quickly and easily.
While it doesn't always work out that a case settles so easily,
experience in understanding the issues always creates a better chance
of getting such a good result.
Because of experience handling these cases, I
knew that sometimes it doesn't matter if the motorcycle was speeding
or not. Therefore,
it was foolish to argue about the exact speed. Whether 25 or 45 miles
per hour, the cause of the accident was the same. I also knew better
than to argue with the automobile driver's slow speed estimate.
The slower the car was going, the more time the driver had to see the
motorcycle coming. Why argue that she was going faster? What would
be gained even if the jury would believe she was going 25, or even
35, miles per hour?
The ability to deal with the interplay between
the cars comes from experience. A motorcycle accident lawyer must be able to understand
the interplay between:
- what happened when,
- where the vehicles were,
- what the drivers saw at each point, and
- what maneuvers were available at the possible speeds.
Only by being able to easily understand the importance
of each of these factors can the lawyer understand how to present the
facts. Only through
motorcycle experience is the importance of each fact clear to understanding
what happened.
Call and let us help you now!
Call us toll-free at 1-800-928-1511 (anytime day or night) for your free consultation and expert advice on your motorcycle
accident case.
Michael Padway & Associates
595 Market Street, Ste 2520
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-777-1511
800-928-1511
Contact Michael Padway & Associates
