Aside from the victim losing their life, a disability is the worst-case scenario for a motorcycle accident survivor. Seeing your life change in such a drastic way, without any forewarning or preparation for that change, can be an immensely traumatic reality. As difficult as pain, physical limitations, and financial uncertainty are, you have advocates on your side. For decades, Alexander Law Group LLP has fought for people whose injuries were catastrophic, helping them rebuild their lives and identities and reclaim their futures.
If you or someone you love has suffered a disabling motorcycle injury, call (408) 289-1776 to get help from motorcycle accident lawyers who know what’s at stake—and who know how to win fair compensation for injured riders and their surviving loved ones.
Key Takeaways – Disabling Motorcycle Accidents
- Disabling motorcycle injuries can include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, amputations, severe fractures, and other conditions that permanently limit mobility and independence.
- Many motorcycle accidents are not caused by riders, but instead, inattentive drivers, unsafe road design, and defective vehicle components that play a major role in collisions like yours.
- Victims may recover extensive damages, including for medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and lifelong care expenses.
- Bias against riders is real, as insurance companies and even juries may stereotype motorcyclists as reckless—an experienced lawyer from our team can overcome that bias with evidence and passionate advocacy.
- Our legal help surpasses the courtroom, as Alexander Law Group LLP can help coordinate medical treatment, get you mental health services, counsel you about all things case-related, and withstand insurance companies’ pressure so you can focus on your recovery.
- Time matters in every motorcycle accident case, as the statute of limitations restricts how long you have to file a motorcycle accident claim in California—do not wait to reach out to our intake team.
Living With a Disability After a Motorcycle Accident: A Painful (Often Traumatic) Reality
Motorcycles don’t offer the same level of protection as cars do. There’s no sturdy metal frame surrounding a rider, no seatbelt, and no airbags—only you and your gear. When someone else’s mistake(s) lead to a collision, disabling injuries can result for the riders, and we have seen riders suffer:
- Spinal cord injuries: These injuries can lead to partial or complete paralysis, loss of sensation, or chronic pain.
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI): Even with a helmet, the force of impact can cause lasting cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects on the rider.
- Amputations: Whether caused by the initial trauma or by surgical necessity after a crash, amputations can alter a rider’s independence, self-image, and quality of life.
- Complex fractures: Shattered bones may require multiple surgeries, a lengthy recovery, and can result in permanent impairment.
- Severe burns or road rash: Burn and contact injuries can be both disfiguring and prone to infection or nerve damage.
- Internal organ damage: Blunt-force trauma to internal organs can cause lasting complications, including some that do not always appear immediately after an accident.
Beyond the physical harm resulting from a collision, there’s the emotional and psychological cost—changes to your identity and confidence, depression, anxiety, loss of your ability to live life on your terms, and even the grief of watching the life you lived before the crash shattered into an unrecognizable new reality.
Our motorcycle accident attorneys truly understand the toll that riders suffer, and how a fair financial recovery can be the means to the medical services, mental health treatment, and financial resources you need. Alexander Law Group LLP has built its reputation on standing beside survivors in the most critical moments, ensuring that riders are seen, heard, treated with dignity, and compensated fairly.
The Realities of Life-Altering Disability
When a crash leads to permanent disability, everything changes—from your career prospects to your family relationships. Even simple routines—driving, cooking, dressing—can require assistance or adaptive devices.
Our strong legal team recognizes these realities and fights for compensation that reflects the full human cost of the injury, not just the hospital bills. Disabilities after motorcycle accidents often lead to:
- Permanent loss of income, as many victims can never return to their prior jobs
- Ongoing medical needs (and corresponding costs), which can include surgeries, appointments with specialists, physical therapy, home health care, mobility aids, plus other services and equipment
- Psychological and emotional distress, which for a disabled rider can include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, generalized and acute anxiety, and other severe challenges that may exacerbate the physical symptoms of the accident
- Changes in family dynamics, which can include spouses and children becoming caregivers for their injured loved one
- Loss of enjoyment of life, which for riders often includes the loss of independence, hobbies (including riding), and beloved social activities
Even if a rider’s injuries are not disabling, those injuries can come at a steep cost. The rider is often not the only victim of serious accidents, as their families also pay the price of others’ negligence.
Alexander Law Group LLP approaches motorcycle accident cases with both precision and compassion. Our lawyers know that a settlement or verdict must support the injured person and the family members who share the burden.
How a Lawyer Can Help You Seek Fair Compensation
A lawyer is much more than someone who reads insurance policies and fills out paperwork. Your motorcycle accident attorney will be your fighter, and their commitment to the job—and to you—can determine the outcome of your case, and the future that may so depend on your case result.
Our motorcycle accident lawyers are known for their dedication to clients, cases, and our careers. You will see that reputation in action as your attorney (and other team members):
- Investigate the cause of your accident: Our process often includes reconstructing crashes, evaluating physical evidence, interviewing witnesses, obtaining traffic camera footage, and analyzing data from vehicles’ computers.
- Manages communications with insurance companies: We will prevent insurance companies from misrepresenting policies, twisting your statements against you, undervaluing your losses, and engaging in other forms of bad faith that can undermine a motorcycle accident claim.
- Document the full extent of your injuries: Our team will coordinate medical evaluations, gather documentation of injuries and treatments, obtain records of financial losses, and take all other necessary steps to ensure no aspect of your condition is overlooked.
- Calculate short- and long-term damages: We will translate medical and financial projections into a persuasive damages model, supplementing our calculations with expert testimony.
- Negotiates aggressively: Insurance companies know who we are. They know we are not interested in lowball settlements and have repeatedly proven our bona fides in courtrooms. Insurance companies tend to negotiate with us seriously because they know we don’t hesitate to represent riders at trial.
If multiple negotiation rounds fail to yield the compensation you deserve, our team will begin preparing for trial. This genuine ability to take riders’ cases to courts provides priceless negotiating leverage. Don’t underestimate the benefit of having our firm lead your case.
How Non-Riders Cause Motorcycle Accidents
One of our team’s most important responsibilities will be to determine who is at fault for the motorcycle accident. This step leads us to liable parties, who must compensate you fairly for your accident-related damages.
Many riders are cautious, well-trained, and highly aware. Yet the myth persists that motorcyclists cause most crashes. The truth tells a different story, as our lawyers often find during their investigations that motorcycle accidents result from:
- Driver inattention, which includes looking at phones, adjusting GPS systems, and being distracted by passengers
- Unsafe left turns, which are one of the most frequent causes of fatal motorcycle crashes
- Lane changes without signaling, which can happen when drivers misjudge the distance from, and speed of, riders
- Following too closely, which is one of the leading reasons for rear-end collisions (which can be fatal for riders even at relatively low speeds)
- Poorly maintained roads, as potholes, debris, and uneven surfaces, pose greater risks to riders than they do to operators of four-wheeled vehicles
- Vehicle defects, which can be hazardous to riders, whether the defects affect the bike or another motor vehicle
Properly investigating cases like yours requires technical knowledge of motorcycles, civil engineering, crash dynamics, and other complex fields. Our attorneys at Alexander Law Group LLP collaborate with traffic engineers, digital forensics professionals, civil engineers, and others who can prove invaluable to our clients’ cases.
Our team understands that establishing liability isn’t just about dispensing blame. Our goal is to secure justice by ensuring that liable parties cover the cost of your collision.
Your Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Will Shield You from the Threat of Anti-Rider Bias
One of the most frustrating obstacles in motorcycle injury cases isn’t always the law or the facts of a crash—it’s the unfair perception of motorcycle riders.
Many jurors, insurance adjusters, and even police officers carry conscious and unconscious biases against motorcyclists. They assume riders are thrill-seekers, speeders, or inherently reckless. It can lead these parties to assume a rider is at fault for an accident by default.
Our experienced trial lawyers know how to dismantle these biases to ensure they don’t prevent your financial recovery, and may dismantle them using:
- Expert witnesses: Accident reconstructionists, human-factors experts, and biomechanical engineers are among those who can help show how crashes occur and why the rider wasn’t at fault.
- Extensive client preparation: We will help present authentically in depositions and trials, and take other measures that benefit your case.
- Presenting compelling visual evidence: Visual evidence can be uniquely challenging to dispute, so videos, photos, and reconstructions can be key pieces of your case.
- Reframing the narrative in your favor: We may transform the “reckless biker” into “responsible motorist wronged by negligence” through nothing more than presenting the facts and evidence.
When bias is neutralized, the playing field is level, and we like our odds.
Beyond Legal Representation: Alexander Law Group LLP Can Be Your Lifeline in Recovery
A catastrophic motorcycle injury doesn’t just create legal problems, but a bona fide crisis. We don’t ignore the crises our clients face, but instead help them to a better place by:
- Coordinating medical treatment: Our attorneys make sure clients get the specialized care they need as quickly as possible after their accidents.
- Helping the rider manage their medical bills: Our team often steps in to negotiate with healthcare providers or insurance companies to ease the financial burden of the client’s medical needs.
- Guiding clients through financial strain: We can help identify short-term resources, disability benefits, or structured settlements that may help you remain financially stable post-crash.
- Providing emotional support: Beyond the legal work, we connect clients with counselors, peer support groups, and other resources to help them cope and heal.
These are the quiet forms of help that make recovery possible. When your lawyer truly cares, you can focus on healing while they handle the chaos.
Frequently Asked Questions – Motorcycle Injury Accidents
Before you ask, let us answer a few of the questions we hear most often from injured (and disabled) riders:
1. What if I wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the crash?
In California, adults must wear helmets under Vehicle Code §27803. If you weren’t wearing one, that doesn’t automatically bar recovery; that fact can affect the value of your claim.
2. Can I still recover damages if the other driver fled the scene?
Yes.
Uninsured motorist coverage and third-party liability options may still provide compensation. A firm like Alexander Law Group LLP can coordinate with insurers and law enforcement to identify every available source of recovery after a hit-and-run.
3. How long do I have to file a motorcycle injury claim?
Generally, California’s statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the crash date, though exceptions exist. Waiting too long can jeopardize your right to pursue compensation, so contacting our firm immediately is the right move.
4. What if my motorcycle had a defect that caused or worsened the crash?
Defective brakes, tires, or other components may make the manufacturer or retailer liable under the tenets of product liability law. Your attorney can have the motorcycle inspected, preserve evidence, and pursue a claim against those responsible for the defect(s).
Don’t Wait—Your Future Depends on What You Do After a Motorcycle Accident
The attorneys at Alexander Law Group LLP have spent decades standing up for injured riders, securing landmark verdicts, and forcing powerful insurers to do what’s right. We combine compassion with tenacity—qualities you want on your side when your financial future is on the line.
Call Alexander Law Group LLP today at (408) 289-1776 or complete our online form to schedule your free, no-pressure consultation. Remember that there are deadlines for filing motorcycle accident cases, so you should not wait to contact us.
