Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Although motorcycles make up only 3% of all registered vehicles and just 0.6% of all vehicle miles traveled in the United States, motorcyclists accounted for 16.2% of all traffic fatalities in 2024, a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable riders are on the road. If you or someone you love has been hurt in a motorcycle accident, having an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer on your side can make a critical difference in what you recover.
The Joel Bieber Firm represents motorcycle accident victims across Virginia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina. And when you are hurt, we come to you.
Our founder, Joel Bieber, spent three years selling motorcycles at a Harley-Davidson dealership while putting himself through law school. That hands-on experience with equipment and rider safety is something few attorneys can claim. Combined with decades of legal experience, it gives our team a unique edge in investigating and litigating motorcycle crash cases.
What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident
The steps you take immediately after a crash can directly affect both your health and your legal rights. Even if injuries seem minor in the moment, it is important to act carefully and document everything.
In general, you should:
- Seek medical attention right away, even if you feel okay
- Move yourself and others out of traffic if it is safe to do so
- Call the police and wait for an official report to be filed
- Document the scene with photos of vehicles, the road, and any visible injuries
- Gather contact and insurance information from all drivers involved
- Collect names and contact information from any witnesses
- Avoid giving recorded statements to insurance companies without legal guidance
Delayed injuries are especially common in motorcycle accidents. Internal bleeding, spinal damage, and traumatic brain injury can develop or worsen in the hours and days following a crash. Seeing a doctor immediately creates a medical record that connects your injuries to the accident.
For more on crash types and how they happen, read our guide: 10 Common Motorcycle Accidents and How to Avoid Them.
When Should You Consider Hiring a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer?
Not every accident requires a lawsuit, but most injury victims benefit from speaking with an attorney early. Legal guidance can help you avoid costly mistakes before they happen, not after.
You should strongly consider hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer if:
- You suffered injuries that required medical treatment beyond an initial visit
- Symptoms appeared or worsened in the days following the crash
- Fault for the accident is being disputed or shared
- The insurance company delayed, denied, or undervalued your claim
- A commercial vehicle or multiple drivers were involved
- You are missing work or expect long-term physical limitations
- The other driver was uninsured or underinsured
Even if you are unsure whether you have a case, a free consultation costs you nothing and gives you a clearer picture of your options.
Find a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Near You
Motorcycle accident laws, insurance requirements, and court procedures vary by state. Our attorneys have local experience in the markets we serve, which matters when it comes to protecting your rights.
Find a motorcycle accident attorney near you:
What Does a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Do?
Many people assume a motorcycle accident lawyer only becomes relevant if a case goes to court. In reality, an experienced attorney plays a critical role from the moment you hire them.
A motorcycle accident lawyer typically supports your case from start to finish:
- Investigation: Your attorney gathers evidence including police reports, witness statements, traffic camera footage, and accident reconstruction analysis. When the other driver claims the motorcycle “came out of nowhere,” your lawyer finds the proof that shows otherwise.
- Filing the Claim: Your lawyer handles all required documentation and files the claim with the appropriate insurance companies on your behalf.
- Negotiation: Most motorcycle accident claims are resolved through negotiation. Your attorney works to pursue a fair settlement that reflects the full impact of your injuries, not just the immediate bills.
- Litigation: If a fair settlement cannot be reached, your case may move to court, where a judge or jury will determine the outcome.
This work happens behind the scenes, but it often determines the difference between a quick, low settlement and compensation that truly reflects what you are dealing with after a serious crash.
How Insurance Companies Handle Motorcycle Accident Claims
Insurance companies are businesses. Their goal is to resolve claims for as little money as possible. After a motorcycle accident, they may treat riders differently, sometimes suggesting the rider was responsible simply because of the vehicle they were on.
Understanding the patterns insurers commonly use can help you protect your claim:
- Early pressure: Quick settlement offers may arrive before the full extent of your injuries is known.
- Information control: Adjusters may request recorded statements or broad medical authorizations to search for unrelated conditions or limit future liability.
- Claim delay: Some insurers slow the process, hoping financial pressure will push you to accept less.
- Injury minimization: Pain, long-term effects, or the need for ongoing treatment may be questioned or downplayed.
- Bias against riders: Adjusters sometimes argue the motorcyclist was at fault based on assumptions, not evidence.
When a motorcycle accident lawyer handles communication with the insurance company, it levels the playing field and protects you from tactics designed to reduce what you are owed.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Motorcycle Accident?
Every motorcycle accident case is different, and what you may recover depends on the severity of your injuries and the impact on your life. A thorough evaluation goes far beyond your immediate medical bills.
Depending on the circumstances, compensation may include:
- Medical Expenses: Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and anticipated future medical needs related to your injuries.
- Lost Wages: Compensation for time missed from work and reduced earning capacity if injuries affect your ability to work long-term.
- Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the accident and your recovery.
- Property Damage: Reimbursement for repairs or replacement of your motorcycle and any other damaged property.
- Wrongful Death: If a loved one was killed in a motorcycle accident, surviving family members may be entitled to pursue a wrongful death claim.
An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer considers both current losses and future consequences when assessing what your case may be worth.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Motorcycle riders face a significantly higher risk of serious injury than occupants of enclosed vehicles. Without the structural protection of a car or truck, riders absorb the full impact of a collision.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the most frequently reported motorcycle injuries involve the lower extremities, including broken legs, fractures, and road rash. More serious injuries are also common and frequently give rise to motorcycle accident lawsuits:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI): A leading cause of death and long-term disability in motorcycle crashes.
- Spinal cord injury or paralysis
- Limb amputations
- Internal organ damage
- Severe burns or disfigurement
- Wrongful death
These types of injuries often require long-term care, affect earning ability, and significantly alter quality of life. They are also the injuries that tend to result in the highest levels of compensation.
Types of Motorcycle Accident Cases We Handle
Motorcycle accidents happen in many different ways, and the type of crash often affects how injuries occur and how liability is determined. For a deeper look at how these crashes happen, see our guide on common motorcycle accidents and how to avoid them. Our motorcycle accident lawyers regularly assist clients involved in:
- Left-Turn Accidents: One of the most common and deadly crash types. A car turning left fails to yield to an oncoming motorcycle, often because the rider was not seen.
- Rear-End Collisions: A distracted or tailgating driver strikes the motorcycle from behind. At speed, these crashes are often catastrophic for the rider.
- Lane Change and Sideswipe Accidents: A driver fails to check their blind spot and merges into a motorcyclist.
- Road Hazard Crashes: Potholes, gravel, uneven pavement, or debris cause a rider to lose control. In some cases, a government entity or property owner may be liable.
- Drunk Driving Accidents: Impaired drivers are among the leading causes of fatal motorcycle crashes.
- Head-On Collisions: Among the most dangerous types of crashes, often resulting in fatal or catastrophic injuries.
- Hit-and-Run Accidents: When the at-fault driver leaves the scene, legal options may still be available depending on your insurance coverage and state law.
No matter the type of crash, understanding how liability and insurance apply is critical to protecting what you are owed.
Talk to a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one was injured in a motorcycle accident, you do not have to figure this out alone. The Joel Bieber Firm has been fighting for injured riders for decades, and our team is ready to help you understand your rights and next steps.
We work on a contingency fee basis. There are no upfront costs, and you pay nothing unless we win your case.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a good idea to consult with a motorcycle accident lawyer after any accident. If you’ve been seriously injured, working with a lawyer is essential to gain fair compensation.
An insurance company’s motivation is to save itself money. This means that unless you have the representation of an experienced lawyer, you’ll probably be offered a much lower payout than you deserve.
Without a lawyer, there’s also a much higher chance an insurance agent will ask you leading questions intended to ascribe fault to you, thereby making you ineligible for higher levels of coverage.
Insurance companies are known for using these tactics, and sometimes the agents even receive a commission for how much money they save the company.
In many cases, the injured victim in a motorcycle accident simply accepts an insurance company’s offer. This can be particularly tempting in the aftermath of an accident when medical bills are piling up.
A lawyer negotiates for you, saves you from making statements that disqualify you from receiving more compensation, and represents you in court if litigation is necessary.
You should always consult with a lawyer after a motorcycle accident, even if injuries and damages were minor. A motorcycle accident lawyer is your first step in identifying your options after an accident.
Even after a minor accident, it’s normal to file an insurance claim. Insurance policies are structured to pay out different amounts based on the extent of damages and level of fault of the parties involved. A lawyer’s representation helps maximize the compensation value you’re eligible for.
If insurance negotiations fail to provide you with adequate compensation, the next step is to file a lawsuit. This takes the expertise of a lawyer well-versed in the particulars of both insurance law and motorcycle accidents.
A person without legal experience can’t hope to successfully go up against the legal team of an insurance company. A lawyer can always help to increase your compensation. In situations involving serious injury, high medical bills, or loss of the ability to work, the representation of an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer is necessary to gain the compensation you and your loved ones need.
A motorcycle accident lawyer helps you in three primary ways: investigation, negotiation, and representation.
A significant part of a lawyer’s work consists of building a case. First, your lawyer needs to establish that the other driver was at fault. Legally, this amounts to meeting the criteria for showing the other driver’s actions amounted to negligence.
A lawyer may collect police reports, witness testimony, and traffic camera footage and may need to hire an accident reconstruction specialist.
The other part of preparation consists of collecting evidence to establish the extent of the damages. A lawyer will consider all ways in which an accident has impacted you, establish a target compensation goal, and begin collecting documentation to support the amount you’re seeking. They may collect medical bills and pay stubs and consult with medical professionals about anticipated future medical expenses.
Using the evidence they’ve collected, your lawyer will negotiate with the insurance companies on your behalf. If they can’t arrive at a satisfactory compensation value, they will file a court case and represent you throughout the court proceedings.
The sooner you involve a lawyer, the better.
One mistake people often make is attempting to handle the insurance claims process alone. An accident happens, they speak with their insurance company, and they eventually realize that the insurance payout they are being offered is much lower than what they need to cover the costs associated with the accident.
Involving a lawyer at this point can still help increase the compensation value you receive. However, it’s possible that you won’t be eligible for the same amount you might have received if you’d involved a lawyer from the start.
The insurance claims process is designed to ask a number of questions intended to reduce the payout amount the company is required to pay. If you’re not aware of the legal ramifications of what you say to an insurance agent, you can easily cost yourself money by making self-incriminating statements. While a lawyer can still help, they can’t take back your words.
It’s always smarter to have an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer represent you from the start throughout the insurance claims process.
Every motorcycle accident claim is worth a different amount. This is partially dependent on the limits of the insurance policies involved in a claim.
However, the primary factor that determines a motorcycle accident claim value is the level of demonstrable damages that occurred. Compensatory damages in a personal injury case are intended to compensate the victim for the losses related to the accident.
Damages are typically divided into economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those that have a dollar amount associated with them. You need to provide proof of economic damages in order to pursue them. Common examples include:
Medical bills
Specialist bills
Ambulance bills
Medical device receipts
Cost of assisted living or in-home care
Pay stubs showing lost wages and benefits
W-2s showing loss of anticipated lifetime earnings
Some accidents bring consequences that aren’t financial in nature. Non-economic damages are intended to compensate a victim for losses such as pain and suffering, emotional anguish, or disfigurement. A motorcycle accident lawyer’s job is to consider all of your losses and establish a compensation goal based on them.
It’s normal to become overwhelmed by the stress of an accident. The most important actions to follow to submit a successful claim for motorcycle injuries are detailed below in a short guide.
- Document the Details of the Crash
- Notify the Insurance Companies
- Build a Strong Claim
A motorcycle rider is always at risk of sustaining more severe injuries than the driver of a motor vehicle. Motorcyclists have little protection in the event of a crash, and they’re more likely to be thrown from their vehicle.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that the most common motorcycle accident injuries involve the lower extremities. Injuries like a broken leg can be costly, leading to medical bills and lost wages during recovery time. However, these types of injuries usually allow a victim to make a full recovery.
Motorcycle riders are also at high risk for more serious injuries. Some of the most common include:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Spinal injury
Limb amputations
Organ damage
Disfigurement
Motorcycle accident lawsuits often arise over these serious types of injuries due to the more extensive levels of damage.
Treating these sorts of injuries incurs high medical costs. These injuries also tend to have a profound impact on matters like earning ability and quality of life, which means they make a victim eligible for much higher compensation.
The length of time a motorcycle accident lawsuit lasts can vary widely and depends on many factors. Once you begin working with a lawyer, they’ll need time to conduct an investigation and attempt insurance negotiations. This alone can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more.
The majority of motorcycle accident claims resolve during the negotiation stage. Court proceedings can be expensive and time-consuming, and it’s usually more advantageous financially for an insurance company to resolve a case by settling.
When negotiation fails to achieve a satisfactory settlement amount, your motorcycle accident lawyer will file a lawsuit on your behalf. Even after this point, it’s still possible for negotiation to succeed. When an insurance company sees that you’re ready to take them to court, they’re sometimes more willing to work with you.
Only a small percentage of cases actually end up in court. When this happens, it’s hard to predict how long a court case will last. Certain factors can also make a case last longer — for example, if the victim suffered severe injuries.
It’s hard to know exactly how many motorcycle accidents occur in a year. Instead, motorcycle crash statistics tend to look at the rate of injury and death associated with motorcycle crashes. This data is more consistent.
Death and injuries are recorded through police reports and hospital records. Not every motorcycle accident is reported, especially if injuries were minor or non-existent. This means it’s hard to assess exactly how many occur.
However, the available data lends plenty of insight into reported crash data for motorcycle accidents. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), 5,579 motorcyclists were killed in 2020. This marks the highest motorcycle death rate in the past ten years.
USDOT data also shows that in 2020, 83,000 motorcyclists were injured in crashes. Considering that not every crash leads to a reported injury, it’s safe to assume that significantly more than 83,000 motorcycle crashes occur each year.
Motorcycles make up only a small percentage of vehicles on the road, but they account for a significantly higher number of fatal crash outcomes.
According to the NHTSA, head injury is the leading cause of death in motorcycle accidents. Furthermore, data shows that over 80% of motorcycle accidents result in injury or death for the motorcycle rider — and the majority of motorcycle crashes aren’t the fault of the motorcyclist.
Motorcycle riders don’t have control over the actions of other drivers, but they can make an important safety choice — wearing a helmet. Motorcycle helmets have a 29% success rate at preventing fatal injuries and a 67% success rate at preventing brain injuries.
Yet according to the most recent data available from the USDOT, just a little over half of motorcyclists choose to wear a helmet, with the most recent year showing a helmet use rate of 65%.
Motorcycle helmet use doesn’t just save lives and prevent injuries — it can have a direct bearing on whether you’re eligible for compensation after an accident. Depending on a state’s helmet laws and negligence laws, an injured motorcyclist who wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of a crash can be deemed partially responsible for their own injuries.
Your immediate priority after a motorcycle accident should be safety. Make sure that everyone involved moves away from oncoming traffic and is out of harm’s way.
Always see a doctor after a motorcycle accident, even when no one was injured. Motor vehicle accident injuries often lead to complications like internal bleeding, organ damage, or spinal injury. These types of injuries are not always evident at the time of the accident.
Seeing a doctor helps to catch injuries that aren’t visible and establishes the accident as the source of any injuries that may soon become apparent.
You should also always call the police, even if the accident was minor. A police report officially documents the accident, including important details like the date and time, who was at fault, the extent of injuries and vehicle damage, and the names of any witnesses.
You’ll need this information to gain compensation, and it also protects you from the other party later making false claims.
Finally, always consult with a motorcycle accident lawyer before speaking with an insurance agent or submitting a claim.
The average settlement amount for a motorcycle accident can vary significantly depending on various factors such as the severity of the injuries, the extent of property damage, liability determination, and the specific circumstances surrounding the accident. If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident and are seeking information about potential settlement amounts, it's best to consult with our qualified motorcycle accident lawyer who can assess the specifics of your situation and provide guidance based on their expertise and knowledge of current legal standards and precedents.