Can You Recover for Your Losses When There’s No Collision?
It’s fairly common knowledge that the risk of injury is significantly higher when riding a motorcycle than when in a passenger vehicle. With only two wheels, it can be much harder to maintain control of your bike if another motorist carelessly veers into your path. You can easily crash and suffer injury even without impact. If that happens, can you still seek compensation for your injuries?
Filing a Lawsuit for a Motorcycle Accident Injury
There is no requirement of contact for a motor vehicle accident claim to be valid. Instead, a jury considers whether there was negligence.
In virtually all personal injury claims, including motorcycle-related actions, the legal basis for recovery is the principle of negligence. Under the theory of negligence, everyone in society, including anyone behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, has a legal obligation to act reasonably in all endeavors. To succeed in a negligence-based claim, you must prove three things:
- The defendant (the potentially at-fault party) failed to act reasonably;
- The failure to act reasonably caused an accident; and
- You suffered actual losses as a result of the accident.
There is no codified law governing what behavior is reasonable. Instead, the jury looks at the actions of the defendant and determines whether they were reasonable. The jury, however, cannot arbitrarily decide on the required standard of care but must generally adhere to the precedent established in prior similar cases.
Contact Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, LLP
At Barnard, Mezzanotte, Pinnie & Seelaus, LLP, we have protected the rights of personal injury victims in Pennsylvania since 1980. We offer a free initial consultation. We are currently communicating with clients by phone, text message, e-mail, and videoconference. To schedule an appointment, call us at 610-565-4055 or 302-594-4535 or contact us online.
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