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Lafayette Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Why Hire Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Lafayette?

If you or someone you love was involved in a motorcycle crash, you have legal rights. If another driver was wholly or partly to blame for the accident, you can recover compensation for your losses in a personal injury or wrongful death claim. You’ll need to know how to make your case, though, and you must take action within the Louisiana statute of limitations.

Anderson Blanda & Saltzman is here to help you do that. Our Lafayette motorcycle accident attorneys know the ins and outs of these complicated cases, and we’ll work hard to help you get justice. With more than 100 years of collective experience and a history of representing over 10,000 plaintiffs, you can count on our firm to have the knowledge and skill to help you prevail.

Give our auto accident lawyers in Lafayette a call today at (337) 233-3366 to schedule a free consultation and learn how our legal team can help you. Not only is your consultation free, but you will pay legal fees only if we win your case.

Who is Responsible for Motorcycle Accident Losses?

After a motorcycle accident, it’s important to determine who was to blame for the crash. This will help you determine if there is anyone you can pursue compensation from to cover the costs of your injuries and losses.

Louisiana is a fault state, which means that a driver who is fully or partly liable for causing a car accident can be held accountable under the law and made to pay for damages their behavior caused to other drivers or motorcycle riders. In some states, drivers have to go through their own insurer to get paid for minor injuries. That’s not the case in Louisiana.

Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2316, the law states that “every person is responsible for the damage he occasions not merely by his act, but by his negligence, his imprudence, or his want of skill.” This statute means that if a driver is unreasonably careless, he can be held responsible for the resulting harm. Most motorcycle accident claims arise out of negligence rather than intentional wrongdoing.

Motorcycle riders can prove that a driver was negligent by showing that:

  • The other driver owed them a duty of care
  • The driver failed to fulfill that duty by behaving less carefully than a hypothetical reasonable driver would have under the circumstances
  • The other driver’s failure to exercise reasonable care caused the accident
  • The accident caused damages the victim can be compensated for.

Since drivers on the road have a duty to behave in a responsible and safe way, careless behavior can result in liability for losses—as long as you can prove that negligence was the direct cause of harm.

If a driver violates a safety rule, this also creates a presumption of negligence under a legal doctrine called negligence per se. This phrase means the thing speaks for itself, which essentially translates into a rule that a violation of a safety regulation is, by itself, sufficient to show negligence. A motorcyclist can therefore hold a driver accountable for breaking rules like violating the speed limit or driving drunk if those behaviors cause an accident.

Under Louisiana’s vicarious liability rule, a motorcyclist could also pursue a claim against a driver’s employer if the motorist was performing work duties at the time of the incident. This can be beneficial in situations where the company employing the driver has more insurance coverage and so is better able to provide the funds to cover the serious losses motorcycle accidents can cause to occur.

In most cases, it will be the insurance company of the other driver that actually pays the tab for your accident losses. If a driver is uninsured, you could try to collect compensation from them personally, but it may be hard to get a judgment enforced even if you win your case. Your ability to collect would depend on the assets they have available.

If you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, however, your own insurance can help you in these situations by picking up the bills that the other driver should have covered. Your insurer can pay for losses up to your policy limits. When you buy auto insurance in Louisiana, you are signed up automatically for this coverage (unless you explicitly reject it), but you must have this coverage in place prior to the accident in order for it to cover your losses when a crash occurs.

Finally, there may be situations where you can hold others accountable besides the driver who caused the crash. If there was a problem on the road that led to unsafe conditions, or if a defect in your motorcycle was a contributing cause to your crash and injuries, you may be able to pursue a claim against those responsible for road maintenance or for the manufacture of your motorcycle.

Our Lafayette motorcycle accident lawyers at Anderson Blanda & Saltzman will work with you to identify all of the potential defendants you could pursue a claim against so you can make sure you’re able to get the money you deserve to move forward.

What if a Motorcycle Rider is Partly to Blame for an Accident?

In many situations, there’s not just one cause of a motorcycle crash. When a motorcyclist is partly responsible, Louisiana’s rules on comparative fault apply.

While some states limit when a claim can be made if the fault is shared, such as restricting lawsuits if the victim was more than 50% or 51% responsible for the accident, Louisiana doesn’t do that. Louisiana is a pure comparative fault state under Louisiana Civil Code Title V, Article 2323. This means if the other driver was even a small part responsible, they can be held accountable for part of your losses.

The relevant statute states that “if a person suffers injury, death, or loss as the result partly of his own negligence and partly as a result of the fault of another person or persons, the amount of damages recoverable shall be reduced in proportion to the degree or percentage of negligence attributable to the person suffering the injury, death, or loss.”

Under this rule, a motorcyclist’s damages will be reduced by their own percentage of fault if they were partly to blame—but it is still possible to pursue a case. If you suffered $30,000 in damages as a result of the motorcycle accident and the other driver was 10% responsible for the incident, you would be able to collect 10% of your damages from the other driver. In other words, that driver could be made to pay you $3,000 for the portion of your losses attributed to their behavior.

How Can a Lafayette Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Help You?

In the aftermath of a motorcycle accident, you must be ready to prove your claim. A Lafayette motorcycle accident attorney can help you to gather the evidence you need. This can include taking steps such as:

  • Conducting interviews with eyewitnesses to the motorcycle accident to get information about how the crash occurred
  • Obtaining copies of police reports from an investigation or from a report made at the scene to demonstrate how the accident happened
  • Collecting evidence from the crash scene, such as photos of the debris, the involved vehicles, or the area where the motorcycle accident happened
  • Finding expert witnesses who can testify as to the cause of the motorcycle accident or the extent of the damages that the crash caused you to experience
  • Helping you to prepare a pain journal documenting the impact that the motorcycle accident injuries have had on your quality of life

It’s essential to put together the strongest case possible. A strong case will maximize the chances of getting a fair settlement or prevailing in a civil court if you file a lawsuit against the person or company responsible for your motorcycle accident.

Your motorcycle accident attorney in Lafayette can also help you in other ways beyond just gathering evidence. One of the biggest benefits of getting legal help is that an experienced legal professional can negotiate on your behalf with insurance companies. Insurers are more likely to take your claim seriously if they know you have a knowledgeable advocate on your side. Your attorney also knows what your case should be worth and can start negotiations on your terms with a demand letter.

Once you’ve settled your case and accepted compensation, you also can’t go back and change your mind, so your attorney will advise you as to whether you should accept a settlement offer or whether you should keep negotiating or walk away and resolve your claim in civil court.

Finally, if you can’t agree on a settlement, you’ll need help pursuing a personal injury claim in civil court. Anderson Blanda & Saltzman attorneys have been designated among the Top 100 Trial Lawyers, so we have the courtroom experience many attorneys are lacking. We’re ready to help you meet your burden of proof and convince the court to award you the money you deserve.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

In Louisiana, 97 motorcyclists were killed in fatal accidents in 2023, according to the Louisiana Highway Safety Council.

Motorcycle accidents can be especially dangerous for riders because motorcycles provide limited protection from the force and impact of a collision. In fact, tragically, motorcycle riders are 22 times as likely as motorists in passenger cars to be killed in an auto accident, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If a loved one has passed due to a motorcycle accident, contact our Lafayette wrongful death attorneys to learn more about what you could do.

Motorcycle accidents can occur for many reasons. Here are some of the most common causes of collisions involving motorcycles:

  • Drivers underestimating the speed of motorcyclists
  • Drivers failing to see motorcyclists in their blind spots
  • Drivers making wide turns and harming motorcyclists
  • Distracted driving
  • Impaired driving
  • Drowsy driving
  • Speeding drivers

Because motorcycle riders are harder to see due to the smaller size of their vehicle, drivers often simply fail to see them on the roads. That’s especially true if drivers are engaged in unsafe behavior, such as driving while talking on a cell phone, driving drowsy, or operating their vehicles after consuming alcohol.

In many cases, these devastating motorcycle accidents could have been prevented if the driver had been more careful. Those negligent drivers need to be held liable for the damages that they cause. Anderson Blanda & Saltzman can help you to do that if you or someone you love was hurt or killed in a motorcycle crash.

Types of Motorcycle Accident Injuries

With limited protection from the impact of an accident, motorcycle riders often suffer very serious injuries or are killed when a car crash happens. Riders can experience many different types of harm, but here are some of the most common injuries that can result from a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle:

Motorcyclists need to get medical help in the aftermath of an accident to make sure all of their injuries are properly diagnosed. Sadly, serious issues such as brain swelling or internal bleeding may not have immediate outward symptoms.

A medical professional can document the injuries the collision causes and help crash victims show they occurred as a direct result of a motorcycle accident. Motorcyclists should have their medical bills covered and be paid for any ongoing issues caused by their injuries, such as impairment of their ability to work or continued pain and suffering.

Let Our Lafayette Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Handle Your Claim

The rules related to motorcycle accident cases can be complicated. If you or someone you love suffered a crash while riding, you should get legal help as soon as possible.

Anderson Blanda & Saltzman has fought for the rights of many motorcyclists, and we’re here to represent you. We won’t charge legal fees unless we win, and we’ll fight hard for your rights every step of the way.

Give us a call at (337) 233-3366 or contact us online today to speak with a Lafayette motorcycle accident lawyer who will advocate for you from day one.