Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Reviewed
Quick questions
What decides your motorcycle claim
We represent riders and passengers hurt in a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles County, and families of riders who did not survive one. The claim turns on how fault is decided, what the lane splitting and helmet rules say, which policy pays, how damages are proved, and when there is no claim at all. A defect in the motorcycle itself is a separate product claim, and we flag one where the damage pattern points to it.
Three terms describe different things. Lane splitting is riding a two-wheeled motorcycle between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane. Lane sharing is two motorcycles abreast in one lane. Filtering is moving to the front of stopped traffic at a signal. Our lane splitting accidents page covers the statute line by line.
Two more terms decide how these files end. Negligence is the failure to use the care a reasonable person would use, and Civil Code section 1714 makes everyone responsible for harm caused by a want of ordinary care. Comparative fault reduces your recovery by your own percentage of responsibility instead of ending it. Nothing a rider did wrong ends the claim by itself; it changes the arithmetic at the end.
Why the adjuster assumes you were speeding
An insurance adjuster forms a view about a rider before opening the file, and the view is speed. We answer that assumption with the state's own numbers and the physical evidence from the scene.
- 125Motorcyclist deaths, Los Angeles County, 2023UC Berkeley SafeTREC
- 754Motorcyclist serious injuries, Los Angeles County, 2023UC Berkeley SafeTREC
- 583Motorcyclists killed statewide, California, 2023UC Berkeley SafeTREC
- Nearly 27xMotorcyclist deaths per mile against cars, United States, 2024IIHS
UC Berkeley's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center counted 125 motorcyclist deaths and 754 serious injuries in Los Angeles County in 2023, the highest county totals in the state, and 583 motorcyclists killed statewide, 14 percent of all California motor vehicle deaths and down 10.2 percent from 2022. Those figures and the table below come from SafeTREC's 2025 traffic safety facts on motorcycle safety. The per-mile comparison is national: the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports 6,228 motorcyclist deaths in 2024 and a death rate per mile almost 27 times that of car occupants, in IIHS Fatality Facts 2024. It describes the United States, not California.
| Primary factor | Share of crashes |
|---|---|
| Unsafe speed | 28.2 percent |
| Improper turning | 19.8 percent |
| Automobile right of way violation | 19.3 percent |
| Alcohol or drug impairment | 8.7 percent |
| Unsafe lane change | 5.2 percent |
Rows two and three belong together. Improper turning and an automobile right of way violation account for 39.1 percent of these crashes, and both describe a driver. SafeTREC also reports broadside as the most common crash type at 31.1 percent, and 73 percent of California's fatal motorcycle crashes in urban areas. The state's own data puts a driver's turn or failure to yield in front of nearly two out of five serious motorcycle crashes.
Is lane splitting legal in California?
Lane splitting is commonly described as legal in California. That is close, and the imprecision costs riders. Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines lane splitting as driving a motorcycle with two wheels in contact with the ground between rows of stopped or moving vehicles, and it says the Department of the California Highway Patrol may develop educational guidelines relating to lane splitting. It does not authorize the practice and it does not forbid it.
California's own DMV puts it the same way. The Motorcyclists Guide states that California law does not allow or prohibit motorcycles from passing other vehicles proceeding in the same direction within the same lane, a practice often called lane splitting, lane sharing or filtering. Two consequences follow. No statute is violated by splitting, so the defense cannot borrow a Vehicle Code section to make the rider negligent as a matter of law. No statute endorses it either, so a rider still owes ordinary care.
That leaves one standard, and both sides face it. The jury gets CACI Nos. 400 and 401 on negligence and CACI No. 700 on driving, which requires reasonable care, a lookout, and control of the vehicle's speed and movement. None of those instructions turn on which side of the painted line you were on. What decides the case is speed differential, the width of the gap, and whether the driver moved without signaling or looking under Vehicle Code section 22107.
| What riders are told | What California law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lane splitting is illegal | The statute defines it and directs the CHP to develop educational guidelines. It does not prohibit it | Vehicle Code 21658.1 |
| If you were splitting, the crash is your fault | Fault turns on ordinary care in the circumstances, the same standard the driver is held to | CACI Nos. 401 and 700 |
| No helmet means no claim | A helmet is required, and its absence is comparative fault limited to the injuries it would have prevented | Vehicle Code 27803 |
| No M1 license means no claim | Licensing is a separate offense. It does not excuse the driver who hit you | California DMV, motorcycle license |
| The police report decides fault | An officer's conclusion is an opinion formed after the fact, and no insurer or jury is bound by it | Officer opinion, not a finding |
If you were not wearing a helmet
Vehicle Code section 27803 requires the driver and any passenger on a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or motorized bicycle to wear a safety helmet meeting the requirements established under section 27802. The statute defines wearing one: on the head, fastened with the straps, sized to fit securely without excessive lateral or vertical movement. California is a universal helmet state, so the national helmet-use figures in the IIHS data describe other states.
Its absence does not bar the claim. It is an affirmative defense, which means the other side has to plead it and prove it rather than assert it. The jury hears CACI No. 405 and reduces damages by the share of the harm the rider's own conduct caused. Civil Code section 1431.2 then ties each defendant's share of non-economic damages to its own percentage of fault.
The limit is causation. The argument reaches only injuries a helmet would have prevented or reduced, so it does nothing to a tibia, a pelvis, a degloved forearm, or lost income. Against a head injury the defense needs a medical or biomechanical opinion that this helmet would have changed this outcome, and that opinion is expensive. Our helmet law and your claim page covers how the defense is pleaded, what it must prove, and what to do when the report notes no helmet.
How most Los Angeles motorcycle crashes happen
Six patterns account for most of these cases, and each has a statute attached. Naming the statute early puts the file on a rule the insurance company's lawyers will recognize.
- The left turn across your path. Vehicle Code section 21801 requires a driver turning left to yield to all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction that are close enough to constitute a hazard. The jury gets CACI No. 704. This is the pattern with the clearest liability and the one we cover in depth on our left turn and right of way accidents page.
- The unsafe lane change and the sideswipe. Section 22107 bars moving right or left until the movement can be made with reasonable safety, and then only after an appropriate signal. A rider who swerved away from a drifting car still has a claim, with or without contact.
- Dooring. Section 22517 makes it unlawful to open a door on the traffic side unless it is reasonably safe. On Ventura, Sunset and Melrose a door leaves a rider no room to react.
- Rear-ended at a stop. Section 21703 bars following more closely than is reasonable and prudent. A motorcycle stops shorter than the car behind it expects.
- A car pulling out of a driveway or a lot. The driver looks for a windshield and sees a gap. Sight-line photographs from the driver's seat settle these.
- Road surface defects and uncovered utility cuts. A trench, a raised plate or a grate that a car never notices puts a bike down. Government Code section 835 allows a claim against the public entity for a dangerous condition of public property, and the six month claim deadline applies.
Proving fault before the evidence disappears
Riders lose evidence faster than anyone else on the road. The tow yard charges storage and then sells the bike. The emergency department cuts the gear off and throws it away. The other car is repaired inside a month. The rider is often the one person at the scene who cannot take a photograph.
- Helmet camera and dashcam footage. A rider's own camera answers the speed argument in a way no witness can. The memory card should be pulled first.
- The car's event data recorder. Modern vehicles store pre-impact speed, throttle, braking and steering. Downloading it takes a preservation letter before the car is repaired.
- The damage pattern on both vehicles. Where the bike struck the car, and how far back, says how far into a turn or a lane change the driver was.
- Scene geometry. Gouge marks, scuffs, fluid trails and the rest positions let a reconstruction engineer put numbers on the impact speed.
- The driver's phone records. Subpoenaed phone carrier data shows use at the moment of impact when the driver's account does not.
- Business, doorbell and transit cameras. Most overwrite within days, so the preservation request goes out immediately.
We send the letters and retain the reconstruction engineer before the file has a value. The first-days checklist for injured riders covers the scene and the two weeks after, including how to stop a tow yard from scrapping the bike.
What your injuries mean for the claim
A rider absorbs the impact, so the existence of an injury is rarely disputed. The dispute moves to future care, and what a surgeon writes in an operative report carries more weight than any characterization a lawyer can add. The two that change a file most are a traumatic brain injury and a spinal cord injury.
| Injury | What drives the future cost | The document that carries it |
|---|---|---|
| Road rash and degloving | Grafting, revision surgery, permanent scarring | Operative reports, wound photographs, a plastic surgeon's revision estimate |
| Orthopedic fracture with hardware | Hardware removal, nonunion (a bone that fails to heal), post-traumatic arthritis | Imaging series, the surgeon's hardware plan, a life care plan |
| Pelvic and acetabular fracture | Hip replacement years later, permanent gait change | Orthopedic follow-up notes, a functional capacity evaluation |
| Traumatic brain injury | Cognitive therapy, lost earning capacity, supervision | Neuropsychological testing, an economist's analysis |
| Spinal cord injury | Attendant care, equipment replacement cycles, home modification | A physiatrist's (rehabilitation physician's) life care plan with unit costs and replacement intervals |
Which policy pays a Los Angeles rider
Vehicle Code section 16056 sets California's minimum liability limits at $30,000 for bodily injury to one person, $60,000 for two or more, and $15,000 for property damage, effective January 1, 2025. The statute raises those by $20,000, $40,000 and $10,000 on January 1, 2035. Policy limits are the ceiling an insurer will pay under a given policy, and a large share of Los Angeles drivers carry the minimum. One femur, one plate and one week in a hospital passes $30,000.
| The situation | The policy that responds | The condition attached |
|---|---|---|
| The driver who hit you is insured | His bodily injury liability | $30,000 per person is the legal minimum since January 1, 2025 |
| The driver has no insurance | Your uninsured motorist coverage | You had to buy it; a written rejection removes it |
| His limits are lower than yours | Your underinsured motorist coverage | It pays the difference, and only if your limits exceed his |
| The driver fled and was never found | Your uninsured motorist coverage | Physical contact, a police report within 24 hours, a sworn statement within 30 days |
| Your own motorcycle was uninsured | The at-fault driver still owes economic losses | Proposition 213 removes your pain and suffering |
| You carry medical payments coverage | Med pay, regardless of fault | Limits are usually small and your health plan may claim it back |
Two rows deserve the statute's language. Insurance Code section 11580.2 governs uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage, requires a written agreement to delete or reduce it, and sets the hit and run conditions: physical contact with the phantom vehicle (the one that fled), a police report within 24 hours, a statement under oath within 30 days, and suit, settlement or a formal arbitration demand within two years. Civil Code section 3333.4, Proposition 213, bars non-economic damages for an owner whose vehicle was uninsured. One exception: the bar lifts if the driver who hit you was convicted of driving under the influence in the same crash.
How long a rider has to file
| Deadline | What has to happen | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | Written report to the CHP or city police if anyone was injured or killed | Vehicle Code 20008 |
| 10 days | SR-1 filed with the DMV if anyone was hurt or property damage tops $1,000 | Vehicle Code 16000 |
| 6 months | Written claim to a public entity for a road defect or a government vehicle | Government Code 911.2 |
| 45 days | The entity acts on that claim, or it is deemed rejected | Government Code 912.4 |
| 2 years | Lawsuit for the injury | Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 |
| 6 months after rejection | Lawsuit against the public entity | Government Code 945.6 |
Statute of limitations is the outside deadline for filing suit, and an injury claim runs two years from the crash under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. It is not the working deadline. Evidence decides these cases, and evidence runs on a shorter clock.
What a motorcycle case is worth
There is no average. What we can show is one of our own results and the facts that produced it.
Motorcycle, broken leg
A car changed lanes without signaling. Witnesses and reconstruction overcame the denial.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts, injuries, and insurance coverage. Amounts shown are gross recoveries before attorney's fees, costs, and medical liens.
That was a lane change case with liability denied outright and no offer on the table. A car moved over without signaling, the rider went down, and the leg was broken. Witness testimony and reconstruction carried the liability dispute, and the case resolved at $600,000. It is the typical shape of a rider's file: no dispute that the rider was hurt, and a complete dispute about who caused it. Our motorcycle accident settlements page breaks down each damage category by its jury instruction, the coverage ceiling that caps most claims, and the deductions between a gross recovery and a net check.
What happens after you call us
- 1We get you treated
Treatment comes before paperwork. With no health coverage, care goes on a lien so the surgeon is not the reason you wait.
- 2We preserve the evidence
Preservation letters go to the tow yard, the insurance carrier, and every business with a camera facing the intersection, the same week.
- 3We handle the carrier
You give no recorded statement to the other side. We handle the carrier, meaning the insurance company, and its adjuster, and we send no settlement demand while you are still treating.
- 4We build the file
Records, imaging, wage documentation, a reconstruction where speed is contested, and the treating physicians on future care.
- 5We demand, and we file if the number is wrong
The first offer is a negotiating position, not a valuation. We track the two year deadline from day one so filing stays a live option.
There is no fee unless we recover. You can see the outcomes we are permitted to discuss on our case results page and what clients say on our testimonials page.
When a rider has no claim
Some rider crashes are not third-party claims, meaning there is no one else to claim against. In these situations the answer is usually no, or yes with a substantial argument attached.
- A single-vehicle loss of control with no third-party cause. Gravel, a decreasing radius, or target fixation with no other vehicle and no roadway defect leaves no negligence claim, only your own coverage.
- An obvious, long-standing road defect. Government Code section 835 requires a dangerous condition plus notice. A shallow, visible crack is not usually enough.
- No motorcycle endorsement. You still have a claim. Riding without an M1 is its own offense, and it does not excuse the driver who turned across your lane, but expect the argument and expect it in the deposition, the sworn interview before trial.
- Your own motorcycle was uninsured. Economic losses survive. Proposition 213 takes the pain and suffering, which is often most of the value.
- A passenger claim against your own rider. It is a claim, and it is usually against a friend's policy. CACI No. 711 also asks what care the passenger took for herself.
- An off-road or track incident. Different rules apply, and usually a signed waiver is read before anything else.
Talk to a motorcycle accident lawyer
The three questions riders ask have precise answers. Lane splitting is neither authorized nor prohibited by Vehicle Code section 21658.1, so it cannot make you negligent as a matter of law. A helmet violation under section 27803 reduces damages only for the injuries a helmet would have prevented. A driver who says he never saw you has described a failure to keep the lookout CACI No. 700 requires.
What we need is the crash date, the report number if there is one, and where the motorcycle is sitting right now. What we do next is send the preservation letters. Our car accident, truck accident and catastrophic injury pages cover the neighboring claims. Speak with one of our attorneys; the responsible attorney is Josh Kohanim, and there is no fee unless we recover.
No fee unless we recover.