Motorcycle Accidents

LEE KELSO

The warm weather is upon us. The streets and highways see the return of motorcycles. There is no question that the number of people buying and riding motorcycles is on the rise. Unfortunately with the increasing number of motorcyclists on the highways that means that there are more accidents involving motorcycles than ever before. We are here to talk about the legal aspects of motorcycle accidents and what you can do to protect your legal rights should you have an accident. With us today is David Farnbauch, a personal injury attorney with the Sweeney Law Firm from Fort Wayne. Thanks for being with us.

DAVID FARNBAUCH

It's great to be here today. 

LEE KELSO

David, you have had your share of motorcycle cases during your twenty-five year career. What is it that makes motorcycle cases different from other types of automobile accident cases.

DAVID FARNBACH

Well I think one of the things that stands out about motorcycle accident cases is that normally the severity of injury to the motorcycle rider. Most of these cases involve very severe injuries and oftentimes long ball severe injuries and will involve the death of the rider.

LEE KELSO

If one of our riders is involved in a motorcycle accident that's the fault of another driver what are some of the things the motorcyclist or his or her family should be thinking about in order to protect their legal rights

DAVID FARNBAUCH

Well one of the things that we find about motorcycle accident cases is oftentimes the testimony of high witnesses is critical. Oftentimes there will be witnesses to a motorcycle collision that have different perspectives and viewpoints on what they saw in connection with a particular accident or observations about the speed of the motorcycle or the speed of the car that came in contact with a motorcyclist, so it's very important to get statements of the eye witnesses to a motorcycle accident shortly after the accident while their memories are still fresh.

LEE KELSO

Mr. Farnbauch, Indiana has a system called comparative fault that is utilized by a jury to determine who's at fault in any type of accident including accidents involving a motorcycle. Could you explain just what that comparative fault system is and what the challenges are when you're representing a motorcyclist in a jury trial.

DAVID FARNBAUCH

Well comparative is simply a process that we use in Indiana to assign percentages of fault to the various participants in an accident. For example if there's a simple collision where a car pulls out in front of a motorcyclist a jury is asked to assign how much fault there is on the driver who pulled out in front of the motorcyclist and is asked to assign fault to the motorcyclist. If there's an allegation that the motorcyclist was exceeding the speed limit. The jury is simply asked to put a percentage of fault on the various parties that are involved in an accident. Some of the challenges in a motorcycle case are the speed of the motorcycle, whether the motorcyclist was paying attention to what was happening in front of them. These cases are particularly challenging in a jury trial because oftentimes there is a bias on the part of the jury against motorcycles. A lot of people don't respect the rights of motorcyclists on the roadways. 

LEE KELSO

Before you came on the show today you mentioned that one of the major problems you encountered in motorcycle accident cases is the amount of insurance coverage that is typically available in these cases. can you explain exactly what that problem is involving insurance coverage?  

DAVID FARNBAUCH

As I mentioned before motorcycle cases normally we're dealing with motorcyclists who have suffered severe or catastrophic injuries or motorcyclist who have died as a result of being in an accident, so these cases normally have very significant value in terms of damages. So what we frequently encounter in motorcycle cases is a motorist or the operator of a car that causes the accident that may be insured, but may not carry enough insurance coverage to cover all the damages. So typically we have to look at the motorcyclist underinsured motorist coverage. Frequently in our office we find that motorcyclists don't carry sufficient underinsured motorist coverage on their motorcycle policies.

LEE KELSO

David it seems like a personal injury claim involving an injury to a motorcyclist is a lot more involved than a run of the mill legal claim. What advice would you give viewers when it comes to picking an attorney to handle a case that involves a serious injury while riding a motorcycle?

DAVID FARNBAUCH

I think that motorcycle accident cases are unique because oftentimes in a motorcycle accident case it'll be critical to do an investigation early in the case and interview witnesses. Its important to get an attorney early in the game so proper investigation can be done. Oftentimes in motorcycle cases it will require that the lawyer hire a very competent, well-trained accident reconstruction expert, to try to put together the investigation, piece together the physical evidence and determine how the accident actually happened. That has to be done early in the process. if I were to give some advice to someone who has been involved in a motorcycle accident case. i would say hire an attorney who is experienced in handling motorcycle accident cases.

LEE KELSO

Thanks for the information and advice David. Glad you could join us today to share that insight and experience.

DAVID FARNBAUCH

it was great to be here today.