Motorcycle Accident Law: What To Know (April 2025)

How Motorcycle Accident Law Works

Motorcycle crashes fall under the same field of law as other accidents. You typically have three legal theories that can apply to your crash, depending on what went wrong. These legal theories tell you who may be legally responsible for compensating you for the losses you incurred due to your injuries.

Most motorcycle accident claims fall under negligence law. Negligence happens when a driver crashes into your motorcycle due to a lack of reasonable care. The benefit of using negligence is that you do not need to prove the driver’s intent. The drawback is that you must prove your losses.

Another legal theory is strict liability. This legal theory applies to inherently dangerous activities like the manufacturing of products. If your motorcycle crash happened due to a defective product, such as a faulty motorcycle wheel or brake cylinder, this legal theory may apply. The benefit of strict liability claims is that you do not need to prove negligence or intent. The drawback is that it applies only to narrow situations.

Finally, a civil battery occurs when someone intentionally crashes into your motorcycle. This type of claim rarely occurs. However, if your motorcycle crash happened as a result of a driver’s road rage, you might have a claim for intentional harm. The benefit of this claim is that you do not need to prove your damages. The drawback is that your lawyer must have evidence showing the driver intended to make harmful contact with you.

Helmet Laws and Protective Gear

Before you start riding, you should make sure you understand motorcycle helmet laws by state. Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire do not require any riders to wear helmets, and these seventeen states and Washington, D.C. require all riders to wear helmets:

• Alabama
• California
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia

The remaining states mandate that some riders (typically younger riders) wear helmets but not others. Most states also require some form of protective gear like goggles or face shields.

Proving Negligence Under Motorcycle Accident Case Law

Negligence is not defined in any state or federal statutory laws. Instead, negligence is a legal concept that traces its origins back to English common law. Since that time, negligence has grown up in court cases that define the elements for a claim in each state. Although these cases only control the outcomes in the states where they were decided, they all developed on parallel paths.

This means that whether you are in California, Maine, or anywhere in between, your negligence case will require proof of the same four elements under motorcycle injury law:

• Duty of care
• Breach of duty
• Damages
• Causation

The duty of care applies to all drivers. It requires them to exercise reasonable care to avoid exposing other road users to an unreasonable risk of injury or death. A driver breaches this duty when their acts are unreasonable under the circumstances.

Your lawyer can prove a breach in two ways. First, a driver may breach this duty by violating a traffic law. Second, a driver breaches the duty by doing something unreasonably dangerous even if no law prohibits it. Thus, a driver who texts while driving will be liable for any resulting crash even if state law does not prohibit texting while driving.

Your damages come from your injuries. You likely had medical bills, wage losses and out-of-pocket expenses due to your injuries.

Causation is usually the only element that might vary between states. All states require your lawyer to prove cause-in-fact. This means the other driver’s actions naturally and logically led to your injuries.

Many states also require proof of proximate cause. This element means that an accident was a foreseeable outcome of the driver’s actions. The requirement of foreseeability is meant to ensure that drivers are not held liable for freak occurrences.

Comparative or Contributory Negligence

Another legal principle to know after a motorcycle crash is how your state’s laws handle negligence by accident victims. Some states use comparative negligence to simply divide the fault between the driver and the rider and reduce the rider’s compensation. In these states, a motorcyclist who is 30% at fault for a crash still recovers 70% of their losses.

Other states use contributory negligence. In these states, accident victims cannot recover any compensation if they are even slightly at fault. Thus, a motorcyclist who is 1% at fault in a contributory negligence state gets nothing.

Product Defects and Liability in Motorcycle Accidents

Rarely, a motorcycle accident may be caused by a defect in the motorcycle itself (or a defect in a replacement part). In instances like this, most states impose strict liability on manufacturers. This means that you generally don’t have to prove that the manufacturer acted negligently to win a case; the presence of the defect is enough.

However, these cases are sometimes difficult to win. A product liability attorney can increase your chances of success, and even then, your lawyer will likely need to call expert witnesses.

Statutes of Limitations for Motorcycle Accident Claims

If you’ve been hurt in a motorcycle accident, you don’t have to file a claim immediately. However, you must file within your state’s statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is effectively a time limit for filing a claim or lawsuit. In most states, the statute of limitations for filing a motorcycle or car accident lawsuit is between two and three years.

There are some circumstances that may extend that time, though. For example, if your injury wasn’t discovered immediately, the countdown to the statute of limitations might start when you discovered the injury (rather than the date of the accident).

If you’re interested in filing a motorcycle accident claim, it’s important to consult an attorney as soon as possible—not just when the statute of limitations is closing in. That way, your attorney will have enough time to build a strong case.

Learn More About Motorcycle Accidents From ConsumerShield

ConsumerShield is dedicated to helping ordinary people understand their legal rights. We provide educational resources and connect people who need legal representation in motorcycle accident lawsuits with experienced lawyers. Fill out our contact form for a free case evaluation and to learn how we can help you protect your rights.