Mountain Home, AR Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Motorcycle riders have just as much right to the road as other drivers in Mountain Home. Unfortunately, not all riders are given this courtesy and are injured.

If you have been the victim of another driver’s negligence, our lawyers can help you get the justice you deserve. Our team knows that many motorcyclists face an uphill battle when pursuing compensation. Insurance companies often try to paint them as dangerous to deny their claims. Our attorneys know these tricks and can fight against them. We will get the evidence that shows how the defendant was liable and should pay. We will assess your losses, including your medical expenses and damage to your bike. Having our lawyers on your side can make all the difference.

For a free case review with our motorcycle accident lawyers, contact us at (479) 316-0438.

Who to File Your Lawsuit Against for a Motorcycle Accident in Mountain Home, AR

When you file a lawsuit for a motorcycle accident, you usually know who injured you. While the other driver is usually at fault when a motorcycle accident occurs, there could be others who share the blame. The claim will typically be more complex if the driver was working in a commercial vehicle when they hit you. Your motorcycle itself might have malfunctioned to cause you injuries. Whatever contributed to your accident, our motorcycle accident attorneys will get the evidence to prove it. The following are common defendants in the cases our team files in Mountain Home:

Drivers

In most motorcycle lawsuits, the other driver will be the person we sue. While motorcycle riders are often unfairly viewed as being more dangerous on the road, the truth is that most accidents are caused by negligent drivers. Our lawyers can help you prove that it was the other driver’s negligence that caused your damages. This will keep unfounded stereotypes out of the final decision in your case.

Drivers can cause a motorcycle accident in several ways. Many fail to check for riders before turning or changing lanes, and others hit motorcycles because they are distracted by their phones. Many more are caused because too many drivers ignore the speed limit, giving them less time to react to a rider they just noticed. In other cases, catastrophic or deadly injuries are caused by drunk drivers. Our team will review your case to determine exactly how the defendant caused the collision. If they received a ticket, we can use the police report as evidence of their liability in your settlement negotiations.

Commercial Drivers and Employers

If you were injured by a commercial driver, additional challenges will likely be involved in the case. However, this often leads to more opportunities to recover compensation since multiple defendants will typically be named in the suit. A legal rule known as respondeat superior allows injury victims to hold a commercial driver’s employer liable for their employee’s negligent conduct as long as they were performing their job duties when the accident happened. For example, if a truck driver hits you during a delivery, we would sue the trucking company.

However, this rule will not apply if the driver is an independent contractor. Companies that have independent contractors instead of traditional employees cannot usually be held accountable for their drivers’ actions because they do not have complete control over them. Uber and Lyft drivers are common examples of independent contractors. Amazon delivery drivers are also independent workers. While it is arguable how much control these companies have, they are mostly shielded from lawsuits. In some cases, though, there might be an intermediary that can be sued, like the delivery service partners that many Amazon drivers work for.

Motorcycle Designers and Manufacturers

Some motorcycle accidents seem to happen spontaneously. However, these accidents do not just happen. When a part of the motorcycle or the bike itself is defective, it can cause an accident out of nowhere, but it means a mistake was made during its production. Of course, it is possible that you were hit by another driver, not because they were negligent, but because their vehicle was defective. In either situation, our lawyers have the experience to help you determine where the defect occurred.

Some defects occur during the motorcycle’s design phase. This means that every bike manufactured with this design will have dangerous conditions baked into them. Motorcycles with design defects should be recalled, but sometimes they are missed. If so, we typically sue motorcycle designers such as Harley-Davidson or Honda.

In other cases, the bike’s design is fine, and the defect is in the manufacturing process. For instance, the bike’s design usually specifies that it be built with a particular metal. If the manufacturer assembled the motorcycles using a substandard and less durable metal, they might not stand up to the impact or absorb force in the way they are meant to. In these cases, we would file your claim against the negligent manufacturer and determine if the design was also flawed.

The Government

In rarer cases, you might need to file your claim against a state or local government agency in Mountain Home. A government municipality is a defendant in more motorcycle lawsuits than people think. This is because poor road conditions and state-operated construction are more dangerous to motorcycle riders than other drivers.

However, suing the government is often much more challenging than filing claims against other defendants. This is because you typically need to give the government agency notice of your lawsuit before filing it. Most government agencies in Arkansas and Mountain Home can make rules regarding filing claims against them. Our lawyers can help you identify the right agency to sue and what requirements you need to fulfill to do it.

Repair Shops and Motorcycle Dealerships

If your bike was recently worked on, it is usually a good idea to see if a mechanic’s negligence contributed to your accident. Motorcycles need to be worked on from time to time to keep them in good working order. However, if a mechanic works too quickly or uses the wrong parts, it can lead to a devastating accident. For example, if a mechanic installed substandard brake pads, they might fail at a critical moment. If the mechanic works for a repair shop or individually, we can help file a claim against them.

The same would apply if your motorcycle was serviced by the dealership you get it from. The principle of respondeat superior mentioned earlier could also be applied to these situations. Thus, we would sue the mechanic and the dealership.

Our Mountain Home, AR Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Can Help Today

Call us at (479) 316-0438 to speak with our motorcycle accident attorneys today and get your free case evaluation.