Get treated and keep going
Adrenaline masks injuries. Get examined the same day and follow the treatment plan; a gap in care is the first thing an adjuster points to.
Personal injury
Long Beach Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Riders get hurt worse than drivers in the same crash, and then get blamed for it. A motorcycle claim is about proving what the other driver did, not defending how you ride. The consultation is free.
Patrick S. AguirrePersonal injury attorney · Long BeachCallback request
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The claim
What a motorcycle claim has to prove
A motorcycle case is a negligence claim. You have to show the other driver owed you ordinary care, failed at it, and that the failure caused your injuries and losses. In most Long Beach crashes the failure is one of a few things: a left turn across the rider’s path, a lane change into the rider, a car door opened into traffic, or a driver following too closely on the 710, the 405, or Pacific Coast Highway.
The proof is the police report, the physical evidence at the scene, the vehicle damage, witness statements, and increasingly the other car’s own data and nearby cameras. Riders rarely have a dashcam. Drivers often do, and businesses along Long Beach Boulevard, 7th Street, and Anaheim Street keep video for days, not weeks.
What insurers say
Why riders get blamed, and what the law actually says
Insurance adjusters lean on two assumptions about motorcyclists: that they were speeding and that they were weaving. Neither is evidence. California is a pure comparative fault state, so even a rider who shares some blame recovers, with the award reduced by that share. An adjuster’s job is to make that share as large as possible.
Lane splitting is legal in California. Vehicle Code 21658.1 defines it, and the California Highway Patrol publishes safety guidelines for it. A rider between lanes in slow traffic is not automatically at fault, and an adjuster who says otherwise is stating a preference, not the law.
Helmets matter to the claim as well as the injury. California requires every rider and passenger to wear a compliant helmet. A rider without one can still recover, but expect the insurer to argue that part of a head injury would not have happened with one.
Proposition 213
The insurance rule that catches riders
Civil Code 3333.4, passed as Proposition 213, generally bars an uninsured owner or driver from recovering pain-and-suffering damages after a crash, even when the other driver was entirely at fault. Medical bills and lost wages are still recoverable; the larger non-economic part of the claim is not. Riders should check this carefully: motorcycle policies lapse quietly, and some riders carry none.
Know your policy status before you speak to any insurer. If your own bike was insured, your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may also be the deepest pocket in the case: the minimum liability policy in California is $30,000 per person, and a serious motorcycle injury passes that in the first night at the hospital.
What is at stake
What a rider’s claim covers
- Emergency care, surgery, hospital stays, and follow-up treatment
- Future medical care when an injury will need it, documented by treating doctors
- Lost wages and, for lasting injuries, lost earning capacity
- The motorcycle, riding gear, and a helmet that did its job once
- Pain, suffering, and the loss of what the injury took from daily life
- Wrongful-death damages for a family when a rider does not survive
Deadlines
Two years, and sometimes six months
Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 gives two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. The exception matters in Long Beach: if a public entity is involved, a city or county vehicle, a road defect, a signal, or a Long Beach Transit bus, a written government claim is due within six months under Government Code 911.2, and missing it can bar the claim. Limited late-claim relief may be available, so get advice immediately even if six months have passed.
If anyone was injured or property damage passed $1,000, California also requires an SR-1 report to the DMV within ten days of the crash, separate from the police report.
The first days
What to do this week
Get the report
Long Beach Police Department for city streets, California Highway Patrol for freeways. Ask for the report number at the scene and request the report when it is ready.
Photograph everything before it is fixed
The bike, your gear, the helmet, your injuries, the intersection, skid marks, and the other vehicle. Do not repair or dispose of the bike or the helmet.
Say less to insurers
Report the crash to your own carrier. Do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement or sign a medical release until you have advice; those are the tools used to build the comparative fault argument.
Video from businesses and traffic cameras is overwritten within days. If a camera might have caught the crash, that is the first call the office makes.
The office
How the Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre handles motorcycle cases
The office has represented injured people in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades. The firm now has offices in Long Beach and Downey. Motorcycle cases are worked as liability cases first: preservation letters to the other driver’s insurer and to any business with a camera, the police report and any citation, witness interviews, and a reconstruction when the fault story is contested.
The medical side is documented as it happens, so that when the claim is presented it reflects the full injury and not the emergency-room bill. If the insurer’s offer does not reflect the case, the office files suit in Los Angeles Superior Court and prepares the case for trial. The office speaks Spanish and works with families, not just the rider.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
I was lane splitting when I was hit. Do I still have a case?
Usually, yes. Lane splitting is legal in California under Vehicle Code 21658.1. The questions are whether you were doing it reasonably given speed and traffic, and whether the other driver made an unsafe lane change or turn. Comparative fault may reduce a recovery; it rarely eliminates one.
The other driver’s insurer wants to pay for the bike right away. Should I accept?
Read the release before you sign anything. A property-damage settlement can be handled separately from the injury claim, and often should be, but some releases are written to close both. Do not sign a release that mentions bodily injury.
My motorcycle insurance had lapsed. Can I still recover?
You can recover medical expenses, lost income, and property damage from an at-fault driver. Under Proposition 213 you generally cannot recover pain-and-suffering damages if you were the uninsured owner or driver. There are exceptions, including when the at-fault driver was convicted of DUI, so the facts need a careful look.
How long does a motorcycle injury case take?
It follows the medical recovery. A claim presented before treatment is finished leaves future care out of the number. Cases with clear fault often resolve within months of the end of treatment; contested liability or a policy-limits dispute takes longer, especially once a lawsuit is filed.
Selected case results
Personal injury results
A selection from 55 documented results
$2,850,000
Slip-and-fall matter
Premises liability
$320,000
Civil injury matter
Maricopa County, Arizona
$480,000
Slip-and-fall matter
Premises liability
$520,000
Civil injury matter
Maricopa County, Arizona
$360,000
Motor-vehicle collision
Los Angeles Superior Court
Client experiences
What clients say
★★★★★
“Patrick and his staff were very helpful with taking care of all the bills and legalities, so we can focus on healing.”
★★★★★
“Got my money and my vehicle fixed. Don’t hesitate to give them a call.”
★★★★★
“Patrick helped me with a dog bite case. He was able to get me more than I expected and was easy to work with. … I would recommend his services.”
★★★★★
“Patrick is very reliable, trustworthy, and will definitely be able to help you out. Cost is very reasonable.”
Meet your attorney
Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre
A Professional Law Corporation
The future of your case may depend on a successful outcome. It can be stressful to go through the legal process alone—but thankfully, you don’t have to.
The Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre will stand up for clients’ interests and rights, providing high-quality representation in personal injury cases and criminal defense matters throughout California from its Long Beach office.
We work with you and for your best interests. Our legal team is compassionate, hard-working, and tenacious—fighting to get the job done right when it matters most. No case is too complicated or insignificant for our full attention. Our clients may move forward into a brighter future free from worry about past mistakes.
We’re the legal team that never gives up. When you need an attorney who will fight for what’s right, turn to us, and we’ll do everything in our power to help. No matter how challenging your situation may seem, there is hope.
“Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.”
Robert F. Kennedy
Free consultation
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Talk with our office
Leave your contact information and, if helpful, a short general summary. The office will follow up.
Thank you.
The office received your contact request. If your matter is urgent, call 562-904-4337.