St. Clair County Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

Whether or not an accident involves liability on the part of the driver comes down to the question of negligence—the legal concept upon which all personal injury cases hinge. 

Negligence in Motorcycle Accident Cases

Negligence refers to the failure of one party to exercise reasonable care, leading to harm or injury to another. In motorcycle accident cases, negligence might apply to another cyclist, the driver of an automobile, or even a government agency, if roads and signs were not properly maintained. 

Under Michigan law, negligence is assessed using the concept of “comparative negligence.” This means that fault can be divided between the parties involved in the accident. 

For example, if a car driver fails to yield at an intersection and collides with a motorcyclist, the driver may be considered negligent. However, if the motorcyclist was speeding at the time of the accident, they may share some percentage of the fault.

To establish negligence, four elements must be proven: 

• It must be shown that the party responsible had a duty of care—for instance, following traffic laws or maintaining safe driving practices. 
• It must be demonstrated that this duty was breached, such as by running a red light. 
• There must be a direct connection between the breach and the accident. 
• Evidence must confirm that actual harm, such as injuries or property damage, occurred.

Under modified comparative negligence rules, a motorcyclist can recover damages if they are less than 50% at fault. However, the compensation received may be reduced by the rider’s percentage of fault. For instance, if a motorcyclist is deemed 20% at fault for an accident and the final damage award is $200,000, they would only recover $160,000.

Modified comparative negligence means that, quite literally, every percentage point of fault counts. This is particularly true in catastrophic injury cases where the final damage award might be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars—or more. That means the quality of your lawyer can matter a great deal.