Can You File a Personal Injury Claim If There Was No Collision?
You don’t need to be hit by another vehicle to suffer serious injury while riding a motorcycle. The carelessness of another motorist may require that you take evasive action, which can cause you to lose control of your bike and crash. Another motorist may pass too closely to your bike, creating a draft or wind current that sends you into a spin. Can you file a lawsuit for injury and loss if there was no contact with another vehicle? The answer is yes.
How Can You Recover Compensation in a “No-Impact” Motorcycle Accident?
Though there may be times when another motorist intentionally runs you off the road, the likelihood is that a “no-contact” accident will be the result of carelessness or negligence by another motorist. Even though there have been national campaigns to promote public awareness of the presence of motorcyclists on the roads, far too many people simply don’t pay attention.
To succeed with a legal claim based on negligence, you’ll need to prove to a jury that the person who caused the accident (the “defendant”) was not acting as a reasonable person would under the circumstances. For example, you may have evidence that indicates that another motorist swerved into your lane or turned left in front of you when you had the right of way.
Once you’ve shown that the defendant failed to exercise a reasonable amount of care, you’ll need to establish that the failure to do so caused the accident. This means you must show that, had the defendant acted reasonably (done the right thing), the accident would not have happened. You’ll also need to show that the accident and your injuries were reasonably foreseeable as a consequence of the carelessness of the defendant.
Note that there is no requirement of contact or collision when establishing cause. It’s a simple “but for” argument. But for the defendant swerving into your lane, you would not have needed to take evasive action and would not have lost control of your bike.
Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC
Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.
