What Should You Do After a Motorcycle Accident? Assess Your Claim

Why Motorcycle Claims Are Different From Car Claims

Motorcycle crashes produce more severe injuries than typical car collisions because the rider has no surrounding structure to absorb impact. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data consistently shows motorcyclists are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured per mile travelled than car occupants. The result is that motorcycle claims more often involve fractures, road rash requiring skin grafts, spinal injury, and traumatic brain injury — categories that require careful future-care costing rather than quick settlement.

There is also a documented anti-rider bias. Adjusters, defence lawyers, and juries frequently assume the motorcyclist was speeding or riding recklessly, even without evidence. Overcoming that assumption is a core part of building a motorcycle claim, which is why preserving objective evidence — the police report, scene photographs, witness accounts, and any camera footage — matters more here than in an ordinary rear-end car case.

Fault, Comparative Negligence, and the Helmet Defence

In both Canada and most US states, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault under comparative negligence. A handful of US jurisdictions still follow harsh 'pure contributory negligence' — Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington DC — where being even 1% at fault can bar recovery entirely. Because insurers try to shift blame onto riders, the fault analysis often determines the value of the entire claim.

Separately, some jurisdictions with mandatory helmet laws recognize a 'helmet defence': if you were not wearing a required helmet, damages attributable specifically to head injuries may be reduced. Critically, this affects only head-injury damages and only where a helmet would actually have prevented the harm — it does not eliminate a claim for a broken leg or road rash. A lawyer can confine this argument and, where your injuries were not to the head, keep it out of the case altogether.

Documenting Road Rash, Scarring, and Long-Term Injury

Road rash is one of the most undervalued elements of motorcycle claims. Severe abrasions can require debridement and skin grafts and often leave permanent scarring. Because scar appearance takes 12 to 18 months to stabilize, settling early almost always undervalues these injuries. Photograph affected areas on a weekly schedule and obtain a specialist opinion on final appearance and revision options before discussing settlement.

For serious crashes, the largest components of a claim are frequently future medical care and lost earning capacity, not the bills already paid. Preserve the motorcycle, helmet, and damaged gear as physical evidence — they can corroborate impact forces and injury mechanisms. Keep a daily symptom journal, follow all treatment, and avoid social-media posts that an insurer could take out of context. Building this record early is what separates a full-value settlement from a lowball first offer.

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