Maryland Motorcycle Accident FAQ

After a motorcycle accident in Maryland, there are certain steps you should follow to get help and protect your rights. First, check yourself over, call 911 to report injuries, and don’t leave the scene of the accident.

Exchange contact and insurance information with the other motorists involved in the accident and get contact info from any witnesses. But don’t talk at length about what happened and don’t admit any fault.

Get medical assistance for your injuries and follow your doctor’s orders. Work with the police to obtain a copy of the police report but don’t turn it over to the insurance company yet, even if they hound you. Your next call should be to a qualified Maryland motorcycle accident attorney.

Make your health a priority as you recover from the motorcycle accident. Your lawyer can help you seek compensation for your medical bills, bike repairs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The value of motorcycle accidents varies depending on the extent of your injuries We encourage you to contact us for a free and confidential consultation about your motorcycle accident.

Generally speaking, the value of your claim involves a calculation of economic damages and non-economic damages. Your economic damages are financial costs and include past and future medical bills, , past and future lost wages, and motorcycle repairs.. Non-economic damages involve your pain, suffering, permanent disfigurement, and impact on your relationships.

Even if your bike only has minor damage, you may still have a strong case for compensation. What is the extent of your injuries? If your bike survived mostly intact but you have severe, life-changing injuries, this will matter in a personal injury case.

Here are a few questions that matter when forming a case. Were you wearing a helmet and protective gear? Are you a licensed motorcycle driver?  How well do you maintain your bike? How did the accident happen? Do you have photos?

Motorcyclists require specialized licenses to operate in Maryland. Get your motorcycle license and take a motorcycle safety class because it could save your life. It also shows you’re a responsible driver, in the event of a crash with another vehicle.

It’s also important for motorcyclists to realize that they are virtually invisible to most other motorists on the road. Big rig truckers, for example, have huge blind spots that make it difficult to see motorcyclists. So don’t travel in blind spots, drive defensively, and watch out for motorists’ bad driving.

Common causes of motorcycle accidents include distracted driving, drunk driving, rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, excessive speed, road debris, fixed object collisions, and lane splitting.

There are also hazards other motorists pose to motorcyclists due to inattention and failure to see a motorcyclist in the roadway. For example, a surprisingly common cause of accidents is when a car or truck driver opens their door into a motorcyclist and causes them to be thrown into the roadway.

Motorcycle laws in Maryland are based on a fault system, which means it’s essential to determine who was to blame for the accident. The fault can be assigned to the motorcyclist, another motorist, a pedestrian, or even another party, like a city government that failed to fix a road hazard.

A motorcycle accident claim has two main factors: liability and damages. Liability relates to who’s at fault and involves the concept of negligence, which can relate to failing to follow the rules of the road, speeding, drunk driving, and other illegal and irresponsible acts.

Lane splitting, or sharing the lane with another vehicle, is illegal in Maryland. This includes sharing the lane with another motorcyclist and passing within the lane, both of which are prohibited.

This means it’s very difficult to win a case that involves lane splitting. If the other side can show that you were even 1% to blame for the accident by lane splitting, you may be barred from receiving compensation for the accident under Maryland’s contributory negligence rule

It’s a common question for personal injury lawyers: What kinds of damages can I claim? Broadly speaking, you can claim both economic and non-economic damages. Non-economic damages involve your pain, suffering, and loss of enjoying your life.

Medical bills are considered economic damages and you’re entitled to compensation when the other driver is at fault.  Medical bills often make up a huge proportion of motorcyclists’ damages due to the extensive nature of motorcycle accident injuries.

There is no limit on the value of economic damages you can be awarded and these damages can include lost wages, medical bills, bike repairs, property damage, and more. Talk to your motorcycle accident lawyer about the full total of potential damages you can claim.

Other drivers often injure Maryland motorcyclists due to their own misconduct. This may include making an abrupt left turn in front of the biker, sideswiping them, failing to yield to them, and opening their door into them.

Motorists’ daily driving habits can make them dangerous to everyone on the road, especially motorcyclists. They could be negligent if they were texting and driving, speeding, drunk, drugged, road racing, driving aggressively, or even intentionally trying to knock you off the road.

As a motorcyclist, you can fight driver misconduct. Contact an experienced motorcycle accident attorney who knows how to present compelling evidence that the accident was 100% not your fault.