Sample Motorcycle Accident Verdicts & Settlements

San Francisco | San Jose | Oakland | San Rafael CA

$1,850,000 Settlement

Our 36-year-old client was lawfully driving his motorcycle on I-80 near Hayward when a commuter van suddenly and without warning changed lanes into him, striking his motorcycle and foot. The defendant claimed that our client was speeding because he looked in his rear-view mirror and never saw our client. Our motorcycle expert reconstructed the accident and helped us prove our client wasn’t speeding. Our client suffered a severe foot fracture, requiring surgery and a career change.

$1,136,000 Settlement

Our 30-year-old client from Vallejo was driving his motorcycle slightly above the speed limit when a slow-moving backhoe in front of him moved partially into the shoulder and then started turning left in front of our client, causing him to lay down his motorcycle, fracture his back and injure his spinal cord, which required spinal fusions at two vertebral levels. The adverse party predictably argued that our client was going at an excessive speed, but our expert motorcycle accident reconstructionist proved otherwise.

$1,080,050 Verdict

We represented a 29-year-old who rode his motorcycle over the posted speed limit and collided with an automobile pulling out from a stop sign in San Francisco. The automobile driver was uninsured, so we sued the owner of a van allegedly parked in an unmarked crosswalk at the intersection. We argued to the jury that the van caused a visual obstruction for our speeding client and the uninsured auto driver as they entered the intersection.

Our client suffered multiple upper- and lower-extremity fractures, rib fractures and pulmonary injury. The van owner denied parking his van in the unmarked crosswalk and argued not only that even if it was parked there, it would not have caused a vision obscurement but also that the accident was caused solely by our client’s speeding. Before trial, the defense made no offer of settlement. The defendant’s insurance carrier believed that the bias against a speeding motorcyclist would result in a defense verdict. The jury returned a total verdict of $1,080,050, reduced by 50 percent for our client’s admitted speeding.

$400,000 Settlement

We represented a 34-year-old who was the passenger on a motorcycle struck by a car that ran a red light. All of her physical injuries were of the soft-tissue type. We claimed that the accident caused our client severe psychological injury that required psychiatric hospitalization.

$375,000 Settlement

We assisted a 42-year-old who was driving her motorcycle on a country road when a car pulled out from a stop sign, causing her to drive her motorcycle into a ditch to avoid a collision. She fractured her wrist, which developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy, necessitating extensive medical treatment to regain function.

$171,000 Verdict

Lane Splitting Motorcyclist "Doored" - Oakland

Our firm represented a 43-year-old who was lane-splitting on the San Mateo Bridge when the defendant opened his car door and our client ran into it. Our client dislocated a toe and had out-of-pocket expenses totaling $18,843. Before trial, we lowered our client’s settlement demand to $89,000 and rejected the defendant’s offer of $80,000. We convinced the jury to award $171,000 to our client by neutralizing the jurors’ bias against lane-splitting during jury selection.

Verdict

"Dykes on Bikes" Motorcyclist vs. Automobile - San Francisco

We represented a 28-year-old member of the “Dykes on Bikes” San Francisco lesbian motorcycle club after she had attempted to pass a double-parked car that had neither flashers nor a turn signal engaged when it suddenly moved into her path. She suffered a lacerated and infected knee. The defendant’s insurance company believed there would be great bias against our client because of her sexual orientation. The jury verdict was four times as much as the defense had offered before trial.

Other Accident Verdict & Settlement Examples

$3,000,000 Settlement

We represented the family of an 8-year-old who drowned during her swim class at a public pool in Contra Costa County. We proved to the defendant that the drowning would not have occurred if the pool staff had followed their stated protocols for pool safety. The settlement included a memorial established in honor of our clients' daughter.

$2,300,000 Settlement

We represented the surviving husband and two college-age children of a 50 year-old woman who was crossing the street within a crosswalk, when she was struck and killed by a SamTrans bus. We were able to negotiate the settlement after a year of litigation.

$2,250,000 Settlement

We represented the surviving husband and two adult children of a 56-year-old who was crossing the street within a crosswalk when she was struck and killed by a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus. After one and a half years of litigation, Muni admitted liability and settled the lawsuit.

$1,578,500 Settlement

We represented a 12-year-old Milpitas girl against the city of Milpitas and a general contractor for constructing a mid-block signalized pedestrian crossing but failing to warn pedestrians that the signal lights weren’t yet functional and to not yet use the crossing. Our client was struck by a van while crossing mid-block and suffered a traumatic brain injury. In deposition, a city employee working on the project admitted that she knew before the accident that the non-functioning crossing would be a problem but that she did nothing to correct it.

$1,120,000 Settlement

We represented a 29-year-old tow truck driver from Vacaville who was struck by a car while he was hooking up a tow behind it. Our client suffered a severe crush and degloving injury to his leg, requiring multiple surgeries. The car driver had only $50,000 insurance, and when she passed away before the lawsuit settled, her estate added $120,000. We made an underinsured motorist claim against our client’s employer’s automobile uninsured/underinsured motorist policy and received an additional $950,000 for him.

$1,000,000 Settlement

Our firm represented a 42-year-old who was walking on the sidewalk when she was struck in the back of the head and neck by equipment protruding from the bed of a passing pick-up truck. We claimed that the client suffered neck and traumatic brain injuries, causing an extended disability.

Contact Weber & Nierenberg

We offer a free initial consultation. To schedule an appointment, contact our office by e-mail or call us toll-free at 1-866-288-6010. All motorcycle and bicycle accident claims are handled on a contingent-fee basis. We will only charge legal fees if we recover compensation for your losses.