Downey Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

A rider hit in Downey carries a heavier burden than a driver in a fender bender. You have road rash, broken bones or worse, and the other side starts arguing that you were speeding, lane splitting or not wearing the right gear. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. is a Los Angeles firm that handles only motor-vehicle injury cases, and attorney Moe Abdallah takes calls from injured riders himself. This page covers what matters for a motorcycle crash in Downey: the freeways and boulevards where riders share space with cars, the lane splitting argument, your helmet and bike as evidence, rehabilitation care nearby, and the paperwork and courts that decide your case. Call (323) 716-1992 any hour. The review is free, and we speak Spanish.

Where riders meet cars: the I-5, I-105, I-605 and Downey's boulevards

Four freeways cross or run beside Downey. The I-5 crosses the north side, the I-105 runs through the south with the Metro C Line in its median, the I-605 runs on the east edge, and the I-710 lies just west. A rider on any of those is surrounded by merging cars, trucks and drivers who check mirrors for cars and miss a motorcycle. On city streets, Firestone Boulevard, Lakewood Boulevard, Imperial Highway and Gardendale Street carry steady traffic with frequent turns into shopping centers and side streets. A 2018 Downey Patriot report on a law firm's study of 2015 SWITRS data ranked the Firestone and Lakewood intersection fourth most dangerous in California, with 36 crashes and 32 injuries counted there. That study is dated and was paid for by a law firm, so it is not an official ranking, and it did not break out motorcycles. Still, any crowded intersection raises the odds that a driver turns across a rider's path. If you were hurt on one of these roads, mark the exact lane, the lighting, and what the other driver was doing. Photos of the road surface matter too, because gravel, oil and potholes can change who is responsible.

The lane splitting argument and what California law says

Expect the other driver's insurer to claim you were lane splitting, so you are to blame. California has no statute that prohibits it. Vehicle Code 21658.1 defines lane splitting and lets the California Highway Patrol publish safety guidelines, but it does not declare the practice legal or illegal in a way that decides a crash. Two other rules apply to every rider. You may change lanes only when it is reasonably safe (Vehicle Code 21658), and you must ride at a speed that is reasonable for conditions (Vehicle Code 22350). So the real fight is about facts. Were you passing at a speed the traffic allowed? Did the car change lanes without a signal? Did a driver open a door or drift over a line? On Downey freeways, where traffic often slows without warning, those facts can be argued both ways. California also follows pure comparative negligence, so even if a jury put some blame on you, you can still recover and your award is reduced by your share (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). Moe works to pin that percentage down with witness statements, vehicle damage patterns and video, so the insurer cannot inflate it.

Left turns, the most common way a car hits a rider

A left-turning driver must yield to oncoming traffic close enough to be a hazard (Vehicle Code 21801). A motorcycle is smaller and often looks farther away than it is, and drivers say the same thing after the crash: I never saw him. It is a familiar car-versus-motorcycle pattern, and it tends to happen where a boulevard meets a driveway or side street, like the stretches of Lakewood Boulevard, Firestone Boulevard and Imperial Highway in Downey. Do not accept that excuse as the end of the story. A driver must look before turning, and the law does not excuse a failure to see a bike. Your case gets stronger the faster the evidence is secured. Ask nearby businesses whether a camera covers the intersection, since many overwrite footage within days. Photograph skid marks and the final rest positions of the bike and the car. Save your helmet, jacket and gloves exactly as they are. If the driver admitted fault at the scene, tell Moe and the officer. Statements made right after the crash are some of the hardest evidence for an insurer to undo later.

Your helmet, your gear and your bike are evidence

Every rider and passenger in California must wear a fastened safety helmet that meets the standard (Vehicle Code 27803). If you were not wearing one, you can still bring a claim. The law does not bar your recovery. But an insurer may argue that the missing helmet made your head injury worse and ask to reduce your award for that part under comparative fault. Whatever you were wearing, keep it. Do not repair or sell the motorcycle until Moe has had it inspected, because the damage pattern shows speed, angle of impact and whether a mechanical defect played a role. Scuffs on a helmet show how your head hit the ground. Gear can also prove you were riding responsibly. Keep receipts for the bike, the gear and the towing and storage fees, since those costs belong in your claim. Take pictures of every injury as it changes over the following weeks, and keep a short daily log of pain, missed work and things you can no longer do. Those notes help prove what this crash cost you.

Care close to home: PIH Health, Kaiser Downey and Rancho Los Amigos

Motorcycle crashes cause injuries that car crashes rarely do: road rash, broken collarbones, wrist and leg fractures, spinal injuries, and head trauma even with a helmet. In Downey, PIH Health Hospital is at 11500 S. Brookshire Ave., (562) 904-5000, and Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center is at 9333 E. Imperial Hwy., (800) 823-4040. In a severe crash, paramedics pick the hospital based on your injuries, so you may be taken outside the city. For longer recovery, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center sits at 7601 E. Imperial Hwy., (562) 922-7111. It is a rehabilitation hospital, not an emergency room, so it fits the longer recovery stage after a serious injury. Tell each provider the crash was a motorcycle crash, list every sore spot, and follow the treatment plan. Skipped appointments become a talking point for the insurer. If you can, keep copies of every bill and report. When your injuries need surgery or long therapy, the cost of future care is part of the claim, and Moe will build it with your treating doctors before talking numbers.

Police reports, city claims and the court that hears your case

The Downey Police Department, at 10911 Brookshire Ave., (562) 861-0771, writes reports for crashes on city streets. Its Records page says accident reports are available online, and you get yours by registering at the LexisNexis eCrash portal. The Records Bureau number is (562) 904-2315. For a freeway crash, ask which agency wrote the report. Within 10 days, file the DMV SR-1 if anyone was hurt or damage passed $1,000 (Vehicle Code 16000). The general deadline to sue a private driver is two years (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1). If a public entity shares blame, such as a city road with a defect, you must present a written claim within six months (Government Code 911.2), and suit follows within six months of a written rejection (Government Code 945.6). For the City of Downey, claims go to the City Clerk at 11111 Brookshire Ave., 3rd Floor, by mail or in person, and not electronically. A bodily-injury lawsuit from a motorcycle crash is filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles under Local Rule 2.3. Moe handles each step and keeps you updated by call and text. You pay nothing unless he wins.

Talk to a Downey motorcycle accident lawyer

Call (323) 716-1992 for a free, no-obligation case review. You pay nothing unless we win, and we'll handle the insurance companies for you. Learn more about our motorcycle accidents representation →

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