Glendale Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

When a car turns across a rider's path, the rider ends up on the pavement and the driver says the bike came out of nowhere. Then the insurer asks how fast you were going, whether you were splitting lanes and whether your helmet fit. If you were hurt on a bike in Glendale, you need someone who knows those arguments before they land in your claim file. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. handles motorcycle crashes on the Ventura Freeway, the Glendale Freeway and the city's busy surface streets. Moe talks to you himself, keeps you updated by call and text, and starts preserving evidence right away. Call any hour. Se Habla Español. The review is free, and we collect a fee only if we win your case. Your first call costs nothing.

Where Glendale riders meet cars, from Brand Boulevard to the freeway ramps

Four freeways run through or along Glendale: I-5, SR-134, SR-2 and I-210. Riders come off those freeways onto surface streets where cars pull out, turn left and change lanes without checking mirrors. The city's Vision Zero study found that 13 percent of its streets produce 71 percent of crashes and 78 percent of killed-or-seriously-injured crashes. Project staff told the City Council that many of those crashes happen on Brand Boulevard, Colorado Street and Central Avenue, and near freeway entrances and exits. Glendale also picked nine stretches, almost all in downtown or southern Glendale, for safety work, including San Fernando Road, Glendale Avenue, Los Feliz Boulevard and Brand Boulevard between Harvard Street and Elk Avenue. Here is one number you should hear straight. California's Office of Traffic Safety counted 17 motorcycle victims in Glendale in 2022, ranking the city 59th of 61 in its group, where first is worst. That puts Glendale near the bottom of the list for rider injuries. It does nothing to shrink the harm if you are one of them, and a motorcyclist hit at an intersection on a corridor like Brand Boulevard faces the same car-versus-bike physics anywhere.

Lane splitting on the 134 and the 5, and how insurers twist it

If you split lanes on the SR-134, SR-2 or I-5, expect the insurer to raise it. No California statute prohibits lane splitting. Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines it and lets the CHP issue safety guidelines, but it does not declare the practice safe or give riders a free pass. Riders still must change lanes only when it is reasonably safe under Vehicle Code section 21658(a), and they must ride at a speed that fits conditions under section 22350. Then an adjuster will say you were weaving or moving too fast between lanes. We answer with the facts. How fast was traffic moving? How wide was the gap? Did a driver change lanes without signaling? Dashcam video from nearby cars, your own helmet camera and CHP incident logs can all help. California follows pure comparative negligence under Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. Even if a jury put some fault on you, you can still recover, with your award reduced by your share. We do not let an insurer's first guess about lane position become the final word.

The left turn and the other ways drivers hit riders

The most common car-versus-motorcycle crash is a driver turning left in front of an oncoming rider. Vehicle Code section 21801(a) says a left-turning driver must yield to oncoming vehicles close enough to be a hazard. A rider going straight on Brand Boulevard or Central Avenue has the right of way, and the driver's usual line is that they never saw the bike. That is not a defense when the bike was plainly visible. Other common patterns are drivers who pass without leaving room, as Vehicle Code section 21750(a) requires, drivers who merge into a rider's lane near a freeway on-ramp, and cars that pull out of side streets and driveways. A rider has almost no protection except gear, so injuries are often fractures, road rash, spinal injuries and head trauma. We build the claim around the full cost of those injuries, including surgery, months off work and future care, not around the adjuster's first number. In one past case, the at-fault insurer offered $900. Moe ended with $75,000 total, after the at-fault limit was paid and an underinsured claim was added. Past results do not predict a similar outcome.

Helmets, uninsured owners and the other rules that shrink a rider's claim

Every motorcycle rider and passenger in California must wear a DOT-compliant helmet under Vehicle Code section 27803. If you did not, the law does not bar your claim. An insurer may still argue that the missing helmet made your injuries worse and ask to cut your award under comparative fault. We push back by separating what caused the crash from what caused the injury, and by getting medical records that show which injuries a helmet would not have changed. Proposition 213 is another rule to know. If you owned an uninsured motorcycle, you generally cannot recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, unless the other driver was convicted of DUI. Insurance matters too. California's minimum liability limits are only $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash, so a seriously hurt rider can outrun the at-fault driver's policy. We check your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage early. Gear matters as evidence, so keep it. A cracked helmet or a torn jacket shows the force of the hit, and the insurer will want to see both. Do not toss or repair anything until we have photographed it.

Reports, hospitals and the government claim deadline in Glendale

If Glendale police handled your crash, collision reports come through the Glendale Police Department Records Bureau at 131 N. Isabel Street, 818-548-3135. The city has posted online ordering through LexisNexis eCrash, but reports needing a Traffic Bureau investigation can be delayed, and the fees on record are from 2014, so confirm them. If the CHP responded instead, ask that agency for the report. You must also tell the DMV within 10 days using the SR-1 form if anyone was hurt or damage passed $1,000. Adventist Health Glendale Medical Center on Wilson Terrace and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center on South Central Avenue both have emergency rooms. The LA County EMS Agency lists them as umbrella facilities, not designated trauma centers, so a badly injured rider may go elsewhere. If a bad road surface, missing signal or other city property helped cause the crash, you must present a written claim to the City of Glendale within six months. The City Clerk handles the claim form at City Hall, 613 E. Broadway. After a written rejection you have six months to sue. Glendale Courthouse is at 600 East Broadway, but we could not confirm which injury cases it hears, so we check the court's filing locator before we file.

What Moe does in the first days after a Glendale motorcycle crash

Speed matters. Moe sends preservation letters for camera footage on nearby businesses, secures your helmet, jacket and bike before anyone repairs or scraps them, and talks to witnesses while memories are fresh. He gets the report, reads your policy and tells you what to say and not say to the other driver's adjuster, who may call fast and ask for a recorded statement. You do not have to give one. A damaged motorcycle also raises a property claim, which has a three-year limit, separate from the two-year deadline for your injury lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Moe takes your calls himself, any time, and keeps you updated by call and text so you are not left guessing. Se Habla Español. You pay nothing to start and nothing unless we win. If you were hit while riding in Glendale, call (323) 716-1992 and get a straight read on your case before the insurer shapes the story. If you can, send us photos of the scene, your bike and your injuries as soon as you are able. Keep the helmet, jacket and boots exactly as they ended up, and do not post about the crash on social media, since insurers read it. We handle the rest.

Talk to a Glendale 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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