Practice · Motorcycle
The bias starts before anyone looks at the evidence
Riders walk into an insurance claim already assumed to have been speeding, weaving, or taking a risk. Beating that assumption is most of the work.
The core problem
Fault is presumed, not proven
Insurers and juries carry an assumption about motorcyclists that they do not carry about drivers. It shows up as a lower initial offer, a higher comparative fault percentage, and a settlement posture that treats the rider as a partial cause of their own injuries regardless of what happened.
Under Texas modified comparative fault, that assumption is expensive. Every percentage point of fault assigned to you reduces your recovery directly, and past fifty percent you recover nothing at all. Which means the fight over fault allocation often matters more than the fight over damages.
Left-turn collisions
The most common serious motorcycle crash. A driver turns across the rider's path and reports not seeing them. Sight-line analysis and timing evidence usually decide these.
Lane change and blind spot
Mirror position, signal use, and the physical geometry of the vehicles matter enormously and are rarely documented at the scene.
Road hazards and defects
Debris, uneven pavement and poorly marked construction affect a motorcycle far more severely than a car. Claims against a contractor or governmental unit carry short notice deadlines.
Helmet and gear arguments
Texas law permits qualifying adult riders to ride without a helmet. Expect the argument anyway, and expect it framed as a damages issue rather than a legal one.
Injury profile
Why these claims are worth more than insurers first offer
A rider has no crumple zone, no airbag, and no restraint system. The same impact that produces a soft tissue claim in a car produces fractures, degloving injuries, road rash requiring grafts, and traumatic brain injury on a motorcycle.
That gap between mechanism and outcome is where early offers go wrong. An adjuster working from repair cost and a standard injury model will systematically undervalue a motorcycle claim, because the model was not built for one. Documenting the full arc of treatment, including future care and permanent limitation, is what corrects it.
Preserve the bike
Do not authorize repair or salvage disposal until it has been inspected and photographed. It is physical evidence of impact forces.
Get the gear photographed
Helmet, jacket and boots show what happened to your body. Insurers rarely ask for them, and they are often thrown away.
Find the independent witness
In a rider-versus-driver dispute, a neutral third party is worth more than any other single piece of evidence.
Next step
Tell me what happened
There is no cost to ask and no obligation after. If your matter is not one I should handle, I will point you to someone who should.