Hollywood Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

What Should You Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Florida?

Your health comes first. The steps taken immediately after the crash can also affect whether important evidence survives.

​

Call 911 and request law-enforcement and emergency-medical assistance. Obtain prompt medical evaluation even when the full extent of the injuries is not immediately apparent.

​

Identify every driver, vehicle, owner, employer, and insurer involved. Photograph licenses, registrations, insurance cards, company markings, license plates, and vehicle-identification information when possible.

 

Photograph and video the scene. Capture vehicle and motorcycle positions, impact damage, debris, gouge or scrape marks, skid marks, traffic controls, lane markings, lighting, weather, sight obstructions, and visible injuries.

​

Identify witnesses and cameras. Obtain witness contact information and look for businesses, homes, traffic systems, dashcams, helmet cameras, or other sources of video.

 

Preserve the motorcycle and riding equipment. Do not authorize repair, disposal, destructive testing, or salvage of the motorcycle, helmet, clothing, boots, gloves, or electronics before they are properly documented.

​

Preserve digital evidence. Save action-camera footage, GPS routes, navigation information, phone data, photographs, communications, and any motorcycle telematics or connected-device information.

​

Use care with insurance statements and social media. A recorded statement or an innocent photograph may later be taken out of context.

​

Investigate promptly. Surveillance recordings, vehicle data, physical marks, and witness memories may disappear quickly even when the legal filing deadline has not expired.

​

Who Can Be Liable for a Florida Motorcycle Accident?

Liability depends on what each person or company did before the crash and whether that conduct legally caused the collision and injuries. More than one party may share responsibility.

 

Negligent Drivers A driver may be responsible for failing to yield, turning left across the motorcycle’s path, changing lanes without checking mirrors and blind spots, following too closely, running a traffic signal, speeding, driving distracted, opening a vehicle door into the rider’s path, or operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

 

Vehicle Owners and Employers The driver may not be the only responsible party. Vehicle ownership, permissive use, employment, agency, negligent entrustment, and the driver’s work activity can affect potential liability. A commercial driver’s employer or another business may be implicated when the crash occurs within the scope of work.

 

Commercial and Delivery Vehicles A collision involving a truck, van, bus, taxi, rideshare vehicle, or delivery driver may involve corporate records and insurance unavailable in a private-vehicle case. Dispatch data, route information, driver communications, training, maintenance, hours, and company safety practices may become important.

 

Governmental Entities, Contractors, and Property Owners A dangerous roadway, defective traffic control, construction zone, debris, inadequate maintenance, or sight obstruction may contribute to a crash. Claims involving a governmental entity can require special notice procedures and different deadlines. The responsible agency, contractor, or property owner must be identified from the specific facts.

 

Manufacturers and Repair Businesses Some crashes or enhanced injuries involve defective tires, brakes, steering, fuel systems, helmets, components, or negligent maintenance. Product and repair claims require preservation of the motorcycle and relevant components so qualified experts can evaluate them.

 

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in South Florida

 

Left-Turn Collisions A driver turning left may misjudge the motorcycle’s speed or fail to perceive it before crossing the rider’s lane. Signal timing, sight distance, vehicle positions, speed analysis, and the driver’s opportunity to see and react can become central issues.

 

Unsafe Lane Changes and Blind-Spot Crashes Drivers may merge or change lanes without detecting a motorcycle beside them. Mirror position, blind spots, turn-signal use, lane markings, video, and vehicle damage can help reconstruct the movement of both vehicles.

​

Rear-End Motorcycle Crashes A rider stopped at a light or slowing with traffic can be struck from behind. Even a low-speed rear impact can eject the rider and produce serious injuries.

​

Intersection and Failure-to-Yield Crashes Stop signs, traffic signals, driveways, parking-lot exits, and uncontrolled intersections create recurring conflicts. The right of way must be determined from the complete sequence rather than a single post-crash statement.

​

Distracted and Impaired Driving Phone use, navigation systems, passengers, alcohol, drugs, and fatigue can delay perception and braking. Phone records, vehicle data, receipts, video, witness accounts, and law-enforcement evidence may be relevant.

 

Road Hazards and Construction Zones Potholes, loose gravel, uneven pavement, standing water, debris, poor drainage, missing warnings, and abrupt lane changes can be especially dangerous to a two-wheeled vehicle. The condition should be photographed and measured before it changes.

​

Hit-and-Run Motorcycle Accidents When a driver leaves, prompt work can help locate surveillance video, witnesses, license-plate information, vehicle debris, police evidence, and potentially applicable uninsured-motorist coverage.

 

Florida Motorcycle Laws That Can Affect an Injury Claim

 

Traffic violations do not automatically decide a civil case, but motorcycle-specific statutes can influence the liability arguments and evidence. The meaning and effect of any alleged violation depend on the evidence and the legal issues actually disputed. A statutory allegation should not substitute for reconstructing how the crash occurred.

​

Full use of a lane. Florida law entitles a motorcycle to full use of a traffic lane, and another vehicle may not be driven in a way that deprives the motorcycle of that use.

Lane splitting. A motorcycle generally may not operate between lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles in Florida.

Passing within the same lane. A motorcycle operator generally may not overtake and pass another vehicle within the same occupied lane.

Riding abreast. Florida generally permits no more than two motorcycles abreast in one lane.

Eye protection. A motorcycle operator generally must wear an approved eye-protective device.

Helmet requirements. Riders under 21 generally must wear compliant protective headgear. A person over 21 may ride without a helmet only when covered by at least $10,000 in qualifying medical-benefits insurance.

Licensing and endorsement. The operator’s licensing status may be investigated, but a licensing issue does not by itself establish who caused a collision.

​

What If the Rider Was Not Wearing a Helmet? Florida allows a person over 21 to operate or ride on a motorcycle without a helmet when the statutory medical-benefits requirement is satisfied. Lawful helmet nonuse does not automatically establish that the rider caused the collision. ​A defendant may nevertheless argue that helmet use would have prevented or reduced a particular head injury. That is an enhanced-injury and medical-causation argument, not proof that helmet use would have prevented the crash itself. The defense should be evaluated through the nature of the impact, helmet status, medical evidence, biomechanics, applicable law, and expert testimony when warranted. Helmet use ordinarily has no logical connection to injuries such as leg fractures, internal injuries, or many spinal and orthopedic injuries.

 

Can a Motorcyclist Be Partially at Fault? Yes. Florida uses a modified comparative-fault system for ordinary negligence actions. A claimant’s proven percentage of fault reduces recoverable damages proportionately, and a person found more than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm generally may not recover in an action governed by the statute.  An insurer may accuse the rider of speeding, unsafe passing, lane splitting, poor visibility, or failing to avoid the crash. An accusation is not evidence. Speed calculations, video, event data, scrape and gouge marks, motorcycle and vehicle damage, witness testimony, road geometry, lighting, reaction time, and medical findings may confirm or contradict the defense account.

 

What Insurance Covers a Florida Motorcycle Accident?

 

At-Fault Driver’s Bodily-Injury Liability Coverage When another driver causes the crash, that driver’s bodily-injury liability coverage may provide compensation subject to the policy terms and limits. Florida does not require every private vehicle owner to carry bodily-injury liability coverage in all circumstances, so the existence and amount of coverage must be verified rather than assumed.

 

Motorcycle Insurance and Medical Benefits Motorcycle insurance may include liability, property-damage, collision, comprehensive, medical-payments, uninsured/underinsured-motorist, and other optional coverages depending on the policy. Because motorcycles are outside Florida’s ordinary PIP definition, the declarations page, endorsements, exclusions, and all potentially applicable policies should be obtained and reviewed.

 

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage UM/UIM coverage can be critical when the negligent driver has no bodily-injury insurance, carries limits that are inadequate for catastrophic injuries, or leaves the scene. Coverage may exist under more than one policy, and priority, stacking, rejection forms, household status, vehicle ownership, and policy language can matter.

 

Commercial, Umbrella, and Other Coverage Additional coverage may exist when the negligent driver was working, operating a commercial vehicle, driving for a business, or covered by an umbrella policy. Health insurance, disability benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, workers’ compensation, and other benefit sources may also affect payment of medical expenses and liens, although they do not necessarily replace a liability claim.

 

Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries 

​

Motorcycle crashes can produce traumatic brain injuries, concussions, skull and facial fractures, dental trauma, spinal-cord injuries, cervical and lumbar injuries, internal-organ damage, rib fractures, collapsed lungs, and orthopedic injuries involving the shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, pelvis, hips, knees, legs, ankles, and feet.

 

Riders may also suffer severe road rash, degloving injuries, burns, nerve damage, crush injuries, amputations, infection, permanent scarring, disfigurement, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and fear of riding or driving. Serious injuries may require emergency surgery, repeated procedures, skin grafts, rehabilitation, assistive devices, home modifications, vocational retraining, or lifetime care.

 

What Compensation May Be Recovered?

 

Past and future medical expenses supported by the evidence.

Past lost wages and diminished future earning capacity.

Pain, suffering, disability, mental anguish, inconvenience, disfigurement, and loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life when recoverable under Florida law.

Future rehabilitation, therapy, medication, medical equipment, attendant care, and household services.

Damage to the motorcycle, helmet, riding gear, luggage, electronics, and other property.

Loss-of-consortium damages available to a spouse under applicable law.

Wrongful-death damages available to qualifying survivors and the estate when the crash is fatal.

How Much Is a Motorcycle Accident Case Worth?

 

There is no valid online formula for valuing a motorcycle injury claim. The value depends on the evidence concerning liability, comparative fault, the injuries, medical causation, permanency, future treatment, lost income, earning capacity, disability, disfigurement, daily limitations, insurance coverage, responsible parties, jurisdiction, expert testimony, and the credibility of the witnesses.

 

Catastrophic injuries do not guarantee an adequate recovery when the available insurance and assets are limited. Conversely, an insurer’s early offer may not account for future surgery, long-term limitations, liens, diminished earning ability, or the complete effect of the injuries. A meaningful evaluation requires both a damages analysis and a coverage investigation.

 

Evidence That Can Prove a Motorcycle Accident Case

 

A police report is a starting point, not the complete case. Important evidence may include the motorcycle; helmet; protective clothing; damaged components; photographs; debris; tire, scrape, skid, and gouge marks; roadway measurements; vehicle damage; surveillance video; traffic-camera footage; dashcam or helmet-camera recordings; 911 calls; body-camera recordings; witness statements; and law-enforcement materials.

 

Digital evidence may include smartphone location information, navigation data, action-camera files, connected-device records, motorcycle telemetry when available, vehicle event data, commercial dispatch records, electronic logs, texts, calls, and social-media material. Medical records, diagnostic imaging, wage records, tax documents, employment files, and expert evaluations may be needed to prove causation and damages.

 

The motorcycle should generally remain in its post-crash condition until it is photographed, measured, and evaluated. Repairing, selling, salvaging, testing, or discarding it prematurely may destroy evidence concerning impact direction, mechanical condition, visibility, braking, or an alleged defect.

 

How Daniel B Reinfeld, PA Investigates a Motorcycle Claim

 

Document the scene, vehicles, motorcycle, equipment, injuries, and available electronic evidence.

Identify witnesses, cameras, law-enforcement records, 911 materials, and time-sensitive third-party records.

Determine the drivers, owners, employers, contractors, property owners, manufacturers, repair businesses, and other potentially responsible parties.

Obtain and analyze all potentially applicable insurance policies and coverage documents.

Apply Florida traffic, motorcycle, insurance, negligence, and damages law to the evidence.

Develop medical proof concerning diagnosis, causation, permanency, future care, disability, and the effect on daily life.

Document wage loss, diminished earning capacity, property damage, liens, and other economic losses.

Retain accident-reconstruction, engineering, medical, vocational, economic, life-care, or other experts when the case requires them.

Present the claim to the responsible insurers and file and litigate a lawsuit when appropriate.

How Long Do You Have to File a Florida Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit?

 

Florida generally provides two years for an action founded on negligence and two years for a wrongful-death action, but the controlling deadline can vary with the date of the crash, the defendant, the legal theory, and special notice or presuit requirements. Claims involving governmental entities can present additional procedures and deadlines.

 

The statute of limitations is not the practical deadline for preserving evidence. Video may be erased within days or weeks, vehicles may be repaired or destroyed, road conditions may change, and witnesses may become difficult to find. The deadline should be calculated from the facts of the particular case rather than assumed from general information online.

 

Fatal Motorcycle Accidents and Wrongful Death Claims

 

A fatal motorcycle collision requires prompt investigation of the crash, the available insurance and assets, the rider’s earnings and support, family relationships, funeral expenses, medical expenses, and the damages permitted under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. The personal representative ordinarily brings the action for the estate and qualifying survivors. Because the available damages depend on the survivor’s relationship to the person who died and other facts, the claim must be evaluated individually.

 

Serving Riders From Hollywood Throughout South Florida

 

Hollywood’s dense traffic, tourist activity, beach access, construction, and connections to I-95, Florida’s Turnpike, US-1/Federal Highway, Hollywood Boulevard, Sheridan Street, Stirling Road, Pembroke Road, and surrounding Broward communities create frequent interactions among motorcycles, passenger vehicles, trucks, taxis, rideshare vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.

 

A local investigation may require examining roadway geometry, traffic signals, lighting, sight distance, nearby businesses, surveillance cameras, construction activity, property ownership, maintenance responsibility, and the government agency responsible for a roadway. Daniel B Reinfeld, PA represents injured riders and families in Hollywood, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, Monroe County, and throughout South Florida.

 

Frequently Asked Questions | Florida Motorcycle Accidents

 

Does Florida PIP cover motorcycle accidents? Motorcycles are excluded from the four-or-more-wheel definition used in Florida’s no-fault law. A rider should not assume that ordinary PIP benefits apply. Motorcycle medical-payments coverage, health insurance, liability coverage, UM/UIM coverage, and other sources should be investigated.

 

Do I need a permanent injury to pursue pain and suffering after a motorcycle crash? Motorcycle claims do not fit the ordinary no-fault framework applied to occupants of covered four-wheel vehicles. The applicable damages law should be analyzed from the claimant’s status, policies, defendants, and facts rather than assuming the standard automobile threshold controls.

 

Can I recover if I was not wearing a helmet? Potentially. Lawful helmet nonuse does not establish who caused the collision. A defendant may dispute whether a helmet would have prevented or reduced a particular head injury, but that issue must be supported by medical, biomechanical, and crash evidence.

 

Is lane splitting legal in Florida? Generally no. Florida law prohibits operating a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles. Whether an alleged violation caused or contributed to a particular crash remains an evidence-based question.

 

Can two motorcycles ride side by side in one Florida lane? Florida generally permits two motorcycles, but not more than two, to ride abreast within a single lane.

 

What if the driver says the motorcycle was speeding? The allegation should be tested. Video, physical marks, crush and scrape damage, vehicle data, sight distance, timing, witness testimony, and reconstruction analysis may support or contradict the claimed speed.

 

What if the driver who hit me had no bodily-injury insurance? Potential recovery may depend on UM/UIM coverage, commercial or employer coverage, umbrella insurance, other responsible parties, and recoverable assets. Every potentially applicable policy should be identified.

 

Should I repair or sell the motorcycle after the crash? Not before the motorcycle is properly documented and any necessary inspection is completed. Its damage and condition may be important evidence. Preserve the helmet, clothing, parts, keys, electronics, and repair or maintenance records as well.

 

What if a dangerous road caused the crash? A public entity, contractor, or property owner may be implicated depending on control, notice, maintenance responsibility, and the defect. Government claims can involve special procedures and deadlines, making early investigation important.

​

Do I need a motorcycle accident lawyer?  Not every minor incident requires counsel. Serious injuries, disputed fault, inadequate insurance, a fatality, a commercial vehicle, a road defect, a possible product defect, or multiple responsible parties can make experienced legal representation particularly important.

 

Motorcycle Accidents Require Real Trial Preparation

Motorcycle accident cases can involve more than determining how a collision occurred. Careful preparation may include reviewing the driver’s actions, opportunity to see and react to the motorcycle, speed, sightlines, lane position, impact mechanics, available insurance coverage, medical causation, future limitations, and any claim that the injured rider contributed to the accident. Additional issues may include helmet use, motorcycle visibility, road conditions, and whether the driver took reasonable steps to avoid the collision.

 

Daniel B Reinfeld, PA has experience representing people injured in motor-vehicle and pedestrian accidents through trial. The firm was recognized by TopVerdict for obtaining one of Florida’s Top 10 Pedestrian Accident Verdicts in 2024 after securing a $1.6 million unanimous jury verdict. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every motorcycle accident case depends on its own facts, evidence, applicable law, insurance and assets, injuries, and damages

.

​

​📞 Call Today.  Discuss Your Motorcycle Accident Directly With Dan

If you or a family member was injured in a motorcycle accident, early legal work can help preserve the motorcycle, helmet, riding gear, video, electronic data, and other important evidence, identify the people and companies responsible, locate available insurance coverage, and protect important deadlines. You will speak directly with Dan—not a call center or intake department. Dan is a trial-tested personal injury lawyer with more than 25 years of experience and prior insurance-defense knowledge. He personally evaluates and handles every case accepted by the firm. You do not need to travel to the Hollywood office to begin your case. Consultations may be available by telephone, Zoom video conference, hospital visit, or home visit when appropriate.

​

Talk With Dan For Free

No attorney’s fee unless a recovery is obtained • Evening and weekend appointments available

Evidence can disappear and legal deadlines can expire. ​ Contact Dan promptly to protect your rights.​​​

CALL TODAY to speak with Dan:  📞 (954) 923-6110