What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in San Diego

The hours and days after a motorcycle accident can affect both your health and your ability to prove what happened.

Motorcycle cases present evidence issues that are different from ordinary car accidents. The motorcycle may contain important physical evidence. A damaged helmet and riding gear can help document the forces involved. Surveillance video may disappear. And insurance companies often look for reasons to blame the rider, particularly when speed, lane position, or lane splitting is involved.

The most important steps are straightforward: protect yourself, preserve the evidence, get appropriate medical care, identify the available insurance, and avoid giving the other driver’s insurance company evidence it can use against you. Our San Diego motorcycle accident attorneys explain below why each step matters and what happens when one is skipped.

What Should You Do Immediately After a Motorcycle Accident?

If you can do so safely:

1. Get out of traffic and call 911.
2. Get medical attention for any significant injury.
3. Identify the other driver and obtain insurance information.
4. Get names and contact information for witnesses.
5. Photograph the vehicles, roadway, traffic controls, and surrounding area.
6. Preserve the motorcycle, helmet, and riding gear.
7. Do not give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement before getting legal advice.
8. Report the collision to your own insurer as required by your policy.
9. File the required DMV accident report.
10. Talk to a lawyer promptly if the injuries are serious, fault is disputed, or a dangerous roadway may have contributed.

The sections below explain why each step matters.

Step 1: Get to Safety and Call 911

Your health comes first.

If you are seriously injured or suspect a head, neck, or spinal injury, avoid unnecessary movement and let emergency medical personnel evaluate you. If you can safely move out of an active traffic lane, do so.

Call 911 when anyone is injured.

California law also imposes duties on drivers involved in injury collisions. Vehicle Code § 20001 requires a driver involved in an injury or fatal collision to stop, and Vehicle Code § 20003 requires the exchange of identifying information and reasonable assistance to an injured person.

A law enforcement investigation can also preserve important evidence. Depending on where the crash occurred, the San Diego Police Department, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, or another local agency may investigate.

Get the officer’s name, agency, and report or incident number if possible.

Step 2: Identify the Driver and Witnesses

Do not assume the police report will contain everything you need.

Obtain the other driver’s:

• Name
• Address
• Driver’s license information
• License plate
• Insurance company and policy information
• Employer information if the person appeared to be driving for work

Also get the names and telephone numbers of anyone who witnessed the collision.

Independent witnesses can be particularly important in motorcycle cases because drivers frequently claim they never saw the motorcycle or that the rider was traveling faster than they actually were.

If someone heard the driver make a statement such as “I didn’t see the motorcycle,” “I was looking at my phone,” or “I thought I had enough time to turn,” write it down as accurately as you can.

Step 3: Photograph the Crash From the Driver’s Perspective

Most people photograph where the vehicles ended up. Those photographs are useful, but they may not answer the most important question:

What could the other driver have seen before the collision?

If you can safely do so, photograph the scene from the other driver’s point of view.

For example, if a driver turned left across your path, photograph the driver’s approach toward the intersection and the view toward the lane where you were riding.

Also photograph:

• The motorcycle from multiple angles
• The other vehicle and its damage
• Skid marks, gouges, debris, and fluid trails
• Traffic signals and signs
• Lane markings
• Sight obstructions
• Road defects
• Nearby businesses and homes with cameras
• Construction conditions
• Lighting and visibility

These details can become important because California law does not excuse a driver simply because the driver claims not to have seen a motorcycle.

California juries are instructed under CACI No. 700, Basic Standard of Care that drivers must use reasonable care, keep a lookout for other vehicles and obstacles, and control the speed and movement of their vehicles.

In a motorcycle case, the real question is often not whether the driver saw the rider, but whether a reasonably careful driver should have seen the rider.

Step 4: Look for Video Before It Disappears

Video evidence can resolve a disputed motorcycle crash more effectively than almost anything else.

Look around the scene for:

• Business surveillance cameras
• Residential security cameras
• Traffic cameras
• Dashcams
• Bus cameras
• Construction cameras

Do not assume the footage will still be there later.

Many systems automatically overwrite recordings. Identifying a camera quickly allows an attorney to send a preservation request before the evidence disappears.

Electronic vehicle data can also matter. Depending on the vehicle, it may contain information concerning speed, braking, throttle use, steering, or other activity shortly before the collision.

Step 5: Preserve the Motorcycle, Helmet, and Riding Gear

After a serious crash, the motorcycle itself is evidence.

Do not authorize repairs or disposal until the bike has been adequately documented and, when appropriate, inspected by an expert.

Damage patterns can help an accident reconstruction expert evaluate:

• The point of impact
• Direction of forces
• Vehicle orientation
• Contact between the motorcycle and vehicle
• Whether mechanical failure may have contributed

If the bike is at a tow yard, identify where it is being stored and address storage charges promptly so it is not sold or disposed of.

Keep the Helmet

California generally requires motorcycle riders and passengers to wear compliant helmets under Vehicle Code § 27803.

If your helmet was involved in the crash, keep it.

Do not throw it away simply because it is no longer safe to use. Damage to the helmet can help document an impact and establish that you were wearing one.

Keep the Riding Gear

Preserve your jacket, gloves, pants, boots, and other riding equipment.

Damage and abrasion patterns can provide useful evidence about the collision and the rider’s movement after impact.

Photograph everything before cleaning, repairing, or discarding it.

Step 6: Get Appropriate Medical Care

Motorcycle collisions can cause serious injuries even when a rider initially believes the injuries are manageable.

If you have significant pain, neurological symptoms, loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, weakness, numbness, confusion, or other concerning symptoms, seek prompt medical evaluation.

Common serious injuries after motorcycle crashes include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord and spinal injuries
• Fractures
• Internal injuries
• Shoulder and upper-extremity injuries
• Knee and leg injuries
• Road rash and other soft-tissue injuries

Our guide to common motorcycle accident injuries discusses these injuries in greater detail.

Follow reasonable treatment recommendations and communicate honestly with your medical providers about your symptoms and limitations.

Medical records serve two purposes. They help guide your treatment, and they document the injuries caused by the crash.

Step 7: File the Required California Accident Reports

A police report and a DMV report are not the same thing.

California DMV requires a Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California, or SR-1, within 10 days when:

• Anyone was injured, even if the injury appeared minor
• Anyone was killed
• Property damage exceeded $1,000

The SR-1 is required regardless of who caused the accident, and a police or CHP report does not satisfy the separate DMV requirement.

In an injury collision, Vehicle Code § 20008 also contains a 24-hour accident-reporting requirement.

When in doubt, make sure the required reports have been completed rather than assuming someone else handled them.

Step 8: Identify Every Potentially Responsible Party

The person driving the other vehicle is not always the only defendant.

A serious motorcycle accident investigation should consider whether responsibility extends to:

• The vehicle’s owner
• The driver’s employer
• A rideshare or delivery company
• A trucking company
• A vehicle or motorcycle manufacturer
• A repair facility
• A contractor
• A public entity responsible for a dangerous roadway

If the driver was working when the collision occurred, the employer may have responsibility and additional insurance coverage.

If the motorcycle or another vehicle failed mechanically, preserve the vehicle before assuming the driver alone caused the crash.

And if the crash involved a pothole, defective traffic signal, dangerous curve, inadequate barrier, debris, construction condition, or other road hazard, investigate the roadway itself.

Our guide to motorcycle accident liability in San Diego explains these potential sources of responsibility in more detail.

Step 9: Find the Available Insurance Coverage

Insurance coverage can be particularly important in motorcycle cases because severe injuries can quickly exceed the at-fault driver’s liability limits.

For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, California’s minimum motor vehicle liability limits are generally $30,000 for injury or death to one person, $60,000 for injury or death to multiple people, and $15,000 for property damage under Vehicle Code § 16056.

Those limits can be inadequate after a catastrophic motorcycle injury. Our guide to insurance claims for motorcycle accidents walks through the claims process and the coverage map.

Potential coverage may include:

• The at-fault driver’s liability insurance
• Insurance covering the vehicle owner
• Commercial or employer coverage
• Excess or umbrella insurance
• The rider’s motorcycle UM/UIM coverage
• Medical payments coverage
• Other potentially applicable insurance

Be Careful With Household Auto UM/UIM Coverage

Do not assume that uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on a separate household auto policy automatically covers an accident while riding your own motorcycle.

Insurance Code § 11580.2 provides important UM/UIM protections, but it also permits exclusions. In particular, subdivision (c)(6) excludes certain injuries suffered while occupying a motor vehicle owned by an insured when that vehicle is not an insured vehicle under the policy.

Coverage therefore depends on the motorcycle policy, the auto policy, the vehicles insured, the identity of the insureds, and the particular facts of the crash.

For a serious injury, we review the actual policies rather than assuming coverage exists or does not exist.

Step 10: Be Careful When Speaking With Insurance Adjusters

You should promptly notify your own insurer as required by your policy.

The other driver’s insurance company is different.

You generally do not need to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement simply because the adjuster asks for one.

An early statement can be problematic because:

• The investigation may not be complete.
• You may not yet know the extent of your injuries.
• The adjuster may ask questions designed to establish comparative fault.
• Small inaccuracies can later be treated as inconsistencies.

You should also be cautious about signing a broad medical authorization that gives the other driver’s insurer unrestricted access to your medical history.

In a serious case, talk to an attorney before giving the adverse insurance carrier a recorded statement or signing broad authorizations.

Step 11: Document Lane Splitting and Lane Position Carefully

Lane splitting is legal in California.

Vehicle Code § 21658.1 defines lane splitting as riding a two-wheeled motorcycle between rows of stopped or moving vehicles. The California Highway Patrol’s motorcycle safety guidance recognizes that lane splitting is legal and emphasizes that it should be done safely and prudently.

California law does not establish an automatic rule that a lane-splitting rider is at fault for a collision.

But how the motorcycle was being operated still matters.

If you were lane splitting, document:

• Your approximate speed
• The approximate speed of surrounding traffic
• Where you were positioned
• Whether traffic was stopped or moving
• Whether the other driver signaled
• How quickly the other vehicle moved into your path
• Whether there was an exit, merge, intersection, or other reason for vehicles to change lanes

Insurance companies frequently argue that a motorcyclist was speeding, weaving, or lane splitting unsafely.

California juries address those arguments through comparative fault. Under CACI No. 405, Comparative Fault of Plaintiff, the defendant must prove both that the injured rider was negligent and that the rider’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the harm. If proven, damages are reduced according to the rider’s percentage of responsibility.

Lane splitting itself does not answer those questions. The circumstances do. Our guide to motorcycle laws and regulations in San Diego covers the other rules that come up in these cases.

Step 12: Investigate Dangerous Road Conditions

Motorcycles are particularly vulnerable to roadway conditions that may be less dangerous to passenger vehicles.

Potential hazards include:

• Potholes
• Loose gravel or debris
• Uneven pavement
• Dangerous construction zones
• Missing or inadequate warning signs
• Defective traffic signals
• Poor sight distance
• Unsafe barriers
• Dangerous roadway design

If a public roadway contributed to the crash, photographs and measurements should be taken before the condition changes.

Government records may also reveal prior collisions, complaints, maintenance history, engineering decisions, signal timing, or other evidence.

Our dangerous road conditions practice focuses on cases in which public property contributed to a serious collision.

These claims also have unusually short deadlines.

Step 13: Preserve Your Own Records

Keep records related to the accident and your recovery, including:

• Medical bills
• Pharmacy expenses
• Medical equipment
• Transportation expenses
• Time missed from work
• Communications with insurers
• Photographs of injuries
• Records showing activities you can no longer perform
• Repair or replacement estimates for the motorcycle and equipment

Be thoughtful about social media.

Do not post about the accident, your injuries, the other driver, or your claim. Do not delete existing material because litigation may create preservation obligations.

A photograph or comment viewed without context can become evidence in a disputed case.

How Is Fault Proven in a Motorcycle Accident?

California drivers owe motorcyclists the same duty of reasonable care they owe other lawful road users.

Under CACI No. 700, a driver must use reasonable care, keep a lookout for other vehicles and obstacles, and control the speed and movement of the vehicle.

A traffic-law violation may also provide important evidence. When the requirements of Evidence Code § 669 are satisfied, violation of a safety statute can create a rebuttable presumption of negligence. California juries address that doctrine through CACI No. 418, Presumption of Negligence per se.

Evidence used to prove fault may include:

• Police reports
• Witness testimony
• Video
• Vehicle damage
• Electronic vehicle data
• Cell phone evidence
• Scene measurements
• Traffic-signal information
• Accident reconstruction
• Human-factors analysis

The fact that a driver says “I didn’t see the motorcycle” does not end the analysis. Often, it begins it.

How Long Do You Have to File a Motorcycle Accident Claim?

For most California personal injury claims, Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 generally provides a two-year statute of limitations.

Different rules can apply depending on the circumstances.

Most importantly, when a California public entity may be responsible, Government Code § 911.2 generally requires presentation of a government claim within six months of accrual.

That shorter deadline can apply when a crash involves:

• Caltrans
• The City of San Diego
• The County of San Diego
• Another city
• A transit agency
• Another public entity

Our guide to the motorcycle accident lawsuit process explains what happens if a claim cannot be resolved without litigation.

What Compensation Can an Injured Motorcyclist Recover?

Depending on the circumstances, damages may include compensation for:

• Past and future medical care
• Lost income
• Lost earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Physical impairment
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Property damage
• Other losses caused by the collision

The value of a serious case depends on the evidence, the injuries, available insurance, the responsible parties, and the long-term consequences of the harm.

Our guide to compensation for motorcycle accident victims explains these categories in greater detail.

How We Investigate Serious Motorcycle Accidents

At Hulburt Law Firm, we approach a serious motorcycle case by asking what evidence we would want if the case had to be tried years later.

Then we work backward.

Depending on the crash, that may mean:

• Preserving the motorcycle and riding gear
• Inspecting the vehicles
• Sending preservation demands
• Locating surveillance video
• Interviewing witnesses
• Obtaining electronic vehicle data
• Inspecting and measuring the roadway
• Obtaining traffic and government records
• Investigating the driver’s employment
• Identifying all available insurance
• Retaining accident reconstruction, engineering, medical, or other experts when needed

Motorcycle cases should not be evaluated through assumptions about riders. They should be decided on evidence.

Our San Diego motorcycle accident attorneys represent riders and families in serious injury and wrongful death cases throughout San Diego County.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, contact Hulburt Law Firm for a free and confidential case review.