Ask Me Help Desk - Motorcycle accident

Motorcycle accident due to an illegal lane change.
I was riding my motorcycle down a street. A van in the right turning lane from me decided switch into my lane. Keep in mind that I was right beside him and he had to cross over a white solid line to attempt to go staight. Well I had no where to go so I slammed on my brakes which caused my bike and myself to loose control and crash. Our vehicles did not hit each other. Eventually we pulled to the side and the guy told me he was at fault and he didn't even see me. My father was driving behind me and winessed the accident and the exchange of info. Now I have a witness and this guy saying its his fault. I talked to the other parties insurance company today and they said they were not going to pay for the repairs to my bike and are not taking responsibility because my motorcyle didn't hit his van. Seems to me I would had never crashed if it wassnt for his illegal lane change. Just because our vehicles didn't hit does that relieve his insurance of taking fault and fixing my bike?

You are correct. You may need to talk to a lawyer about this. What does you ins agent say about handling this?r

Quote:

Originally Posted by krstoney

motorcycle accident due to an illegal lane change.
i was riding my motorcycle down a street. a van in the right turning lane from me decided switch into my lane. keep in mind that i was right beside him and he had to cross over a white solid line to attempt to go staight. well i had no where to go so i slammed on my brakes which caused my bike and my self to loose control and crash. our vehicles did not hit eachother. eventually we pulled to the side and the guy told me he was at fault and he didnt even see me. my father was driving behind me and winessed the accident and the exchange of info. now i have a witness and this guy saying its his fault. i talked to the other parties insurance company today and they said they were not going to pay for the repairs to my bike and are not taking responsibility because my motorcyle didnt hit his van. seems to me i would had never crashed if it wassnt for his illegal lane change. just because our vehicles didnt hit does that relieve his insurance of taking fault and fixing my bike?

These are always very difficult to prove - and, no, the fact that you avoided a collision does not relieve him of responsibility. You are going to need an Attorney or - depending on the damage - go directly to Small Claims Court. Be aware that your family member witness will not carry the weight of an uninvolved, unrelated witness but will carry some weight.

Your attempt to avoid an accident does have to be reasonable (in NYS) - you can't panic and crash when you could have simply stopped; likewise, you must have your vehicle under control.

Of course their insurance is going to deny payment, many companies always deny payments the first time you ask them, as standard procedure.

Your best bet, turn it over to your insurance, let them pay your damages, and let them sue the other perosn and his company.

You can of course just sue the man yourself.