The typical motorcycle crash we see is a car turning left across the rider's lane, or a driver changing lanes into a bike that was there the whole time. The driver almost always says the same thing: "I never saw him." The rider, meanwhile, has no steel frame or airbag. Fractures, road rash, and head and spinal injuries are common, and the rider is often taken from the scene by ambulance before anyone writes down a witness's name.
Two things make these cases harder than they should be. First, the insurance picture is different, because Florida's PIP system is built around cars. Second, adjusters and jurors sometimes start with the assumption that the rider was speeding or weaving. The steps below are designed to answer both problems with evidence.
1. Get treated and keep every record from the first day
Accept the ambulance ride if you are hurt. The trauma bay records, imaging, and photos taken in the emergency department are often the clearest proof of how hard the impact was. Ask a family member to collect the names of the paramedics' agency and the hospital, and keep every discharge paper.
Follow up with every referral. Riders tend to be tough about pain, and gaps in treatment are used later to argue the injury was minor. If you hit your head, tell the physician even if your helmet stayed on, and report any memory gaps, headaches, or changes in mood or concentration.
2. Do not repair or sell the motorcycle, and keep your gear
Your motorcycle and your gear are physical evidence of the crash. The point of impact on the bike, the scrape pattern on the fairings, and the damage to the car together show the angle and speed of the collision. Your helmet shows where your head struck. Your jacket, gloves, pants, and boots show how far you slid and where.
- Leave the motorcycle as it is after the crash. Photograph it before any insurer moves it, and ask in writing that it be held.
- Put your helmet and gear in a bag and store them. Do not wash or repair them.
- Save any helmet camera, dash camera, or phone mount footage in its original file.
- If your bike or riding app records speed or location data, do not reset it.
3. Document the scene the way a reconstruction professional will
Left-turn and lane-change cases turn on sight lines and timing. If you can return to the scene, or if someone can go for you, photograph the intersection from the direction you were traveling and from the direction the driver came. Note any parked vehicles, signs, hedges, or curves that could block the view. Record the signal phases if there is a light.
List every camera that may have captured the crash: traffic cameras, gas stations, storefronts, and home doorbells. Footage is often overwritten within days, so preservation letters need to go out right away. Get the names and phone numbers of witnesses; independent witnesses are the most effective answer to the "I never saw him" defense.
4. Sort out the insurance before you talk to anyone
Florida's no-fault statute defines a "motor vehicle" for PIP purposes as "any self-propelled vehicle with four or more wheels" (§ 627.732(3)). A motorcycle does not meet that definition, so the PIP benefits that cover a car driver generally do not cover a rider through the motorcycle. That means the money for your medical care usually comes from other places:
- the at-fault driver's bodily injury liability coverage;
- your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, if your motorcycle policy includes it;
- medical payments coverage on your motorcycle policy, if you bought it; and
- your health insurance, which may assert a right to be repaid from any recovery.
Gather your motorcycle policy declarations page and your health insurance card, and do not give the driver's insurer a recorded statement. Questions about your speed, your riding experience, and your route are designed to build a fault argument.
“motor vehicle”
§ 627.732(3)
5. Face the helmet question directly
Florida requires anyone operating or riding on a motorcycle to wear protective headgear that complies with "Federal Motorcycle Vehicle Safety Standard 218," and requires the operator to wear an approved "eye-protective device over his or her eyes" (§ 316.211). The helmet requirement does not apply to a rider "over 21 years of age" who is covered by an insurance policy providing "at least $10,000 in medical benefits" for injuries from a motorcycle crash (§ 316.211(3)(b)). A violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction.
If you were riding without a helmet, tell us at the start. Whether helmet use bears on the claim depends on the injuries involved and the facts of the crash. A broken leg from a car pulling into your path has nothing to do with your helmet. We evaluate this issue early so it does not surprise anyone later.
“Federal Motorcycle Vehicle Safety Standard 218,”
§ 316.211
6. Avoid statements and posts that feed the rider stereotype
Do not post about the crash, your bike, group rides, or trips while the claim is open. Photos of you riding with friends, even from years ago, are used to suggest recklessness. Do not estimate your speed to anyone; let the physical evidence establish it.
The Florida rules that matter
- Crash duties. Drivers involved in a crash causing injury must exchange information and render reasonable assistance (§ 316.062(1)), and crashes with injuries require a long-form police crash report (§ 316.066(1)).
- PIP. PIP is tied to vehicles with four or more wheels (§ 627.732(3)), which is why your coverage sources differ from those of a car occupant.
- Helmet and eye protection. The requirements and the over-21 exception are in § 316.211.
- Deadline to sue. An action founded on negligence generally must be filed within two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)).
- Comparative fault. Your share of fault reduces your damages proportionately (§ 768.81(2)), and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm, you "may not recover any damages" (§ 768.81(6)). In rider cases, that is the line the defense is aiming for.
“may not recover any damages”
§ 316.062(1)
Your checklist
- Accept medical care at the scene and keep every record from the ambulance and hospital.
- Leave the motorcycle unrepaired and store your helmet and gear unwashed.
- Save all camera footage and riding data in original form.
- Photograph the scene from both directions of travel and list every nearby camera.
- Collect your motorcycle policy declarations page and health insurance information.
- Decline recorded statements and stay off social media about riding.
- Call a lawyer well before the two-year deadline.
How we handle these cases
We build rider cases on physical evidence: the bike, the gear, the scene, and the video. We send preservation letters immediately, retain a reconstruction professional when the facts call for one, and map every insurance source, because in a motorcycle case the coverage question often decides how much can be recovered. Josef Timlichman Law, PLLC is a Florida trial firm handling cases throughout the state, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.