Lane Splitting and Motorcycle Accident Lawsuits in Missouri
If the court finds you were driving in a dangerous manner, such as lane splitting, you may see your award decrease, or you might not receive a settlement at all. Even though lane splitting is not specifically illegal under Missouri law, this dangerous driving practice can have a severe impact on your recovery.
This is due to Missouri’s comparative fault laws, which reduce your settlement in a civil lawsuit by the percentage of fault you share. Unlike other comparative fault states, which do not allow you to claim compensation if you share more than 50% of the fault, you can still claim compensation even if you share the majority of the liability.
For example, say you were lane splitting and a driver makes an unsafe lane change, crashing into you. You file your lawsuit, seeking $20,000 in damages. The court determines you share 40% of the fault based on the fact you were lane splitting. As a result, you will only receive $12,000 out of your original $20,000. If the court finds you responsible for 90% of the accident, you will only receive $2,000.
Hiring a Kansas City Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
If you are in a motorcycle accident while lane splitting, hiring a Missouri motorcycle accident attorney can help you preserve your right to compensation and find optimal pathways toward maximum possible compensation.
Your Kansas City motorcycle accident attorney will have the resources necessary to launch a full-scale investigation into your claim and gather the necessary evidence to prove the other driver was entirely or mostly at-fault for the accident. For example, if the other driver was under the influence, distracted, or breaking another traffic law at the time of the accident, your attorney can leverage this information to rebut his or her defense and establish the at-fault driver’s negligence.