A motorcycle crash often causes serious injuries because riders have little physical protection. Common injuries include broken bones, road rash, and head or spinal trauma. Insurers may also argue that the rider shared fault for the crash.
Luis Martinez is a motorcycle accident lawyer in Salem who spent nearly five years as an insurance claims adjuster before representing injured people. He knows how insurers evaluate motorcycle claims and how bias against riders can affect the process. Based in Salem, he represents injured riders throughout Oregon. The consultation is free, and everything can happen in English or Spanish.
How Oregon law treats motorcycle crashes
Oregon law gives motorcyclists the same right to the road as every other driver, and it holds drivers to the same duty of care toward riders that they owe anyone else. When a driver turns left across your lane, changes lanes into you, or pulls out because they “didn’t see the bike,” they are responsible for the harm that follows.
Two rules shape most motorcycle cases.
The first is Oregon’s comparative fault rule. If you were partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing. This rule is why insurers work so hard to shift blame onto riders. An adjuster who can push your share of fault higher pays less, and bias against motorcyclists (“he must have been speeding,” “bikes come out of nowhere”) gives them material to work with. Countering that bias with evidence is a large part of winning these cases.
The second is insurance coverage. Oregon requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on auto policies, and it matters more for riders than for anyone else, because motorcycle injuries routinely exceed what an at-fault driver carries. One coverage note that surprises many riders: Oregon’s personal injury protection (PIP) requirement generally does not extend to motorcycles, so the no-fault medical coverage that follows a car crash usually is not there after a bike crash. Your own UM/UIM and health coverage have to be examined carefully.
Deadlines apply. Oregon generally allows two years to bring a personal injury claim, but exceptions run in both directions, and some situations require action much sooner. Call before assuming you are in or out of time.
What we do for injured riders
We begin by collecting and preserving the evidence that shows how the crash happened: the scene, witness accounts, vehicle damage patterns, road marks, and camera footage from nearby intersections and businesses.
We also prepare for the insurer’s fault arguments. Because Luis spent years evaluating claims as an insurance adjuster, he knows what information the other side will review. That means thorough medical documentation, a liability analysis supported by evidence, and a demand that accounts for the full value of the claim.
We handle communication with every insurance company involved, identify available coverage, including your own UM/UIM benefits, and coordinate the property damage claim for the motorcycle and gear. We also prepare the case for litigation if a fair settlement is not available.
We handle the claim and keep you informed while you recover.
What compensation may be available
Oregon law allows an injured rider to recover economic and noneconomic damages. What that covers depends on the facts of your case, but the categories generally include:
- Medical expenses, both the bills you have now and the care your doctors expect you to need
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity if your injuries change what work you can do
- Noneconomic damages: pain, loss of mobility, and the ways an injury takes normal life away from you
Serious motorcycle injuries often mean long recoveries, and a settlement has to account for the expected course of treatment and lasting limitations, not just the first hospital bill. We do not promise outcomes. We prepare each claim with the evidence an insurer or court needs to evaluate it.