Motorcycle Accidents

Every driver has a duty to exercise care for the safety of motorcyclists using the highway. We investigate and prove fault by motorists who:

• Fail to maintain a safe distance
• Fail to slow to a safe speed
• Fail to allow time for safe clearance
• Fail to obey traffic signals (i.e., red lights or stop signs)
• Fail to keep a proper lookout for motorcyclists
• Fail to pay attention, especially at night or during inclement weather
• Fail to perceive a dangerous condition or immediate hazard
• Fail to drive free of impairment by drugs or alcohol
• Fail to stop operating a cell phone while operating an automobile

Motorcycle injury and wrongful death cases require quick attention from an experienced personal injury law firm. Mike Burman regularly handles cases with severe injuries. Mike regularly handles wrongful death cases. Mike has the paralegal staff and financial resources needed to take on any insurance company.  As your motorcycle accident lawyer, Mike Burman and his law firm will work quickly to:

• Understand the mechanism of injury causing pain and suffering or death
• Look for hard-to-find injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries or labral tears in the hip
• Preserve and gather evidence that could be washed away, destroyed, or lost
• Study traffic patterns and traffic
• Search for CCTv video/audio, ring doorbell cameras, police videos, and business cameras
• Locate and interview witnesses
• Engage experts in accident reconstruction to uncover critical facts
• Download the “black box” speed and distance computer on the “at-fault” vehicle
• Impound the at-fault vehicle and preserve the motorcycle

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In every personal injury case or wrongful death case, we investigate and preserve evidence. We locate and contact all available witnesses. We notify all necessary parties and insurance companies, notify all lienholders, gather and protect evidence and damages,  prepare a settlement demand, negotiate a motorcycle accident settlement, resolve liens, and distribute a fair settlement to you.

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Once evidence from the scene is secure, we use information technologies to transform this evidence into a visual representation of your motorcycle crash to prove the harms and losses behind your injuries. Our paralegals prepare in-house media consisting of charts, blowups, and videos while keeping costs under control. Our goal is to communicate your case so that anyone can “be sure” what happened and “understand” what should be done to right the wrong done to you. We work to provide the insurance adjuster a thorough evaluation of your case so you achieve a full and fair out of court settlement. But if you must file suit, Burman Law will help prepare your case for trial. At trial, we will visualize your case to the jury, so the jury understands exactly what happened to you, and how your life changed. In this way, the jury has the power to come back with a verdict to help right the wrong done to you.

Insurance companies and insurance adjusters use several tactics to deny claims and pay less than the value of the claim.  Some of the most common we see are:

• Blaming accident victims for their own injuries
• Reducing the value of the case by misinterpreting medical records
• Denying the injuries are related to the car crash
• Making low settlement offers for pre-existing or age-related factors
• Delaying claims as long as possible until you must take a low settlement offer
• Making lowball settlement offers to reduce the amount you think is reasonable
• Telling injury victims they do not need to hire a lawyer

You need no money to hire me. I am paid a reasonable fee out of the money paid to resolve your case.  The decision to resolve your case is always yours to make.  I work for you.  All fees and costs will be transparent, upfront, and in writing.  We are paid a percentage of the money recovered in your case.  Many personal injury lawyers now charge a fee of 40% to begin your case.  Our fee has been 1/3 for more than twenty-five plus years.  We do not spend time or money on expensive Tv Ads, and we pass that savings on to you.  There are no hidden disclaimers.  We are transparent at all times.

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With our free consultation and free case evaluation services, you can discuss your car accident case with Mike Burman in confidence.  Mike will help you understand your rights and give you a plan of action based on real experience.  There is never any pressure.  We put all fees and case expenses in writing.  As a Burman Law client, you will receive our free client portal so you can post anything you want 24/7/365.  We respond to portal messages by the next business day, or sooner.   And you can always contact Mike on his personal cell phone number which he will give you.  Burman Law staff average ten years of paralegal experience.  Mike has more than 25+ years of experience in personal injury and wrongful death involving car accidents and safety in Kentucky and Tennessee.

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§ 189.285. Regulations for operating and riding on motorcycles - Headgear requirements - Definitions of motorcycle and moped

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(1) A person shall not operate a motorcycle on a highway:

(a) Except when that person is in possession of a valid motorcycle operator's license; and

(b) Unless that person uses an approved eye-protective device, in the manner prescribed by the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet, at all times such vehicle is in motion; and

(c) Unless the motorcycle is equipped with a rear-view mirror as required under KRS 189.130.

(2) A person shall not operate or ride as a passenger on a motorcycle:

(a) Except on a seat permanently attached to that vehicle and specifically designed to carry the operator or passenger in a safe manner; and

(b) Except when using a footrest permanently attached to that vehicle and specifically designed to carry that person in a safe manner.

(3) The following persons shall be required to wear protective headgear, in the manner prescribed by the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet, at all times the motorcycles they are riding are in motion on a public highway:

(a) A person under the age of twenty-one (21) years who is operating a motorcycle or who is a passenger on a motorcycle or in a sidecar attachment;

(b) A person who possesses a motorcycle instruction permit and who is operating a motorcycle; and

(c) A person who has held a valid motorcycle operator's license, or combination motor vehicle-motorcycle operator's license, for less than one (1) year and who is operating a motorcycle.

(4) A motorcycle operator authorized to drive a motorcycle on an instruction permit shall not be authorized to carry passengers.

(5) The secretary of the Transportation Cabinet shall by regulation fix minimum standards for approved protective headgear and for approved eye-protective devices, and prescribe the manner in which they shall be used. The secretary shall maintain and cause to be published a list of approved protective headgear and of approved eye-protective devices. The secretary may prescribe by regulation minimum standards for other protective devices and require the use of those devices.

(6) As used in this chapter:

(a) "Motorcycle" means any motor-driven vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the operator and designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding tractors and vehicles on which the operator and passengers ride in an enclosed cab and excluding a moped as defined in this subsection; and

(b) "Moped" means either a motorized bicycle whose frame design may include one (1) or more horizontal crossbars supporting a fuel tank so long as it also has pedals, or a motorized bicycle with a step-through type frame which may or may not have pedals rated no more than two (2) brake horsepower, a cylinder capacity not exceeding fifty (50) cubic centimeters, an automatic transmission not requiring clutching or shifting by the operator after the drive system is engaged, and capable of a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour.

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KY Rev. Stat. 189.285 Regulations for operating and riding on motorcycles - Headgear requirements - Definitions of motorcycle and moped (Kentucky Revised Statutes (2022 Edition))