Miami Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

The Insurance Company Sees a Biker, Not a Person

Motorcycle riders get hurt worse and blamed more. There is no steel frame, no airbag, and no seatbelt between you and the pavement, so the same crash that dents a car door can leave a rider with road rash, broken bones, spinal damage, or a traumatic brain injury.

And from the very first phone call, many adjusters treat the rider as the problem: too fast, too loud, too hard to see. That bias shows up in lowball offers and blame-shifting arguments. At Leyva Law, your case is handled directly by attorney Daniela Leyva, not passed off to a call center. She builds the case, deals with the adjusters, and prepares every claim as if it will go to trial, because that is what makes insurers pay what a claim is truly worth.

Florida's No-Fault System Does Not Cover Motorcycle Riders

If you are hurt in a car crash, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays part of your medical bills no matter who caused it. Motorcycles are different. Florida's no-fault law defines the vehicles it covers in a way that excludes motorcycles (sections 627.732 and 627.736, Florida Statutes), so PIP benefits generally do not apply to injuries you suffer as a rider.

That cuts both ways. There is no automatic PIP money to help with your first medical bills, which is one reason prompt legal help matters so much after a bike crash. But there is also no serious injury threshold to clear. A car occupant usually has to prove a permanent injury before claiming pain and suffering. An injured rider can pursue the at-fault driver for the full harm from day one: medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.

We look for every source of recovery that applies to your crash: the at-fault driver's bodily injury coverage, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, umbrella policies, and any medical payments coverage on your motorcycle policy.

Helmets, Blame, and Florida's 50 Percent Rule

Florida's helmet law (section 316.211, Florida Statutes) allows riders 21 and older to ride without a helmet only if they carry at least $10,000 in medical benefits coverage for injuries from a motorcycle crash. Eye protection is required for anyone operating a motorcycle, at every age.

Riding without a helmet where the law allows it does not bar your claim. But expect the insurance company to argue that your own choices caused or worsened your injuries. Under Florida's modified comparative negligence rule (section 768.81(6), Florida Statutes), your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing at all.

That rule is exactly why insurers work so hard to shift blame onto the rider. We push back with evidence: the police report, witness statements, vehicle damage, roadway markings, and video from nearby cameras that shows how the crash actually happened.

How Long You Have to File a Motorcycle Accident Claim

Florida deadlines are strict, and missing one can end an otherwise strong case. For crashes after March 24, 2023, you generally have two years to file a negligence lawsuit (section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes). Crashes before that date usually fall under the older four-year deadline, and insurance policies add their own, often much shorter, notice requirements.

Evidence in motorcycle cases fades even faster than in car cases: skid marks wash away, damaged bikes get scrapped, and camera footage gets overwritten within days. The sooner we start, the more we can preserve. There is no cost to have us review your case.

Motorcycle Accident Cases We Handle in Miami-Dade

• Left-Turn and Intersection Crashes
• Lane-Change and Sideswipe Accidents
• Rear-End Collisions
• Hit-and-Run Drivers
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists
• Road Debris and Hazard Crashes
• Drunk and Distracted Driving
• Wrongful Death

Miami Motorcycle Accident FAQ

Related: property insurance claims · all personal injury cases · meet the attorney. This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.