Not all motorcyclists are reckless, yet the impression is that all those who ride motorcycles drive fast and like maniacs. Sadly, this couldn’t be farther from the truth, as the majority of motorcyclists are even more safety conscious than the average car driver. While assumptions like this don’t bother motorcyclists on a day-to-day basis, it can have a severe impact on them if they are injured in an accident.
Overcoming Jury Bias
There are three common biases that exist about motorcyclists: (1) they’re difficult to see, (2) they drive too fast and (3) they are thoughtless young people or unruly gang members. These biases arise from the small number of encounters drivers have with irresponsible motorcyclists, yet those are the ones that leave a lasting impression—no one remembers a good motorcyclist.
As a result, if there is a motorcycle accident that results in a personal injury lawsuit, the jury may be made up of people who have had bad experiences with a motorcyclist. Even witnesses of the accident may have skewed perspectives, which can ruin a case for an innocent and injured motorcycle rider.
Overcoming jury and witness bias requires identifying the negative factors in a case, separating them, and rebutting each of them with solid proof and arguments. If there is a bias that you were hard to see, an attorney can introduce photos and diagrams of the scene that adequately portray relevant distances and sightlines. Video could show how easy the defendant could have seen the motorcyclist.
If you want to attack the driving too fast bias, you can show evidence such as skid marks, damage to the vehicles involved, a police report, and witness testimony. With this combination, it may be easy to rebut suggestions of speeding or unsafe driving. Lastly, there’s the young person/gang member bias, which is the easiest to overcome. Testimony from a doctor, people at the scene, co-workers, friends, and family are the best sources of evidence to humanize a victim and separate them from the harmful stereotypes unfairly pinned on motorcyclists.
Since 1998, our Reno motorcycle accident attorneys at Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman L.L.P. have been protecting riders across Northern Nevada. If you’ve been injured as the result of someone else’s recklessness or negligence and need compensation, contact us today. We handle cases on a contingency basis, so you don’t pay fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Call (775) 227-2280 or contact us onlinefor a free initial consultation.