Denver Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

We start by discussing your case with you in detail. Mr. Pushchak will listen carefully to your story to understand the details of your accident and the ways in which it has impacted your life. He will also discuss your goals for your outcome of the case with you to understand what is most important to you from the legal process.

Mr. Pushchak will then recommend the legal strategy that will most effectively achieve your desired outcome. He will spend as much time as necessary answering any questions you may have to ensure you are equipped to make an informed decision about how we approach your case. While we provide strategy recommendations, you will always have the final say on how we handle your case. This ensures Mr. Pushchak remains aligned with your goals throughout the entire process.

Once we’ve collaboratively agreed upon the legal strategy for your claim, Mr. Pushchak will engage in a meticulous process to ensure we build the strongest possible case to maximize the value of your compensation:

• We conduct a comprehensive accident investigation and gather as much evidence as possible to prove the other driver was at fault
• We work with accident reconstruction experts who can support our evidence and prove fault
• We work with medical experts who can provide testimony regarding the extensiveness of your injuries and all necessary treatments, including future procedures, that will be required
• We factor all current and future expenses, as well as non-economic damages, to arrive at an accurate calculation of the compensation to which you are entitled
• We negotiate aggressively with the insurance company to achieve the best possible settlement
• In the event that a settlement isn’t in your best interest, we will be prepared to fight for your compensation in court

Not a Volume Firm or a Settlement Mill

Many high-volume law firms rush motorcycle accident cases toward early settlements, but this approach often fails to account for long-term medical needs. Pushchak Law limits caseloads, prepares every case for trial, and will never pressure you into fast resolutions before we have all the information to understand the long-term impact of your injuries. Our approach ensures your compensation will provide the financial relief you need both now and in the future in the event that ongoing treatments are required.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Colorado

The actions you take after a motorcycle accident will play an important role in protecting your rights and ensuring you don’t jeopardize your ability to maximize your compensation in a future lawsuit. The following tips will ensure you know what to do.

While you’re still at the accident scene, make sure to take the following actions:

• Request Emergency Medical Treatment for Critical Injuries – If anyone has been seriously injured, call 911 to request emergency medical assistance right away.
• Exchange Information with Other Drivers – Important information to exchange includes the other driver’s name, address, phone number, driver’s license number, vehicle make/model/license plate number, and insurance information.
• Document the Accident Scene – Gather as much evidence as possible while you’re still at the accident scene. Take photos and videos of the damage to all vehicles, the positioning of vehicles (if they aren’t moved out of traffic), any indicators (such as skid marks) that can shed light on the cause of the accident, and any visible injuries you’ve sustained.
• Call the Police – Before leaving the scene, call the police and request that an officer be dispatched to file an accident report. This police report can provide critical evidence supporting your claim, including the officer’s assessment of fault and any citations issued to the other driver.

There are still several important steps to take once you’ve left the accident scene:

• Seek Medical Attention – Get examined by your doctor within 48-72 hours, even if you don’t appear to be injured. Sometimes it can take days or weeks for symptoms to appear, and prompt treatment is often critical to prevent more serious issues from developing. Seeking medical attention will also help you document your injuries for a future lawsuit.
• Contact Your Insurance Company – Call your insurance company to inform them of the accident. Answer their questions honestly, but don’t admit fault or provide an official statement without speaking to a lawyer first.
• Contact a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer – Hiring a Denver motorcycle accident lawyer right away will ensure your rights are protected throughout the entire legal process.
• Document Your Expenses – In a safe location, store all financial records associated with medical bills, assistive equipment required at your home (if necessary), rehabilitation costs, repair bills for your bike, and lost wages.

For a more detailed discussion of the actions you should take, please read our full What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident blog post.

Why Timing Matters After a Motorcycle Accident

Time is of the essence after you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident. Hiring an experienced motorcycle accident attorney right away is critical to the achieving the best possible outcome for your case. It gives your lawyer an opportunity to investigate the accident while all the evidence is fresh. Over time, witnesses may forget important details and evidence may get misplaced. Building the strongest possible case requires prompt action from your lawyer.

Why Motorcycle Accident Claims Are Different

Motorcycle accident cases are different than other types of motor vehicle accident claims. There are certain unique challenges associated with them that require the expertise of an attorney who specializes in motorcycle accidents.

Greater Injury Severity

Motorcycles lack the protective cabin provided by a car, so crashes often involve serious, life-altering injuries. These catastrophic injuries can result in higher medical bills, longer recovery times, greater lost wages and a greater likelihood of future medical procedures. As a result, damages in motorcycle accident cases are typically larger than in car accident claims. This requires more detailed documentation, expert testimony and an attorney with a more sophisticated understanding of complex medical-legal principles.

Bias Against Motorcycle Riders

Motorcycle riders often have a harder time getting a fair settlement from insurance or a fair jury award due to bias against riders that isn’t present with drivers of other vehicles. Most jurors have never ridden a motorcycle and form their opinions of riders based on news media, which often promotes misleading statistics and information about motorcyclists. This often leads jurors to believe motorcycle riders are inherently more likely to engage in reckless behavior such as speeding, unsafe maneuvers and failing to follow the rules of the road than drivers of cars.

Insurance companies are aware of this bias and will often make lowball offers as a result. It’s critical to work with an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer who understands the specific strategies to overcome this bias and ensure your settlement reflects the facts of the case, not the perceptions of motorcycle riders held by the general public.

Learn more about the documented bias against motorcycle riders.

Disputed Liability

Fault is more hotly disputed in motorcycle accidents. It’s common for insurance companies to argue the rider was engaging in dangerous behavior that contributed to the crash, such as speeding, lane splitting or making sudden maneuvers. In addition, motorcycles are less visible than other types of vehicles, and this often leads to crashes involving blind spots where other drivers claim they “didn’t see” the motorcycle. These claims can create conflicting accounts of what happened, requiring more concrete evidence to prove fault compared to accidents involving two cars.

Reviewed by Brian Pushchak, Attorney, CO Bar #43705

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Colorado

Some of the most common causes of motorcycle accidents in Denver and throughout Colorado include:

• Left-Turn Accidents – One of the most frequent and deadly types of motorcycle crashes occurs when a car turns left in front of an oncoming motorcycle. This often happens at intersections when the driver misjudges the bike’s speed or simply doesn’t see it at all.
• Right-of-Way Violations – Roughly one-third of all motorcycle accidents happen at intersections, often due to other drivers failing to yield the right of way to the rider.
• Illegal or Unsafe Lane Changes – Because motorcycles take up less space, drivers may assume a lane is clear when it isn’t. Making unsafe lane changes without checking blind spots can lead to sideswipe collisions or situations where riders are forced off the road.
• Speeding or Aggressive Driving – Drivers who are speeding or driving aggressively have reduced reaction time, and the increased speed will magnify the impact severity in the event of an accident.
• Driving Under the Influence – Alcohol and drug impairment contribute to a significant number of fatal motorcycle crashes. Drunk or high drivers have slower reaction times, impaired depth perception, and poor awareness of smaller vehicles like motorcycles.
• Distracted Driving – Cell phone use, paying attention to the video screens on modern vehicles, and other in-car distractions reduce a driver’s ability to react quickly and contribute to a large number of motorcycle accidents.

At Pushchak Law, we’ve handled hundreds of motorcycle accident cases, including many associated with these common causes. Mr. Pushchak knows how to prove fault in all of these situations, giving you the edge you need when seeking to maximize your compensation.

Serious Injuries in Motorcycle Accident Cases

The lack of protection afforded by motorcycles means that motorcycle accident injuries are often catastrophic in nature. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcycle accidents account for 14% of all traffic fatalities despite comprising only 3% of all registered vehicles. In addition, data released by the Insurance Information Institute found that there are 992 injuries per 100,000 registered motorcycles.

At Pushchak Law, we’ve witnessed the devastating nature of motorcycle accident injuries firsthand, and we understand the ways in which they can affect your life in both the short and long term. Some of the serious motorcycle accident injuries we’ve helped our clients receive maximum compensation for include:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries – Traumatic brain injuries are one of the most serious motorcycle accident injuries you can suffer. In cases of a severe brain injury, you may experience permanent disabilities. Wearing a helmet has been proven to significantly reduce the likelihood and severity of brain injuries during a motorcycle accident, making them an essential piece of safety gear.
• Spinal Cord Injuries – Your spine is one of the areas of your body most susceptible to injury in a motorcycle accident. While the thoracic spine is the most common area to be damaged in a motorcycle accident, you can potentially injure any region of your spinal column during a high-speed crash. Spinal cord injuries during a motorcycle accident are often very severe, resulting in chronic pain, nerve damage or paralysis.
• Internal Injuries – It’s common to sustain damage to internal organs or suffer internal bleeding from a motorcycle accident. These injuries are typically caused by blunt-force trauma (trauma that doesn’t penetrate the skin) or penetration trauma which occurs when a sharp object penetrates the skin.
• Abdominal Injuries – Common abdominal and chest injuries occurring during a motorcycle accident include fractured ribs, lung lacerations, heart lacerations and other vascular injuries.
• Road Rash – Road rash is a skin abrasion that develops when riders come into contact with the surface of the road during an accident. Road rash can range in severity from mild to extremely severe and will require medical attention in serious cases. It’s common for road rash to result in serious infections, nerve damage or permanent scarring.
• Injuries to Your Extremities – It’s common to suffer injuries to your arms, legs, hands and feet during a motorcycle accident. Some of the most common include broken bones, biker’s arm, and muscle and soft tissue injuries.
• Psychological Trauma – Not all motorcycle accident injuries are physical in nature. It’s also common for victims to experience debilitating psychological trauma related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which may require lifelong therapy and support.

The goal of the law is that you should be “made whole” for injuries caused by another person’s negligent actions. At Pushchak Law, we have extensive experience calculating the value of damages after a motorcycle accident, and we’ll leverage all possible economic and non-economic damages available to you to ensure your compensation covers the full impact the crash had on your life.

Discover the factors that impact your compensation in a motorcycle accident case.

Learn how damages are calculated in a motorcycle accident case.

Understanding Colorado Motorcycle Laws

Riders in Denver must adhere to Colorado’s motorcycle laws. These comprehensive laws establish clear guidelines regarding how motorcycles are used, the equipment required, licensure requirements, and more. Some of the most important Colorado motorcycle laws to be aware of include:

• Required equipment:
  • You must have at least one side-view mirror to drive on main roads.
  • Headlights and taillights are mandatory at night. For your headlight, you must use a white light that projects at least 500 feet in front of the motorcycle.
  • You must have mufflers on your motorcycle in order to ride on highways, interstates and other major roads in Colorado.
• Protective gear requirements:
  • Wearing a DOT-approved helmet is mandatory for all riders and passengers under the age of 18. Helmets are optional for riders age 18 and over.
  • Eye protection is required for all motorcycle riders and passengers. Acceptable eye protection includes visors on a helmet, or goggles/eyeglasses with lenses made from plastic or safety glass.
• Lane splitting laws:
  • Lane splitting is illegal in Colorado. This refers to riding your motorcycle between two lanes of moving vehicles.
  • Lane filtering is legal in Colorado during a three-year trial period from August 7, 2024 through September 1, 2027. This refers to riding your motorcycle past a stopped vehicle in the same lane. Learn more about the strict conditions that must be met for lane filtering to be permitted.
• Laws governing motorcycle passengers:
  • Motorcycle passengers must either ride on the seat behind the driver and use the footrests, or ride in a side car or an enclosed cab
  • There are no age restrictions for motorcycle passengers
• Colorado motorcycle license requirements:
  • To operate a motorcycle in Colorado, you must have a valid state driver’s license and then add a motorcycle endorsement to your license. This isn’t a separate license; it’s just an addendum to your regular driver’s license that demonstrates you’ve completed the requirements to safely operate a motorcycle.

How Colorado’s Comparative Negligence Law Affects Motorcycle Accident Claims

You can’t always get compensation for a motorcycle injury. Colorado adheres to a modified comparative negligence doctrine when determining compensation after a motorcycle accident. This means you can only get compensation for a motorcycle accident injury if other driver’s negligence is 51% or more responsible for your injury. In other words, you have to be less than 50% responsible for your accident to get compensation. In addition, your compensation will be reduced by the degree to which you are deemed responsible for your injury.

Insurance companies will try to shift blame onto motorcyclists to reduce payouts. This is why it’s critical to work with an experienced motorcycle accident attorney who can conclusively prove the other driver was at fault.

Reviewed by Brian Pushchak, Attorney, CO Bar #43705

How Insurance Companies Try to Undervalue Motorcycle Accident Claims

It’s important to understand that the insurance company isn’t on your side. Their goal is to minimize the amount of money they pay on your case. Some of the most common tactics insurance companies will use to undervalue your claim include:

• Bias and Blame Shifting – Insurance companies will often lean on common biases against motorcycle riders which depict them as inherently reckless in order to argue you were partially or mostly at fault.
• Attacks on Medical Causation and Severity – Insurance companies will often argue that your injuries were associated with a pre-existing condition, exaggerated or completely unrelated to the accident, especially when there is a prior medical history, delayed symptoms or a delay in seeking medical treatment after the accident.
• Complicated Documentation Requirements and Claims Processes – Insurance companies will often demand broad or unnecessary medical records and other paperwork, then say you failed to provide the required documentation. These tactics are used to prolong the claims process to wear you down and make a smaller settlement look more attractive.
• Lowball Settlement Tactics – Insurance companies will often offer lowball settlements early in the process, sometimes even before the full diagnosis and long-term costs are known, in order to lock you into an undervalued settlement at a time when you’re feeling immense financial pressure.
• Narrow Valuation of Damages – Insurance companies may focus exclusively on initial medical bills while ignoring future medical costs and minimizing the impact caused by non-economic damages.

Mr. Pushchak has seen these tactics used many times, and he knows the proper strategies necessary to ensure they don’t negatively impact your compensation. His approach focuses on thorough investigation, expert witness support and trial-ready preparation to ensure you maximize the value of your compensation.