Massachusetts Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Serving Brockton and Southeastern MA

If you were injured in a motorcycle crash in Massachusetts, you already know that riders are treated unfairly — by careless drivers on the road and by insurance companies after the crash. At Shea Culgin Law, attorneys Robert Shea and Joseph Culgin bring more than 40 years of combined experience fighting for injured riders across Brockton, Plymouth County, and all of southeastern Massachusetts. We handle every motorcycle case on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we recover for you.

Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable people on the road. Without the protection of an enclosed vehicle, riders absorb the full force of a collision. Nationally, motorcyclists are roughly 22 times more likely to die in a crash per mile traveled than passenger-vehicle occupants, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In Massachusetts, motorcyclists have historically accounted for a disproportionate share of traffic deaths — in recent years between roughly 40 and 60 rider fatalities annually, a figure that often represents around 15% of all motor vehicle deaths in the Commonwealth despite motorcycles being a small fraction of registered vehicles, based on data from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The hard truth is that most motorcycle crashes are not the rider’s fault — they are caused by drivers who fail to see the motorcycle or fail to yield. Yet insurers reflexively try to blame the rider. Contact Shea Culgin Law today for a free consultation or call our Brockton office at 508-510-5107.

---

---

The Bias Against Motorcyclists — and How We Fight It

Motorcycle accident cases carry a unique obstacle that car accident cases do not: a deep, often unspoken prejudice against riders. Insurance adjusters, and sometimes jurors, walk into a case assuming the motorcyclist was speeding, weaving, or “reckless.” Defense lawyers exploit that bias to reduce or deny otherwise valid claims.

The data tells a different story. The majority of multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes are caused by the other driver — most often a driver who turns left across a rider’s path or pulls out from a side street, claiming they “never saw” the motorcycle. Overcoming the bias requires methodically rebuilding the crash with physical evidence, witness testimony, and accident reconstruction so the facts speak louder than the stereotype.

At Shea Culgin Law, we anticipate the bias from day one. We document the rider’s lawful conduct, preserve scene evidence, and frame the case around the at-fault driver’s failure to yield or watch for motorcycles. We treat our clients as the responsible road users they are.

---

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Massachusetts

Step 1: Get to Safety and Call 911

If you can move, get out of traffic. Call 911 — Massachusetts requires reporting any crash involving injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage. A police report creates an official record that protects you against the “I never saw him” defense.

Step 2: Seek Immediate Medical Care

Always accept medical evaluation, even if you feel able to stand. Motorcycle crashes frequently cause internal injuries and concussions that are not immediately obvious, and prompt treatment links your injuries to the crash.

Step 3: Document the Scene

Photograph the vehicles, your motorcycle, the road, traffic controls, skid marks, and your injuries. Get the other driver’s information and the names of any witnesses. In left-turn and failure-to-yield cases, witness accounts are gold.

Step 4: Preserve Your Gear

Do not repair or discard your helmet, jacket, or riding gear. Damaged gear is physical evidence of the forces involved and can corroborate the severity of the crash.

Step 5: Do Not Admit Fault and Do Not Give a Recorded Statement

Be civil, but do not apologize or speculate about fault. Decline to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement until you have spoken with an attorney.

Step 6: Call a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

The sooner counsel is involved, the sooner evidence is preserved and the bias is countered. Shea Culgin Law offers free consultations to injured riders.

---

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Left-Turn Collisions

The single most common and deadly motorcycle crash pattern occurs when a car turns left across the path of an oncoming motorcycle. These crashes account for a large share of multi-vehicle motorcycle fatalities. The turning driver almost always bears the liability for failing to yield to oncoming traffic.

Failure to Yield and Unsafe Lane Changes

Drivers pulling out from intersections, driveways, and parking lots, or changing lanes without checking blind spots, routinely strike motorcyclists they failed to notice.

Distracted and Impaired Driving

A driver looking at a phone is far less likely to detect a smaller motorcycle. Impaired drivers pose an even greater danger to riders.

Dooring

A driver or passenger who opens a car door into the path of a passing motorcycle can cause a catastrophic crash. Massachusetts law prohibits opening a door into traffic.

Hazardous Road Conditions

Potholes, loose gravel, uneven pavement, and debris that a car would shrug off can throw a motorcycle. When a government entity or contractor negligently maintained the road, additional liability may exist.

Speeding and Tailgating by Other Drivers

Drivers who follow too closely or speed give themselves no time to react to a motorcycle slowing or stopping ahead.

---

Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries

Because riders are exposed, motorcycle crashes tend to produce more severe injuries than car crashes, including:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) — even with a helmet, the forces involved can cause concussions and lasting cognitive harm
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Road rash — severe abrasions that can require skin grafts and lead to infection and permanent scarring
• Broken bones — especially legs, arms, wrists, and collarbones
• Internal organ damage and internal bleeding
• Amputations — traumatic or surgical
• Disfigurement and permanent scarring

These injuries often require surgery, extended rehabilitation, and sometimes lifelong care, which is why fully valuing future medical needs and lost earning capacity is essential.

---

Massachusetts Motorcycle Laws You Need to Know

Universal Helmet Law

Massachusetts is one of a minority of states with a universal helmet law — under MGL Chapter 90, Section 7, every motorcycle operator and passenger must wear a helmet that meets federal safety standards. Compliance is high, and helmets are highly effective: NHTSA estimates helmets reduce the risk of death by about 37% for operators and significantly reduce the risk of serious head injury.

Does Not Wearing a Helmet Bar My Claim?

If you were properly helmeted, the defense cannot use helmet use against you. If you were not wearing a required helmet, the defense may argue that the lack of a helmet contributed to head injuries — but it does not automatically bar your claim, and it has no bearing on injuries unrelated to the head. Massachusetts comparative negligence still allows recovery if you are not more than 50% at fault.

Lane Splitting Is Illegal

Massachusetts prohibits lane splitting — riding between lanes of traffic. While a rider’s lane splitting can be raised as comparative negligence, it does not eliminate the other driver’s responsibility.

Licensing and Equipment

Riders must hold a motorcycle license or permit and the motorcycle must meet equipment requirements. The at-fault driver remains liable for the crash they caused regardless of these issues, which go to comparative fault at most.

---

Insurance and No-Fault Rules for Riders

Here is a critical point many riders do not know: Massachusetts no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) does not apply to motorcycles. The state’s PIP system, which pays the first $8,000 of medical bills and lost wages for car occupants regardless of fault, excludes motorcycles. That means an injured rider’s medical bills are not covered by PIP the way a car occupant’s would be.

This makes other coverage especially important for riders:

• The at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage — your primary source of recovery
• Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage — vital when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, which is common given the severity of motorcycle injuries
• Medical payments (MedPay) coverage, if you carry it on your motorcycle policy
• Your private health insurance

Because PIP does not protect riders, carrying robust UM/UIM coverage is one of the smartest things a Massachusetts motorcyclist can do — and maximizing every available policy after a crash is a core part of what we do.

---

Damages You Can Recover After a Motorcycle Accident

Economic Damages

• Past and future medical expenses, including surgery and rehabilitation
• Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
• Property damage to your motorcycle and gear
• Long-term and home care costs for catastrophic injuries

Non-Economic Damages

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Disfigurement and permanent scarring — significant in road-rash and amputation cases
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium for spouses and family

Wrongful Death and Punitive Damages

When a rider is killed, surviving family may pursue a wrongful death claim under MGL Chapter 229, Section 2, which also permits punitive damages where the at-fault conduct was willful, wanton, or reckless — for example, a drunk driver who killed a rider.

---

Why You Need a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Riders face a defense built on prejudice and an insurance system that excludes them from no-fault protection. An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer evens the odds by:

• Countering the anti-rider bias with reconstruction, witnesses, and physical evidence
• Proving the other driver’s failure to yield, especially in left-turn crashes
• Identifying and stacking every available insurance policy, including your own UM/UIM
• Fully valuing catastrophic injuries, including future care and lost earning capacity
• Refusing lowball offers and preparing the case for trial

At Shea Culgin Law, we ride with you through the entire process. We serve injured riders throughout Brockton, Plymouth County, and southeastern Massachusetts.

---

Frequently Asked Questions About Motorcycle Accidents in Massachusetts

---

---