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If a crash in Kansas City left you injured, you might already feel the unfair bias shifting onto you. It’s a common story: stereotypes about reckless motorcyclists surface fast, sometimes from the police and almost always from insurance adjusters.
You have the same rights as any other driver on the road. The fact that you were on a motorcycle cannot be used as evidence that you were at fault. A Kansas City, MO motorcycle accident lawyer’s job is to make sure that fact is respected.
Your focus should be on one thing—healing. Let us handle the deadlines, the paperwork, and the fight against unfair assumptions. If you have questions about what happened, we’re here to answer them. Call Walner Law for a free consultation at (312) 410-8496.
After a serious motorcycle accident, you need a law firm with a deep understanding of personal injury law and a history of standing up for its clients.
You might be wondering if a firm that isn’t physically in Kansas City could give your case the attention it needs. It’s a fair question when your health and financial stability are on the line.
For over 50 years, Walner Law has represented injured clients, recovering over $1 billion for thousands of individuals. Our practice is built on treating clients like family and providing support that goes beyond the legal claim.
A motorcycle wreck rewrites every aspect of life in an instant. Unlike in a car, there is no steel frame, no airbags, no seatbelt, just you. The injuries are frequently severe and life-altering.
Common injuries we see include:
The purpose of a personal injury claim is to make you financially “whole” again by accounting for every loss the accident inflicted. Compensation is broken into three main types.
These are the tangible, billable losses you’ve suffered.
These damages compensate you for the human cost of the wreck, the losses that don’t come with a receipt but are just as real.
In rare situations where the at-fault driver’s behavior was outrageously reckless, like in some high-speed DUI cases, a court might award punitive damages. These are not for your losses but are meant to punish the wrongdoer and send a clear message that such conduct will not be tolerated.
In almost every motorcycle accident case, the other driver’s insurance company will conduct an investigation to find any reason to blame you. They know that shifting even 10% or 20% of the fault onto your shoulders saves them thousands of dollars.
This is where a legal rule called “comparative fault” becomes important. Missouri uses a “pure comparative fault” system. Think of it like a pie chart of responsibility. The law allows you to recover money for your injuries even if you are found partially to blame—whether it’s 10% or even 99%. However, your final compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Our role is to protect you from unfair blame. We gather every piece of evidence including police reports, witness accounts, traffic camera footage, and accident reconstruction analysis, to build a clear picture of the other driver’s negligence. Our goal is to ensure no amount of blame is unjustly put on you.
Kansas City’s mix of sprawling highways, dense urban streets, and complex interchanges creates known danger zones for motorcyclists. Certain areas consistently show up in traffic data as high-risk.
Missouri saw a record high of 175 motorcyclist fatalities in a recent year, a 14% increase from the year before. This spike is nearly 50% higher than the average before the state’s helmet law was changed in 2020. Crashes are most frequent in major metro areas like Kansas City.
Accidents happen most frequently at:
Identifying the true cause of your crash is the bedrock of a successful injury claim. Most motorcycle accidents are not the rider’s fault. They are caused by car and truck drivers who fail to see or respect a motorcyclist’s right to be on the road.
The most common causes include:
Here is a simplified, step-by-step look at how a motorcycle accident claim typically proceeds.
In 2020, Missouri repealed its universal helmet law. Now, riders 26 and older are not required to wear a helmet if they have health insurance. However, an insurance company will still argue that your injuries, particularly a head injury, are worse than they would have been with a helmet. This does not prevent you from filing a claim. Our job is to prove the other driver’s negligence caused the crash itself, which is the root cause of all your injuries, regardless of helmet use.
Generally, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Missouri is five years from the date of the accident. However, there are exceptions that shorten this deadline. For example, if your claim is against a government entity for a dangerous road, you may have a much shorter notice period. It is always best to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.
No. You are not legally required to provide a recorded statement to the at-fault party’s insurer. The adjuster is trained to ask questions designed to get you to say something that could be used to minimize or deny your claim. Politely decline and tell them to direct all communication to your lawyer.
Missouri law requires every driver to carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. This is insurance you pay for that covers your injuries if you are hit by someone with no insurance or by a hit-and-run driver. We can help you file a claim with your own insurance company under your UM policy.
The law in Missouri is ambiguous. There is no statute that explicitly forbids or permits “lane splitting” (riding between two lanes of moving traffic). However, police may still ticket a rider for an unsafe maneuver, and in an accident, it could be used to argue you were partially at fault. “Lane sharing,” where two motorcycles ride side-by-side in the same lane, is generally legal.
Not at all. A police report is just one piece of evidence, and it is not the final word. Officers are human; they make mistakes or base their conclusions on incomplete information. We will conduct our own independent investigation to uncover the true cause of the crash.
Your energy needs to be on your recovery. The legal system is difficult to manage on your own, and facing an unfair bias from an insurance company is a burden you shouldn’t have to carry.
We have the experience and dedication to handle every part of your claim, from the initial investigation to the final negotiation. Let us put our 50 years of experience to work for you. For a free, no-obligation case review, call us now at (312) 410-8496.
