Multi-vehicle crash on 405 Freeway takes motorcyclist’s life

Despite public perception to the contrary, motorcyclists are often more safety conscious than drivers of cars and trucks — and for good reason. Even when a motorcycle rider takes proper safety precautions and follows the rules of the road, the risk of serious injury is high in the event of a collision.

Consider a recent fatal accident on the 405 Freeway. At the time of a Jan. 14 news report, police were still investigating the multi-vehicle crash, which took the life of a motorcyclist from Van Nuys and sent two other people to the hospital.

The initial collision happened when a pickup truck on the northbound side of the freeway hit a car. Debris from that collision landed on the southbound 405 and struck another vehicle. In trying to avoid the debris on the southbound freeway, a Volkswagen driver swerved, hitting the 39-year-old motorcyclist, who was thrown from the bike and sadly was declared deceased at the scene.

Establishing liability after such a tragic accident is always a complicated matter, even when it seems clear to the deceased victim’s family that one particular party is at fault. If the wrongful death case goes to trial, then the negligent driver’s lawyer may try to shift blame onto the deceased or try to show that another party is responsible for the crash.

Because motorcyclists often face prejudice in the courtroom, it is especially important that the families of deceased riders have legal representation with experience in arriving at the relevant facts of the case and putting jurors’ prejudice to rest.