Alaska Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

When do most Alaska motorcycle crashes happen?

During the summer riding season, when a few months of good weather bring riders, tourists and construction crews onto the same roads. Most riders put their bikes away for the winter, so crashes cluster in the long days of late spring through early fall.

That timing creates its own risks. Visitors driving rental RVs on unfamiliar highways, road crews patching winter damage and long daylight hours that keep people riding late all add up. The Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm, the Glenn Highway toward Matanuska Glacier, the Parks Highway toward Denali and the Richardson Highway toward Valdez are popular scenic rides with heavy summer traffic.

What road hazards lead to Alaska rider claims?

Many Alaska motorcycle crashes involve road conditions as well as other drivers. Riders face hazards that four-wheeled vehicles often handle without trouble.

• Frost heaves and pavement breaks left over from winter.
• Loose gravel at the edges of paved roads and on long unpaved highways.
• Construction zones with uneven lanes, steel plates and pilot car delays.
• Moose, caribou and other wildlife crossing at dawn and dusk.
• RVs and trailers that drift across lanes or pull out slowly from turnouts.

When another driver caused the crash, the claim runs against that driver. When a contractor left a hazard unmarked or failed to follow a traffic control plan, the contractor may also share responsibility. Claims involving public road maintenance raise their own immunity questions, which our page on government and public property claims explains.

How does a rider's share of fault change the recovery in Alaska?

It lowers the award but does not eliminate it. Alaska's pure comparative fault rule lets a rider recover even if the jury finds the rider more at fault than the other driver.

Consider a rider heading south on the Parks Highway who collides with a pickup pulling out of a turnout without looking. The rider's damages total $220,000. The defense argues the rider was traveling too fast for the gravel on the shoulder and the jury assigns the rider 30% of the fault. The rider still recovers $154,000. Even if the jury had found the rider 60% at fault, the rider would recover $88,000. In a state with a 50% bar, that rider would recover nothing.

Does not wearing a helmet hurt an Alaska motorcycle claim?

It might affect the damages discussion, but it does not change who caused the crash. Alaska's helmet law is age-based and focuses on younger riders, so many adult riders legally ride without one.

Insurers sometimes argue that a helmet would have reduced a head injury. Whether that argument is allowed and how much weight it carries depends on the injury and the evidence. It has little relevance to a broken leg or a spinal injury that a helmet would not have prevented. If you wore a helmet, keep it. The damage can help show how the crash happened.

How do caps and costs affect a serious rider injury in Alaska?

Alaska limits noneconomic damages in most injury cases, which puts extra weight on proving medical costs, lost wages and future care. Riders often suffer fractures, road rash, brain injuries and spinal injuries that require months of treatment.

Costs pile up quickly when a crash happens far from a trauma center:

1. Ambulance or air medical transport to Anchorage or out of state.
2. Surgery, hospital stays and rehabilitation.
3. Travel and lodging for family members during treatment.
4. Lost work during a short season, which can be critical for seasonal workers and guides.
5. Long-term care or home changes after a permanent injury.

Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may help when the at-fault driver's limits are low. Some motorcycle policies include medical payments coverage as well.

What should an injured rider do next?

Protect your health and the evidence, then get advice before speaking with insurers. Bias against riders is real, and early statements are often used to support it.

Keep your bike, gear and helmet in their post-crash condition. Write down your speed, lane position and what you saw. Gather names of other riders who were with you, but remember that independent witnesses often carry more weight. Most Alaska claims must be filed within 2 years.

Learn more about rider claims on our motorcycle accident page, compare with our Alaska car accident guide, or see all Alaska claim types on our Alaska injury page. Our attorneys offer a free case review by phone or video, and you pay no fee unless we win.