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What happened in this case?
A motorcycle rider was killed in Vermilion Parish when a tractor-trailer turned in front of him. We represented his family in a wrongful death claim. The case settled for $500,000.
Figures shown are rounded; the exact amounts are on file. Past results are not a guarantee of future successes. Each case is different and is evaluated on its own facts.
On this page
- What made this case what it was?
- Why do insurance companies blame the rider?
- Does it matter if you were partly at fault in Louisiana?
- Why is a truck involved different from a car?
- Were you hit while riding in Acadiana?
- Frequently asked questions
What made this case what it was?
A tractor-trailer turned left directly across our client’s path. He braked hard and tried to get clear of the truck, but he had no room and no time, and the crash killed him.
Louisiana State Police found that the truck driver caused the crash and cited him for failure to yield. The rider got no ticket. His skid marks showed he was riding at the speed limit, a video recorded the crash as it happened, and an eyewitness saw the truck turn in front of him.
The defense still tried to make the rider the reason for the crash. The video answered that, because it showed him doing what a careful rider does when a truck turns across his lane. The case went to mediation and settled for $500,000 shortly afterward.
Why do insurance companies blame the rider?
Because it works, and because they only have to convince one or two people on a jury that a motorcycle is an inherently reckless thing to be riding. The defense in these cases is rarely “our driver did nothing wrong.” It is “the rider was speeding,” “the rider was lane splitting,” “nobody could have seen him,” or “he was not wearing the right gear,” argued to a panel where several people have never been on a bike.
The answer is not to argue about motorcycles. It is to prove what the truck did, using the physical evidence, the scene, and whatever the truck itself recorded, so that the question in front of the jury is the driver’s conduct rather than the rider’s lifestyle.
Does it matter if you were partly at fault in Louisiana?
Yes, and the rule changed recently enough that a lot of what you will find online about it is wrong. Since January 1, 2026, Louisiana bars recovery entirely when an injured person is found 51 percent or more at fault. Below that line, the award is still reduced by the injured person’s share of the fault, as it was before.
That is why the fault fight in a motorcycle case is the whole case. A defense that would once have shaved a percentage off the award can now end it.
This states the current rule, Louisiana Civil Code article 2323, in general terms. Louisiana generally applies a change like this only to crashes that happen after it takes effect, so the case above came under the earlier rule. How the change works, and which rule applies to your crash.
Why is a truck involved different from a car?
Because there is more coverage behind a commercial truck, and because the truck generates evidence a car does not. A commercial policy is written in layers and is usually far larger than a private driver’s, which matters enormously in a motorcycle case where injuries are severe by default. And a regulated carrier keeps records that can show what its driver was doing, though they are kept on a retention schedule measured in weeks and are gone if nobody asks in time.
Were you hit while riding in Acadiana?
Call (337) 347-7177 for a free consultation. If you lost someone in a motorcycle crash, we can talk with your family too. We handle motorcycle cases in Abbeville, Kaplan, Erath, Delcambre, and throughout Vermilion Parish and Acadiana. No fee unless we win.
Frequently asked questions
The police report blamed me. Is my case over?
No. A crash report is an officer’s opinion formed at the scene, often without the rider’s account because the rider was in an ambulance. It is evidence, it is not the final word, and reports get reconsidered when the physical evidence does not match them.
I was not wearing a helmet. Does that end it?
It does not end it, and how much it matters depends on the injuries and on the arguments the other side is allowed to make. Do not decide you have no case on that basis.
How much is a motorcycle accident case worth in Louisiana?
There is no honest average, and anyone quoting one is guessing. Motorcycle injuries tend to be severe, which raises the value, and the fault fight tends to be harder, which threatens it. What drives the number is the injury, the future care, the lost earning capacity, the strength of the liability proof, and how much coverage is available.
Related reading: Who is to blame in a motorcycle accident, what families need to know after a motorcycle accident, what to do after a motorcycle accident, and what truck accident cases are worth in Louisiana.
Past results are not a guarantee of future successes. Every case depends on its own facts. Attorney advertising.