Failure to Signal: Is It Negligence in a South Carolina Motorcycle Accident?
According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, motorcyclists easily fall within blind spots. A driver might think that they’re alone on the road – and assume there is no need to indicate. After all, what’s the point of signaling if there’s no one around to see your lights? What many drivers fail to realize is that even if the road appears to be empty, there could be a motorcyclist in their blind spot. Failing to signal in this manner has led to many motorcycle accidents in South Carolina. But does it count as a form of negligence?
Why Is Proving Negligence Important After a Motorcycle Accident?
South Carolina is an at-fault state when it comes to car accidents, which means you must prove negligence in order to recover compensation for your injuries. In other words, you must show that the driver who caused your accident did something wrong. If you cannot establish the four elements of negligence (duty of care, breach, causation, and injuries), you may struggle to recover the compensation needed to cover your injuries.
Failing to Signal Is a Clear Form of Negligence
The good news is that failing to signal is one of the most obvious forms of negligence. This is technically a traffic offense, and drivers may receive tickets for this unsafe maneuver – even if they do not cause crashes. Failure to signal might be just one form of negligence associated with a particular driver, and they may have also been distracted or intoxicated.
How Do You Prove that a Driver Failed to Signal?
While it may be challenging to prove that a driver failed to signal before your motorcycle accident, an experienced personal injury lawyer can collect, compile, and present the necessary evidence. Perhaps the most obvious form of evidence in this situation is witness testimony. A motorist, pedestrian, or cyclist may have seen the accident unfold – and they may testify on your behalf.
You might also refer to video footage. Perhaps you have a camera mounted on your motorcycle, and you saved the footage of your crash. Maybe the entire incident was captured by a traffic camera, a surveillance camera, or something similar.
It may not be necessary to prove that a driver failed to signal if you can establish some other form of negligence. For example, a police officer may have determined that the motorist was intoxicated after arriving at the crash scene – and this could be sufficient to establish negligence.
Contact Mickelsen Dalton, LLC Today
If you believe that a driver failed to indicate before your collision, you have every right to pursue legal action. A personal injury lawsuit in South Carolina can ensure accountability, compensation, and a sense of closure. With help from the Charleston motorcycle accident lawyers at Mickelsen Dalton, LLC, you can recover everything you need to cover medical bills, missed wages, emotional distress, and other damages. Reach out today to get started with an action plan.
Sources:
msf-usa.org/msf-news/check-your-blind-spots-an-extra-look-can-save-a-life/
wmbfnews.com/2024/06/06/2-hurt-conway-area-crash-involving-motorcycle/
