[william_calero]

i recently got into a motorcycle accident, some guy didnt completly stop at a stop sign, the investigation came up with the guy being at fault, with failure to stop. has anyone gotten into a motorcycle accident, not at fault, but without a motorcycle driver license?.. what was the outcome?

 

[Klo1320]

doesn't sound good. you should try and get your license right away.

 

[sawdustking]

I only had a permit when I got hit in '93. Doesn't matter. If he, his lawyers, or his insurance company even mention it, it will only bias the court against them. Pay your fine and forget about it.

Did you get injured? If so I've got a whole bunch of advice for you...

 

[tomv12]

You might want to talk to an attorney and see what they think. Being without a license though puts you on thin ice.

 

[GPD270]

I have seen something like this happen with vehicle wrecks. I am assuming you have a drivers lic. but not an endorsement.

A few years ago I investigated a wreck where a lady with a valid lic. ran a stop light and hit another car who's driver did not have a lic. The ladies insurance company refused to pay for the damages because they said the guy should not have been on the road to begin with. Never found out what happened, if they paid or not.

 

[sawdustking]

If there is any injuries involved, whether or not someone has a valid right to drive or not is secondary to bodily injury. If a burglar breaks into your house and your dog bites him, you are liable for the burglars injuries and he may have been in the process of committing a felony. Trust me, State Farm never even brought up my "riding in violation of permit" citation, and they tried everything else imaginable to get out of paying up, so I don't think they would have a leg to stand on in court, at least if there is an injury.

 

[aaron_mahnken]

You didn't have a license, but did you have a permit? What about insurance?

You probably won't get the bike back, and if you still owe on the bike, you may still be paying for a bike that got totaled

 

[sawdustking]

I had a drivers license but only a learners permit to ride a motorcycle. No health insurance. The bike was totaled and the first thing State Farm did was write me a check for the price I paid for the bike because I had bought it less than a year before. Later, after I had totaled $40,000 in medical bills they essentially tried to starve me out so I'd settle for just getting my bills paid off so I got a lawyer and took the whole $100,000 (in addition to the bike). Paid the lawyer $19,200 and he got $7200 back out of the medical bills. The blind old bat that hit me was cited for "failure to yield one half of the roadway" after she hit me at a combined closing speed of 85mph. Never heard a word about not having a valid motorcycle license. Got a fine, but that was it.

I would have had a valid license except that Iowa had just passed a law requiring a MSF course to get one and they were booked for a year and a half. I eventually took the course and got a valid license.

 

[Toecutter]

..........Attorney......

 

[sawdustking]

You can do it without an attorney but you need to hang the threat over their heads the whole time.
First ask what the other party's liability limits are. When they give you a bullshit answer like "I don't have that information at the moment." tell them they've got 3 minutes to call you back with their clients information before you call your lawyer. That should start things on the right foot. If your injuries are at all substantial you might as well let them know that it'll take the limit to settle up. The part that really sucks is that if you have health insurance and they are paying your bills as they come in, then they get the first shot at your settlement and you get whatever's left.

If you have to go to an attorney, ask for a stepped contingency contract. That way the more work he does the more he gets paid. If you've got the other party dead to rights, he'll just have to research the case for a couple of months and write them a letter. In that case the insurance co. will just settle up. The added benefit to getting a lawyer is that he will find out what the other party has (to take in a lawsuit). If you're in Iowa and he has a few thousand acres of prime farmland (several million dollars), then your lawyer will know to ask for far more than the insurance policy.

 

[Grey Ghost R1]

I'm in my first year of law school. So my opinion is worth nothing except for the following: only a lawyer from your jurisdiction can authoritatively give you the rule in law in your area.

That being said, we just went over this type of situation in Torts class. And based on what we learned, I doubt your lack of license exculpates the other driver from liability.

I would also speculate that unless you were hurt in the accident and therefore have damages going into several tens of thousands of dollars, you are probably not going to get a lawyer to take the case on contingency and therefore any lawyers you talk to may say you don't really have a case here because lawyers have to look at cases in terms of keeping their own lights on. Keep that in mind when you're talking to a lawyer.

I would say your best scenario is if you can prove you were not at fault and have a broken bone or two.

 

[garrisonrex]

take the written permit test(its easy), and then take the riding test, u'll pass if your riding on any streets, and just say that ur waiting for ur license to be mailed to you. i got a speeding ticket and told the cop i just took the riding test 2 days before, and he didn't even care, just said, show up to court with the mailed license, and u'll be ok.