Injured in a motorcycle accident in Lubbock, TX? James Perrin is an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Lubbock, Texas who can help you recover monetary compensation.
A motorcycle crash on a Lubbock road most often leaves you with broken bones, road rash, or a traumatic brain injury, and months away from work while you heal.
Because a motorcycle offers no frame, airbags, or seatbelt to absorb the impact, injuries tend to be severe from the very first collision.
Insurance adjusters know this, and they build their strategy around treating every rider as reckless by default so they can pay less than your claim is worth.
I’m James Perrin, founding attorney of Perrin Law PLLC Injury & Accident Lawyer. As an experienced Lubbock motorcycle accident attorney, I’ve spent more than 20 years litigating serious injury cases across Texas and eight other states, including a verdict recognized among the Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in Texas in 2022, and I handle every motorcycle case personally on a contingency-fee basis, so you pay nothing unless I win.
Contact me today for a free consultation.
What To Do After a Motorcycle Accident in Lubbock
If you called me from the crash scene, this is exactly what I’d tell you.
- Call 911 and stay put: A police report is your first piece of evidence for proving fault. Stay at the scene and move out of traffic, but do not leave.
- See a doctor immediately: Adrenaline masks injuries like internal bleeding and concussions. Any gap in treatment becomes the insurance company’s first argument that you wasn’t seriously hurt.
- Photograph everything: Your bike, helmet, gear, skid marks, road debris, and the other vehicle, before anything gets moved or cleaned up.
- Decline any recorded statement: Adjusters ask questions designed to get you to say something that reduces your claim. You are not required to give one.
- Call me before you call the adjuster: The sooner you hire me as your Lubbock motorcycle accident lawyer, the sooner I can preserve evidence and put the pressure where it belongs.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Texas Motorcycle Crash?
Liability, legal responsibility for your injuries, doesn’t always fall on one person. I investigate every party who contributed to the wreck.
- Negligent drivers: Left-turn violations and failure to yield are the leading cause of fatal motorcycle collisions.
- Trucking companies: Employers are often vicariously liable, legally responsible, for crashes caused by their commercial drivers on the job.
- Bars and restaurants: Texas dram shop law holds businesses accountable when they over-serve an intoxicated customer who then injures someone.
- Government entities: Defective road design, unmarked construction zones, or malfunctioning signals can make a city or county liable.
- Manufacturers: A failed brake, defective tire, or faulty frame creates a product liability claim against the company that built it.
One pattern I consistently see in motorcycle liability disputes out of Lubbock County is each party pointing at the others, the driver blaming road conditions, the trucking company blaming its own driver, while my client’s medical bills keep growing during the delay.
I name every party who may share responsibility as early as possible and build the case to hold up in Lubbock County District Court, because waiting for the defendants to sort out blame among themselves usually just means my client waits longer for a fair result.
What If You’re Partly at Fault?
Expect the insurance company to try to blame you, it’s their most reliable tool for paying less. Texas operates under modified comparative fault, also called the 51% bar rule, meaning you can still recover compensation as long as you’re found 50% or less responsible for the crash.
Your recovery is then reduced by your percentage of fault, which is why, as a skilled personal injury attorney in Lubbock, I fight inflated blame assessments from day one.
How Texas Motorcycle Laws Affect Your Case
Several specific laws shape how motorcycle accident claims play out in Texas.
- Lane splitting is illegal: Texas prohibits riding between lanes of moving traffic. If it applies to your crash, the defense will raise it.
- Helmet requirements: Riders 21 and older who carry adequate insurance or have completed a safety course are not required to wear a helmet. Texas law also prevents the defense from using helmet absence to reduce compensation for injuries unrelated to the head.
- Move Over law: Drivers must move over or slow down significantly when approaching any stopped vehicle with hazard lights active, a law frequently violated around downed motorcycles on Texas highways.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Lubbock
High-traffic corridors like Loop 289, 82nd Street, University Avenue, and the Slaton Highway see the same driver failures again and again, and riders always pay the price.
Left-Turn and Failure-to-Yield Crashes
A driver turns left across your path and claims they “didn’t see you”, which is itself evidence of inattention and the most common cause of fatal motorcycle collisions.
Distracted and Drunk Driving
A driver who is texting or impaired has a narrowed field of vision and slower reaction times, the exact conditions that make a motorcycle invisible until it’s too late.
Speeding and Unsafe Lane Changes
Failing to check mirrors or blind spots before merging forces riders off the road or into other vehicles at full speed.
Road Hazards and Defective Equipment
Potholes, unmarked construction zones, and manufacturing defects in motorcycle components cause crashes with no other driver involved, and each opens a separate liability claim.
A tactic I see repeatedly from adjusters handling motorcycle claims near I-27 and Loop 289 is leaning on the fact that no other vehicle was involved to argue the rider caused the crash alone.
That argument falls apart once I pull the city’s road maintenance records or the manufacturer’s defect history, which is why, as your Lubbock motorcycle accident lawyer, I request that documentation before the adjuster ever gets a chance to make the case disappear cheap.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Without a steel frame, airbags, or a seatbelt, a rider absorbs the full force of every collision. These injuries are catastrophic, often permanent, and far more expensive to treat than most people anticipate.
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI): The brain strikes the inside of the skull on impact, causing cognitive deficits, memory loss, and lasting disability.
- Spinal cord injury: Damage to the cord can mean partial or complete paralysis requiring a lifetime of complex medical management.
- Fractures: Broken bones frequently require surgical repair with plates and screws and often result in chronic pain and limited mobility.
- Road rash: Sliding across asphalt destroys skin and muscle tissue, requiring skin grafts and leaving permanent scarring.
- Internal organ damage: Blunt force to the chest or abdomen can cause life-threatening internal bleeding with no visible external signs.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Lubbock Motorcycle Crash?
Texas law allows injured riders to pursue economic damages for measurable financial losses, non-economic damages for pain and suffering, and, in cases of gross negligence, punitive damages designed to punish reckless conduct.
Medical Expenses and Future Care
This covers your ER visit, surgeries, rehabilitation, and any future treatment your injuries require.
Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
You can recover the income you’ve already missed and future wages lost if your injuries prevent you from returning to your prior work.
Pain, Suffering, and Mental Anguish
Texas law compensates for physical pain, emotional distress, disfigurement, and the loss of enjoyment of life that serious injuries cause.
Motorcycle and Gear Damage
I pursue the full cost to repair or replace your bike, helmet, leathers, and riding gear destroyed in the crash.
How Much Is a Lubbock Motorcycle Accident Case Worth?
No formula or online calculator can answer this. Case value depends on injury severity, your medical costs, lost income, the clarity of liability, and the at-fault driver’s available insurance.
I won’t put a number on your case until I know what you’ll need now and years from now. An early offer from the adjuster is almost never a fair one.
| Factor That Raises Value | Factor That Lowers Value |
| Clear liability, driver cited at scene | Disputed fault or shared blame |
| Surgery, TBI, or permanent disability | Soft-tissue injury with no imaging |
| Documented wage loss | Gaps in medical treatment |
| Commercial vehicle with high policy limits | Minimum-limits driver with no assets |
Should You Give the Insurance Company a Statement?
No. The at-fault driver’s insurer is not there to help you, their job is to minimize what they pay. Adjusters ask simple-sounding questions about your speed, gear, or lane position that are engineered to shift blame onto you. A five-minute phone call can permanently damage a strong claim.
Tell them you’re represented. All communication goes through my office.
What If the At-Fault Driver Had No Insurance?
If the driver who hit you carried no coverage, or not enough, your own policy may still protect you.
- Uninsured Motorist (UM): Pays when the at-fault driver carries no insurance at all, including hit-and-run crashes.
- Underinsured Motorist (UIM): Kicks in when the at-fault driver’s policy isn’t enough to cover your full damages.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): A no-fault coverage that pays initial medical bills and a portion of lost wages regardless of who caused the crash.
Even your own insurer will fight these claims. I force them to honor the coverage you already paid for.
How Long Do You Have to File a Motorcycle Accident Claim in Texas?
Texas gives you two years from the crash date to file a personal injury lawsuit, this deadline is called the statute of limitations. If a government entity is involved, you may have as little as six months to provide formal notice.
Waiting until close to the deadline is a mistake. Evidence disappears and witnesses forget long before the clock runs out.
How I Prove Your Motorcycle Case
Fair results come from preparation, not luck. I build every case as though it’s going to trial, because that posture is what compels insurance companies to pay what your claim is actually worth.
Crash Reconstruction and Black Box Data
I retain reconstruction experts and pull electronic data recorder (EDR) data, the vehicle’s “black box”, from commercial trucks to establish speed and driver behavior before impact.
Cell Phone Records and Driver History
I subpoena phone records to prove distraction and investigate the at-fault driver’s history of violations and prior crashes.
Scene Evidence and Witness Testimony
I get to the crash scene immediately to document skid marks and debris. Surveillance footage is subpoenaed before it gets recorded over.
Medical and Financial Experts
I work with your physicians and life care planners to calculate the true cost of your injuries, now and for the rest of your life.
What I see across the motorcycle claims I handle in Lubbock is insurers moving fast to close a file before the full medical picture exists, especially when a rider is treated at University Medical Center or Covenant Medical Center and released within days.
I hold off on valuing any claim until my client’s treating physicians and life care planners have weighed in, because an early number almost never reflects what a serious motorcycle injury actually costs over a lifetime.
Why Hire Perrin Law for Your Motorcycle Case
When you hire this firm, you get me, James Perrin, from the first call through the last day of trial if it comes to that. No handoffs to associates. No becoming a case number.
I’ve spent more than 20 years fighting serious injury cases across Texas and eight other states. I work on contingency, meaning you pay nothing unless I win.
Proven Results in Texas Injury Trials
In 2022, a Perrin Law verdict was recognized among the Top 50 Personal Injury verdicts in Texas. Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes, but my track record reflects what trial-ready preparation achieves:
- $19.5 million, 18-wheeler wreck
- $7.5 million, truck wreck
- $4.25 million, truck wreck
- $3.5 million, 18-wheeler result
- $3.09 million, drilling-rig failure
- Multiple seven-figure defective product recoveries
Skilled Motorcycle Crash Law Firm in Lubbock, Texas
Consultations are free, confidential, and carry no obligation. I’m available 24/7 at 3901 84th Street in Lubbock.
Call now or request your case review online, there’s no cost to find out where you stand.
Motorcycle Accident FAQ
Can the Insurance Company Use My Decision Not to Wear a Helmet Against Me?
If you were legally riding without a helmet, the defense cannot use that to reduce compensation for injuries unrelated to your head, though they will try, and I know exactly how to shut that argument down.
How Long Does a Texas Motorcycle Accident Case Take to Resolve?
Simpler claims may settle in a few months, while cases involving severe injuries or disputed liability can take a year or longer, I don’t settle until I fully understand your damages.
Can a Motorcycle Passenger File a Personal Injury Claim?
Yes, an injured passenger can file a claim against the at-fault driver of the other vehicle and, where applicable, against the motorcycle operator if they were also negligent.
What Happens If a Pothole or Road Defect Caused the Crash?
You may have a claim against the city, county, or contractor responsible for road maintenance, but government claims carry short notice deadlines, contact a lawyer immediately.
What Does It Cost to Hire Perrin Law?
There are no upfront fees, I work on contingency, so my fee is a percentage of what I recover, and if I don’t win, you pay nothing.
What Should You Tell the Insurance Adjuster Who Keeps Calling?
Tell them you have legal representation and that all future communications should go through my office, then stop taking their calls.
Can a Family File a Wrongful Death Claim After a Fatal Motorcycle Crash?
Texas law allows spouses, children, and parents to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit for financial losses, grief, and loss of companionship following a fatal crash.
What If You Were Lane Splitting When the Crash Happened?
Lane splitting is illegal in Texas and may affect your share of fault, but it does not automatically prevent recovery if the other driver was also negligent.
