Over the holiday weekend last week, two motorcyclists were killed in two different motorcycle accidents across Maryland. According to a report by WUSA 9, the first accident took place in Silver Spring, at the intersection of University Avenue and Dennis Avenue. Evidently, the motorcyclist was thrown from his bike when he hit a curb. The biker died from the injuries he sustained in the accident.
The second accident occurred in Burtonsville, and it involved an SUV as well as a motorcycle. Apparently, the SUV was making a left turn and collided with the motorcycle. The rider was thrown from the bike and suffered only minor injuries. However, his passenger suffered much more serious injuries and was pronounced dead later that day. The driver of the SUV suffered only minor injuries.
Determining Fault is Not As Easy As it May Seem
In Maryland motorcycle accidents, the fault determination is critical not just to decide who is issued a traffic citation for the accident, but also for the purposes of upcoming civil litigation. Indeed, the victim of the accident will likely be able to recover for their injuries from the person or people who are determined to be at fault. Thus, who is the “victim” in a motorcycle accident is of critical importance.