What happens if you are hit by a driver and he takes off?  In Las Vegas a 55-year-old man was riding a 1991 Harley-Davidson Sportster was killed after a pickup truck driver struck the motorcycle and left the scene.  The Chevy pickup truck driver left the scene after abandoning the pickup in a parking lot of 2821 Lamb Boulevard.

In Utah there has to be "clear and convincing" evidence that the crash was caused by another driver.  When looking at this case in Las Vegas it looks pretty straight forward and the offending vehicle was left at the scene.  Forensic analysts will probably be used to show that the truck hit the motorcycle and caused the crash and resulting death.  In other cases it is not so clear.

Imagine you are motoring along on your motorcycle as you pass the off-ramp on a freeway and a car suddenly cuts you off in an effort to get on the off-ramp.  You crash into the divider post and are seriously injured.  The car cutting you off vanishes and there you lie.  Hopefully a good samaritan will call police and EMS are activated and you are taken to a hospital and eventually heal from your injuries.  the police, despite their best efforts are unable to find the offending car.  You make a claim thinking you have collision insurance and think that you elected uninsured coverage.

Collision coverage on motorcycles is often elective - meaning that you have to choose this coverage.  Make sure you do choose this coverage if you want your motorcycle repairs to be covered - whether the damage is caused by someone else or by you.  Assume in our fictional case that you have collision coverage and the bike is repaired.  Maybe it should be written off but that is another story for another time.

Let's also imagine you were smart and have elected to purchase uninsured coverage.  You call your insurance company and make the claim - they investigate and deny your claim!  Why do they deny your claim - after all the other guy that cut you off caused the crash - right?  While, according to law in Utah you have to prove to your insurer that by "clear and convincing" evidence that another driver cut you off and caused the crash and you simply did not crash into the divider post yourself.  how do you do this?

First and quickly you need to get the crash report from the police and hopefully they will have listed witnesses that saw the other car.  However, and it seems often the case, people do not stop and simply call 911, report the crash and do not want to become involved. No witnesses - now what?  If not too much time has lapsed you might ask the media to help you and seek out witnesses to the crash.  Alternatively, you might hire forensic engineers or accident reconstructionists to prove your case.  Otherwise you might have to accept the fact that you can not meet the "clear and convincing" evidential criteria and simply give up on your case.

You need a good motorcycle attorney on your side to fight this kind of case.

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