Motorcycles offer freedom on Oahu’s scenic roads—until a driver fails to check their blind spot, turns left across your path, or changes lanes without warning. Hawaii ranks as the most dangerous state for motorcyclists in 2025, with motorcycle crashes comprising nearly 30% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents. Nationally, 6,335 motorcyclists were killed in 2023. In Hawaii, 13 motorcycle riders died by mid-2023, compared to eight during the same period in 2022.
When a negligent driver injures you in a motorcycle accident, Recovery Law Center stands with you. Our attorneys understand the unique challenges motorcycle victims face, know how to prove driver negligence, and fight the bias against motorcyclists while you focus on healing.
Why Motorcycle Accidents Are Different
Motorcycles lack the metal frames, airbags, and crumple zones that protect car occupants. Your body absorbs the full impact force—a 30 mph collision that dents a car fender can kill a motorcyclist. Motorcyclists are 28 times more likely to die per vehicle mile traveled than car occupants. Insurance adjusters and juries often blame riders automatically, assuming they were speeding or driving recklessly. Motorcycle crashes also leave less physical evidence than car crashes, making thorough investigation critical. The severe injuries, significant bias, and higher medical expenses make these cases fundamentally different from standard car accidents.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in Oahu
- Left-Turn Accidents: Drivers turn left across riders’ paths at intersections, claiming they never saw the motorcycle or misjudging speed. These cause the most serious motorcycle injuries.
- Lane Change Accidents: Drivers change lanes without checking blind spots, merging directly into riders on the H1, H2, and H3 freeways, crushing motorcycles between vehicles or forcing them off roadways.
- Rear-End Collisions: Distracted drivers texting or adjusting radios fail to notice stopped motorcycles, rear-ending them at full speed at red lights and highway slowdowns.
- Road Hazards: Potholes, gravel, oil spills, debris, uneven pavement, metal plates, and railroad tracks cause motorcycles to lose control. Government entities face liability for dangerous conditions.
- Door Strikes: Drivers open car doors without checking for motorcycles in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu parking areas, giving riders no time to react.
- Speeding and Impaired Drivers: Drivers exceeding safe speeds or driving under the influence cannot react to motorcycles, causing devastating crashes especially on the H1 corridor and near entertainment districts.
- Distracted Driving: Cell phone use, texting, eating, and passenger engagement cause drivers to drift into motorcycle lanes, run red lights, and change lanes into riders.
- Failure to Yield: Drivers violate right-of-way at intersections, merges, and roundabouts, assuming they have time to beat approaching motorcycles.
- Tourist Drivers: Unfamiliar tourists drive rental cars while distracted by scenery, stop suddenly for photos, miss signals, and create hazards on the North Shore and Waikiki.
- Weather Conditions: Sudden rainstorms create slippery roads as oil rises to the surface, reducing visibility and traction while drivers fail to adjust speeds.
Types of Motorcycle Accidents We Handle
Intersection collisions (left-turns, right-of-way violations, red-light running), highway crashes (lane changes, merging, rear-ends, high-speed impacts), single-vehicle accidents (road hazards, defective roadways), hit-and-run accidents, lane-splitting accidents, parking lot collisions, head-on collisions, and sideswipe accidents.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries in Oahu
- Traumatic Brain Injuries: Head impacts cause concussions, skull fractures, brain swelling, and bleeding even with helmets, resulting in memory problems, personality changes, and cognitive impairments requiring years of rehabilitation.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Fractured or dislocated vertebrae cause paralysis—cervical injuries result in quadriplegia, thoracic/lumbar injuries cause paraplegia—requiring extensive lifetime medical care and assistive devices.
- Road Rash: Sliding across pavement tears skin and tissue. Severe road rash penetrates to muscle and nerves, requiring skin grafts with risk of sepsis and permanent scarring.
- Broken Bones and Fractures: Multiple fractures throughout the body (legs, arms, pelvis, collarbone, facial bones) require surgeries, hardware installation, and extended recovery.
- Amputations: Severe trauma and crush injuries destroy tissue beyond repair, necessitating amputation with physical and emotional challenges of prosthetics and permanent disability.
- Internal Injuries: Blunt force trauma lacerates livers, tears spleens, damages kidneys, and punctures lungs, requiring emergency surgery with long-term complications.
- Facial Injuries: Jaw, orbital, and nasal fractures along with dental damage require extensive reconstruction, causing permanent disfigurement.
- Burn Injuries: Fuel ignition and hot engine contact cause severe burns requiring multiple skin grafts, years of recovery, and permanent scarring.
- Psychological Trauma: PTSD, flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and depression prevent many riders from ever riding again, requiring long-term therapy.
Proving a Motorcycle Accident Case
- Scene Investigation: We photograph vehicle positions, skid marks, debris, road conditions, and sight lines before evidence disappears.
- Evidence Collection: Witness statements, police reports, traffic camera footage, dashboard camera recordings, and surveillance video prove exactly what happened.
- Accident Reconstruction: Expert witnesses analyze physical evidence, calculate speeds and sight lines, and determine how the crash occurred to prove driver negligence.
- Driver Records: We subpoena cell phone records when distraction is suspected, proving calls, texts, or data usage during the accident.
- Vehicle and Gear Analysis: Motorcycle inspections rule out mechanical failure while helmet and gear analysis proves impact location and force.
- Medical Documentation: Complete emergency room, hospital, surgery, and rehabilitation records prove injury severity and causation.
- Expert Testimony: Accident reconstruction, medical, motorcycle safety, and economic experts provide powerful testimony about causation, injuries, and lifetime damages.
Compensation for Motorcycle Accident Victims
- Medical Expenses: Emergency treatment, surgeries, hospitalization, rehabilitation, future care planning, and life care needs.
- Lost Income and Earning Capacity: Immediate lost wages, inability to return to physical jobs, reduced hours, lower-paying positions, early retirement, and lifetime earning losses.
- Property Damage: Motorcycle repair or replacement, riding gear replacement, custom bikes and accessories valuation.
- Pain and Suffering: Chronic pain, excruciating road rash healing, persistent discomfort, reduced mobility, and loss of ability to ride.
- Emotional Distress: Anxiety, depression, PTSD, fear of riding or driving, and mental anguish from permanent disabilities.
- Scarring and Disfigurement: Permanent scarring from road rash affecting appearance, self-esteem, and relationships.
- Loss of Enjoyment: Inability to ride motorcycles, play with children, exercise, or pursue hobbies.
- Loss of Consortium: Family members’ loss of companionship, intimacy, and partnership as they become caregivers.
- Punitive Damages: Awarded for drunk driving, excessive speeding, intentional misconduct, or extreme negligence.
- Wrongful Death Damages: Funeral expenses, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and the deceased’s pain and suffering.
Steps to Take After a Motorcycle Accident
Immediately:
- Call 911 and accept medical evaluation (adrenaline masks injuries)
- Document everything with photos (motorcycle, vehicles, injuries, road conditions, weather)
- Collect driver information (name, license, insurance, vehicle details)
- Get witness names and phone numbers
- Do not admit fault or discuss accident details
- Preserve damaged helmet, gear, and clothing
After the Scene:
- Seek emergency room evaluation for road rash cleaning and internal injury assessment
- Follow all treatment recommendations and attend every appointment
- Do not repair motorcycle before inspection
- Do not give recorded statements to insurance adjusters
- Avoid social media posts about the accident
- Keep detailed records of medical bills, lost work, and daily symptoms
- Contact an attorney immediately—evidence disappears quickly
How Recovery Law Center Handles Motorcycle Accident Cases
- Immediate Investigation: We respond quickly to photograph scenes, identify and obtain surveillance footage, interview witnesses, and document road hazards before evidence disappears.
- Fighting Bias: We counter anti-motorcyclist stereotypes with evidence proving you rode responsibly, wore proper safety gear, and that driver negligence caused the crash.
- Expert Consultation: Accident reconstruction, medical, motorcycle safety, and economic experts strengthen your case with powerful testimony.
- Complete Evidence Gathering: Police reports, medical records, cell phone records, traffic camera footage, motorcycle inspections, and helmet analysis leave no stone unturned.
- Aggressive Negotiation: We counter insurance company tactics that blame riders by default with thorough preparation, strong evidence, and demands for full compensation.
- Trial-Ready Preparation: We prepare every case for trial, strengthening our negotiating position and demonstrating willingness to fight in court.
What Our Clients Say
Mary Ellen O’Connor: “Glenn is a caring attorney. If you need an injury lawyer you have the right place with Recovery Law Center.”
Cory Wilson: “The entire team at Recovery Law Center went above and beyond to take care of me and my family after my wreck. They were caring and I would highly recommend them.”
Joseph Steinfeld: “RLC attorneys care about their clients and will always work in your best interest. I have been privileged to work with Glen Honda and his staff for more than 2 years as a co-counsel in many Maui fire cases and there are no better advocates for the rights of the injured.”
Areas We Serve on Oahu
Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl City, Kailua, Kaneohe, Waipahu, Mililani, Aiea, Wahiawa, Kapolei, Hawaii Kai, Downtown Honolulu, North Shore, Haleiwa, Waianae, Ewa Beach, West Oahu, Central Oahu, and surrounding areas.
Contact an Experienced Oahu Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
A negligent driver changed your life in seconds. They failed to see you, violated your right-of-way, and caused catastrophic injuries. Medical bills overwhelm you, you cannot work, and the insurance company blames you for riding a motorcycle. Our Oahu personal injury lawyers at Recovery Law Center has represented motorcycle accident victims across Oahu for years, fighting the bias against motorcyclists and proving driver negligence.
You pay nothing unless we win. We offer free consultations to evaluate your claim and explain your rights. Insurance companies assume you were speeding or driving recklessly. You need experienced attorneys fighting for your interests with equal determination.
Call Recovery Law Center today for your free consultation.
Located in Honolulu, serving all of Oahu and the Hawaiian Islands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hawaii require motorcycle helmets?
Hawaii requires helmets for riders under 18. Adults may ride without helmets, though wearing one significantly reduces injury severity. Not wearing a helmet does not prevent recovery for injuries caused by a negligent driver.
What if the insurance company claims I was lane splitting?
Regardless of lane splitting’s legal status, drivers must check for motorcycles before changing lanes. If a driver struck you while changing lanes, they bear responsibility for failing to yield.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit in Hawaii?
Two years from the accident date. Missing this deadline bars recovery forever. Contact an attorney immediately.
What if I was not wearing a helmet?
Not wearing a helmet does not prevent recovery if another driver caused the crash. We counter insurance arguments about helmet use with medical expert testimony about injury causation.
What if the driver claims they never saw me?
Drivers have a duty to look for motorcycles before turning, changing lanes, or merging. “I didn’t see the motorcycle” does not excuse negligence. We prove drivers failed to properly check.
Should I accept the insurance company’s settlement offer?
No. Initial offers rarely cover future medical needs, minimize pain and suffering, and ignore permanent disabilities. We often recover several times more than initial offers.
