A motorcycle accident can cause life-threatening injuries, but auto insurers will lean into bias against you, as a motorcyclist, in the claims process. They will pore over every detail of your crash, including whether you were wearing a helmet, to minimize what they have to pay. Even though South Carolina law doesn’t require riders over the age of 21 to wear one, insurers will still argue that failing to wear a helmet contributed to your injuries, reducing or even denying your compensation.
Insurers will twist the facts to assign you partial or majority blame, which can have devastating consequences under South Carolina’s “modified comparative negligence” rule. If they pin 51% or more of the fault onto you, you’ll lose your right to recover any compensation. At Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers, we know how to challenge insurance companies’ tactics.
Our motorcycle accident lawyers in Mount Pleasant create trial-ready claims and stand up to insurers during negotiations. Plus, our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™ means you pay no upfront fees to start your case and nothing unless our Mount Pleasant personal injury lawyers win. Call us now for a free consultation.
Why Choose Our Mount Pleasant Attorneys to Represent You in a Motorcycle Accident Claim?
After a motorcycle accident, insurers will look for any opportunity to place blame on you and reduce the compensation they owe you. Many injured motorcyclists are rushed to the emergency room before they can share their side of the story with a responding officer. Insurers take this as an opening to twist the facts of the accident, blaming you for improper lane usage or “reckless behavior” that may not reflect what actually happened.
Auger & Auger has been representing injured motorcyclists, shielding them from these blame-shifting tactics since 1995. Our work has secured over $100 million in compensation for accident victims, and when we take on a case, we have a 99.5% success rate.
South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule makes countering these tactics the top priority for claimants. When insurers can deny paying you anything by pushing you over the legal threshold for sharing partial blame, having an experienced Mount Pleasant motorcycle accident attorney means everything.
What Our Attorneys Do to Safeguard Your Motorcycle Crash Claim
Our Mount Pleasant motorcycle accident lawyers understand how bias against motorcyclists and legal updates can work against you. We use decades of experience countering these challenges to protect your right to recover what the liable party owes you.
We Establish Fault With Evidence From an Independent Investigation
Some injured riders are rushed to the hospital before they can give a statement to the responding officer, leaving the initial crash report incomplete or one-sided. Insurers exploit these gaps to raise questions about your role in the accident.
We address this by reconstructing what really happened, using:
- Eyewitness accounts from people who saw the crash.
- Photographs and videos from the scene and surrounding areas.
- Specialist evaluations, such as accident reconstruction and road safety analyses, to eliminate doubt about who caused the crash.
Filling in the gaps in accident reports and presenting clear, fact-based evidence prevents insurers from inaccurately assigning fault to you.
We Challenge Insurer Motorcycle Bias
Insurers are quick to perpetuate the stereotype that motorcyclists are reckless, falsely claiming that excessive speed, improper lane changes, or other violations contributed to the crash. These arguments represent assumptions rather than evidence.
We review the insurer’s claims in detail and expose baseless accusations unsupported by evidence. Your choice to ride a motorcycle shouldn’t limit your right to fair compensation, and we fight against unfair assumptions made against you.
We Counter Helmet-Based Arguments
South Carolina law does not require riders over the age of 21 to wear a helmet, per S.C. Code § 56-5-3660. Insurers will still attempt to argue that a helmet would have reduced the severity of your injuries, using this to assign partial fault to you.
We counter these claims by:
- Reminding insurers, judges, and juries of South Carolina’s helmet law and that motorcyclists over 21 have the legal right to ride without one.
- Demonstrating with expert medical opinions and evidence from crash reports that your injuries were caused by the crash itself, not your decision to forgo a helmet.
- Clarifying when and where the at-fault driver’s negligence directly caused the collision.
Insurers will try to twist the facts so our focus remains on the negligent actions of the driver who caused your accident.
How Insurers Use Act 42 to Shift Blame, and How We Protect Your Claim
South Carolina’s Tort Reform and Liquor Liability Act (Act 42) gives insurers another way to reduce or eliminate liability for their policyholders in motorcycle accident cases by shifting fault to non-parties, which are individuals or entities who aren’t directly named in a lawsuit but who they claim contributed to the accident.
As of January 1, 2026, juries can assign a portion of fault to these non-parties, reducing the overall financial responsibility of the at-fault driver or their insurer.
In a motorcycle accident claim, insurers will use several strategies to divert liability away from their policyholder:
- They will claim that unrepaired potholes or road debris played a significant role in the accident, attempting to shift blame to a state, municipality, or construction company.
- They will argue that a driver who fled the scene bears the true responsibility for the crash, even if there is no proof.
- They may claim that your own passenger distracted you or otherwise contributed to the accident to avoid paying out your full damages.
Our attorneys use clear evidence and precise legal arguments to refocus attention on their client’s actions and cut through the confusion insurers bring to a trial.
Call Us Now to Start Your Case With Our Mount Pleasant Motorcycle Crash Attorneys
After a motorcycle accident, the last thing you should have to worry about is dealing with insurance companies or building your case alone. At Auger & Auger, we handle every aspect of your claim, demonstrating a negligent driver’s liability and pushing back against insurers who try to deny or reduce your claim.
With our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™, you don’t pay anything upfront, and we only get paid if we win your case. Call us today for a free consultation.
