Product Liability From Motorcycle Defects

As I wrote about in my last post on motorcycle recalls, most recalls will not pay for any damage or injuries caused by defective parts. If there is not a current recall, hostile motorcycle companies will probably need to be sued by a Denver personal injury lawyer to achieve any kind of settlement. These types of lawsuit are divided into two types:
Defective vehicles or improperly manufactured or handled parts.

Unreasonably dangerous vehicle designs.

The first step in filing a lawsuit is to identify who the defendants will be. Will they be a large motorcycle company or a dealership? Should you file claim in your state or theirs? These are some issues which will greatly effect your case. For example, Colorado, you may have additional protections. Consult with a Denver injury lawyer about what kind of resources and planning will be required to sue.

Manufacturers are usually the largest company you can bring suit against. They may have overall responsibility and deep pockets. This means potentially a higher settlement and a high-power defense team.

Parts suppliers and manufacturers will be a primary defendant in a defective parts case. If the part came with your car, you should sue both the vehicle and parts companies separately.
Dealerships that sold defective parts and motorcycles may be liable even if you do not own the vehicle in question.

Middlemen and used car dealers may be liable in certain cases where they caused or were aware of the problem. State case law is not yet fully developed in this area, so a Denver accident lawyer can help you decide.

If you were injured by a defective motorcycle, even if it does not belong to you, you may still have grounds for a product liability suit. You do not have to choose just one type of law to bring a case under. If you were injured by a negligent driver, and a product defect contributed to the accident, you may bring both a personal negligence case against the driver and a motorcycle product liability case. Liability is usually proven by showing a breach of an express warranty (written guarantee), implied warranty (state enforced minimum standards of quality), or in some states, strict product liability, where you do not have to show the manufacturer should have known about the defect. In strict liability, you only have to show a defect led to your injuries. To win a personal injury claim, you will still have to prove that you were injured, that the vehicle was defective or dangerous, and that defect caused your injury.
If your claim is common and effects other people, there may be a class action lawsuit you can join. These lawsuits are beneficial because the lawyers are usually very experienced in these kinds of cases, and you will not have to personally deal with major costs or legal issues. Contact your own lawyer or the class action lawyers if you are considering joining such a suit.

Vintage Motorcycle Parts

Restoring a vintage motorcycle is truly a labor of love. However, finding the vintage motorcycle parts that you need to finish your restoration project can be difficult and frustrating, especially if you are working on a rare motorcycle model. Fortunately, the Internet has made searching for parts and rare items much easier to do.

The first place that you can look online for vintage motorcycle parts is on auction sites. There are dozens of these sites scattered throughout the World Wide Web. Some of these auction sites are generic auction sites, while others specialize in automotive items. If you shop for vintage parts using this method you will want to make sure that the seller has a good rating and that the part is the exact part that you need. This is important because you usually can't return items when you buy them from an auction site, nor should you expect to be able to return the part.

The second place that you can look online for vintage motorcycle parts is on after market parts sites and general motorcycle parts web sites. These web sites will offer you site based search engines that will allow you to search through their databases for the part that you are interested in. If the site doesn't have the part that you are looking for you can sometimes fill out a parts request form or you can drop the site's owner an email asking if they know where you can get the part that you need.

If your online search for vintage motorcycle parts is a flop then you can also conduct physical searches for your parts. Vintage motorcycle trade magazines can be great sources for finding rare parts and accessories. Simply check out the classified section at the back of the magazine. Other places that you can look for vintage parts include trade fairs, motorcycle shows and exhibits, motorcycle rallies, garage sales, estate sales and flea markets.