Left with few options
Stuck with bills you can’t pay
Anxious to put your injury behind you
GET A FREE CONSULTATION
310-750-4149
$100,000,000+
Recovered for Clients
$21,100,000
Wrongful Death VERDICT
$16,000,000
School Sexual Abuse VERDICT
$12,000,000
Whistleblower Retaliation VERDICT
Gammill Law’s results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict, a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, and a $12 million whistleblower retaliation verdict.
Reviewed by David Gammill, California trial attorney · Last reviewed: September 12, 2026
Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers represents motorcycle riders hurt in Torrance and across the South Bay. If a driver turned in front of you, changed lanes into you, or hit you from behind, California law puts the burden of proof on evidence, not on the assumption that the rider was reckless. The firm has recovered more than $100 million for California clients across verdicts and settlements. Its results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict, a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, and a $12 million whistleblower retaliation verdict; every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. What matters for your crash case is this: motorcycle claims carry the most serious injuries on the road and the strongest insurer bias against the victim, and the difference between a fair recovery and a fraction of one is proving fault early and finding every policy that applies.
Hurt on a motorcycle in Torrance? Get your free case evaluation or call 310-750-4149. There is no fee unless we recover for you.
Crashes are not rare events here: in 2023, traffic collisions in Torrance killed or injured 647 people, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety’s crash rankings for Torrance, built from SWITRS, the state’s official collision database. For a rider, the roads that produce those numbers are the same ones you use every day: Hawthorne Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway, Crenshaw, Sepulveda, 190th Street, and the on-ramps and merge lanes of the 405.
A car protects its occupants with a steel frame, airbags, and seat belts. A motorcycle offers none of that. The same collision that leaves a driver with a dented fender leaves a rider with fractures, road rash, a head injury, or a spinal injury. That physics is why motorcycle cases are rarely small, and it is why the insurer on the other side starts building a story about the rider within hours of the crash.
The most common serious motorcycle crash is a driver turning left across the rider’s path at an intersection, on Hawthorne, Torrance Boulevard, or Sepulveda, because the driver looked and did not register a motorcycle. A driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic that is close enough to be a hazard. Our guide to the seven most common causes of motorcycle accidents in Los Angeles covers the federal crash data behind each pattern.
On the 405 and on multi-lane arterials, drivers change lanes without checking the mirror or the blind spot and push the rider into the next lane, the shoulder, or the ground. Fault usually turns on a few seconds of evidence: dashcam or traffic-camera footage, the driver’s phone records, witness accounts, and the vehicle’s recorded data.
A rear-end impact that is a fender bender between two cars can throw a rider off the bike. Our Torrance rear-end accident lawyer guide covers fault and the shared-blame arguments insurers raise.
If the driver fled, you still have a case. Your own uninsured motorist coverage usually pays when the driver is never found, but strict conditions apply, including a 24-hour police report. Start with our Torrance hit-and-run lawyer page, and see our plain-English guide to Vehicle Code § 20001, California’s hit-and-run law.
Gravel, potholes, uneven pavement at a construction seam, and debris in the lane can bring down a motorcycle without any other vehicle involved. When the hazard sat on public property and the agency knew or should have known about it, a claim may lie under Government Code § 835. Our guide to dangerous roads and intersections in Torrance covers when the road itself is part of the case.
Lane splitting is not a violation. California is unusual in that its Vehicle Code defines the practice: under Vehicle Code § 21658.1, lane splitting means riding a two-wheeled motorcycle between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane, and the statute directs the California Highway Patrol to develop safety guidelines for it. Adjusters raise lane splitting as if it were automatic fault. It is not. The question is whether the rider was riding reasonably under the conditions and whether the driver who hit them was paying attention.
A missing helmet does not bar your claim. Vehicle Code § 27803 requires the rider and any passenger to wear a safety helmet that meets the state’s standards. If you were not wearing one, the insurer will argue that your injuries would have been less severe. That argument reaches only the injuries a helmet would have prevented, typically head injuries, and it does not touch a broken leg, a shoulder injury, or the fault for the crash itself.
Partial fault does not bar you either. California follows pure comparative negligence (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804): your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, never eliminated by it. Insurers put the rider’s percentage as high as they can for exactly this reason. We counter with evidence.
California requires drivers to carry only minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage (Vehicle Code § 16451, for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025). A helicopter ride to a trauma center, one orthopedic surgery, and a month away from work pass that limit many times over.
That gap is where motorcycle cases are really won or lost. The at-fault driver’s policy comes first. If the driver was working, an employer’s commercial policy may apply. If the driver was borrowing the car, the owner’s policy may apply. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, on the motorcycle policy or on another policy in your household, can be the largest source of recovery when the driver’s limits are too small. When the driver is unknown, Insurance Code § 11580.2 sets strict conditions: the crash generally must be reported to police within 24 hours, and a sworn statement must be filed with your insurer within 30 days. Our Torrance car accident attorney page walks through how those layers stack.
Two years for most claims. Under CCP § 335.1, most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash. Our guide to CCP § 335.1, California’s two-year statute of limitations, covers the rule and its exceptions.
Six months when the government is involved. If a City of Torrance vehicle, a Torrance Transit bus, or a dangerous stretch of public road caused your crash, you must present a written claim to the right entity within six months before you can sue. Our guide to the California government claim deadline walks through the sequence.
Short reporting windows apply too. A crash with injury or death must be reported in writing to the police or CHP within 24 hours (Vehicle Code § 20008), and an SR-1 report goes to the DMV within 10 days when anyone is hurt or property damage exceeds $1,000 (Vehicle Code § 16000). We handle these filings for our clients as part of the case.
Motorcycle cases turn on seconds and feet, and the evidence disappears fast. Storefront and doorbell cameras along Hawthorne and Torrance Boulevard overwrite footage within days. Torrance Transit buses carry cameras that capture intersections on their routes. The car that hit you records speed, braking, and steering in its event data recorder, and that data is gone the moment the vehicle is repaired or sold. We send preservation demands the same day we are retained, and in serious cases we bring in accident reconstruction to turn skid marks, gouge marks, and the point of impact into a physics-based account of the crash.
The police report matters, but it is a starting point, not a verdict. Officers arrive after the crash, they often speak only to the driver because the rider is in an ambulance, and their fault conclusions can be wrong or incomplete. When a report blames the rider, we build the proof independently.
When a motorcycle crash takes a life, the case changes in kind, not just in degree. California gives specific family members the right to bring a wrongful death claim for their own losses, including lost financial support and the loss of companionship, and the deadlines have traps of their own. Our Torrance wrongful death attorney page explains how we handle these cases, and our complete guide to the California wrongful death filing deadline covers the timing rules. We handle these cases with the care they demand, and the consultation is free.
The same driver failures that hit riders hit others too. Our Torrance pedestrian accident lawyer, Torrance bicycle accident lawyer, and Torrance Uber and Lyft accident lawyer pages cover those cases, and our Torrance catastrophic injury lawyer page explains how a case is built when the injuries are permanent.
Trial reputation is leverage in every negotiation. The firm’s results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict and a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, each a real jury verdict in a specific case; outcomes always depend on the facts.
We work on a contingency fee: nothing upfront, no hourly bills, and a fee only out of the recovery, under a written contingency fee agreement that complies with California law. Our guide to what a personal injury lawyer costs in Torrance answers the money questions plainly.
Call any time, including nights, weekends, and holidays: 310-750-4149. If you need treatment now, we connect clients with respected Torrance-area doctors who work on a lien basis, meaning they are paid from the recovery, not upfront. If you cannot travel, we come to you: the hospital, your home, or wherever your recovery requires.
Economic damages cover documented losses: emergency care, hospital stays, surgery, therapy, medications, future treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and the motorcycle and gear that were destroyed.
Non-economic damages cover the human losses: physical pain, emotional distress, the loss of an activity that was part of who you are, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability or disfigurement, and, for spouses, loss of consortium.
Punitive damages may be available where the driver’s conduct was malicious, oppressive, or fraudulent under Civil Code § 3294, most commonly when the driver was drunk.
Early offers routinely reflect only a fraction of a claim’s documented value, and in motorcycle cases the first offer often arrives while you are still in the hospital. Before you sign anything, use the free case evaluation to learn what your claim is actually worth.
Usually, yes. Vehicle Code § 21658.1 defines lane splitting and directs the CHP to publish safety guidelines for it; the practice is not itself a violation. The insurer will argue you were riding unsafely for the conditions, and the answer is evidence: speed, spacing, and what the driver who hit you was doing. Under California’s comparative negligence rule, any share of fault assigned to you reduces your recovery; it does not eliminate it.
No. Vehicle Code § 27803 requires a helmet, and the insurer will use the violation against you, but the argument reaches only the injuries a helmet would have prevented. It has nothing to do with who caused the crash or with injuries below the neck.
No. That is the driver’s policy limit, not your claim’s value. Other policies may apply, including an employer’s or vehicle owner’s coverage, and your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage can make up part of the difference. Where a dangerous road contributed, a government claim may add another source. Finding every layer is the core of the work.
Two years from the date of the crash for most claims, under CCP § 335.1. If a government vehicle or dangerous public road is involved, a written claim is due within six months under Gov. Code § 911.2; see our government claim guide. Courts rarely excuse a missed deadline.
No. A police report is one officer’s early conclusion, often formed without hearing from the rider at all. Camera footage, vehicle data, witness statements, and reconstruction regularly tell a different story. We build the proof independently and let the evidence decide fault.
Nothing upfront and nothing out of pocket. Our fee is a percentage of the recovery, collected only if we win, under a written agreement that complies with California law. Full details: what a personal injury lawyer costs in Torrance.
Corridor cameras overwrite within days. Skid marks fade, the car gets repaired, and its data goes with it. The sooner we start, the more of your case we can preserve, and the filing deadlines run whether or not you are ready.
You were riding legally, and a driver failed to look. You should not have to negotiate with an insurance adjuster from a hospital bed. Your free case review includes a real evaluation with an experienced attorney, a clear explanation of your options, and an honest assessment of what your claim is worth. No obligation, and everything you share is confidential. If your case is a different kind of injury claim, start at our Torrance personal injury attorney page.
Get your free case evaluation or call 310-750-4149 now. There are no upfront legal fees; a fee is collected only if we win.
This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice for any specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes are fact-specific; consult a licensed California attorney about your own circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Free Case Review 1
Left with few options
Stuck with bills you can’t pay
Anxious to put your injury behind you
Serving the South Bay and all of California.
My name is David Gammill. I am a California trial lawyer and the founder of Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers. Our firm has recovered more than $100 million for California clients. Our results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict, a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, and a $12 million whistleblower retaliation verdict. I learned to try cases in front of juries early in my career as a Deputy District Attorney, and trying cases remains the backbone of my practice.
