A motorcycle crash can be severe. If you or a loved one have been hurt, call KNR today.
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800-487-8669This company was awesome. They were very helpful and made sure I received the medical and financial treatment that I needed and deserved. Everyone was very kind and patient through the very stressful process. If you are ever in an accident and are injured, don't call anyone else but them. They are the best!
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Legal Help for the Injured
A motorcycle crash rarely ends with a dented fender. Riders go to the hospital, and the driver who caused it often tells the insurer the rider came out of nowhere. If you or a loved one were hurt, talk with a Dayton motorcycle accident lawyer before you talk to the insurance company. The personal injury lawyers in Dayton, Ohio at Kisling, Nestico & Redick have handled motorcycle crashes for decades, and our statewide team of Ohio motorcycle accident lawyers knows how these cases are won.
We investigate the cause of the crash, deal with insurance companies every day, and have a strong record of recovering fair compensation for injured riders and their families.
To talk with us about your motorcycle accident, call (937) 427-4048. Consultations are free.
We're Award-Winning & Highly-Skilled Attorneys
Drivers like to blame the rider. In our experience, most Dayton motorcycle crashes are caused by a driver who did not see the motorcycle, did not look, or did not care. As the person making the claim, you have to prove what happened and who was at fault, so the cause of the crash is where every case begins.
One of the most common car-versus-motorcycle collisions: a driver turning left across traffic at an intersection or into a driveway misjudges the rider’s speed or never sees the bike at all. The rider has nowhere to go. In left-turn accidents, the turning driver is almost always at fault.
A driver drifting into the next lane on I-75 or U.S. 35 without checking the blind spot forces the rider into the barrier or off the road. Dash cameras, witness accounts, and damage patterns on the vehicle establish who moved into whom.
A motorcycle takes up a fraction of the visual space a car does, and a driver glancing at a phone misses it. Ohio’s hands-free law makes holding a phone while driving a primary offense, and phone records are among the first things we request.
Potholes, loose gravel, uneven pavement at construction zones, and grooved surfaces that a car crosses without noticing can put a rider down. When a poorly maintained road or an unmarked work zone caused the crash, the responsible party may be a contractor or a government entity rather than another driver.
A speeding or drunk driver closes the distance to a motorcycle faster than the rider can react, and the injuries in these crashes are the worst we see. Montgomery County recorded 549 OVI-related crashes and 1,155 speed-related crashes in 2025, according to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office.
Montgomery County recorded 12,014 crashes in 2025, with I-75 the most crash-prone route in the county, per the Ohio Traffic Safety Office; our Dayton car accident statistics page has the full breakdown. The motorcycle cases we handle cluster on the same roads:
Insurers use Ohio’s rules of the road to argue riders are partly to blame. Knowing what the Ohio motorcycle safety laws actually require takes that argument away.
Ohio does not require every rider to wear a helmet. Helmets are required for riders under 18 and for riders in their first year of licensure, and for their passengers. If you were not required to wear a helmet and chose not to, you did not break the law, and an insurer cannot deny your claim on that basis. It can still argue that a helmet would have reduced a head injury, which is why these cases need a lawyer who knows how to answer it.
Riding between lanes of stopped or slow traffic is not legal in Ohio. A rider who was lane splitting at the time of a crash may be assigned some fault. A rider who was in a lane, or sharing it lawfully with another motorcycle, is a different case, and drivers often describe ordinary riding as lane splitting.
Ohio requires motorcyclists to carry the same minimum liability coverage as car drivers. Those minimums are low, and a driver who carries only the minimum will not have enough coverage for a serious motorcycle injury. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, if you have it, may make up the difference.
Insurance adjusters are trained to see riders as risk-takers, and they build claims around that assumption. The rider was speeding. The rider was weaving. The rider should have been wearing more gear. The rider “came out of nowhere,” which usually means the driver never looked.
We counter that bias with evidence. We pull the crash report, canvass for witnesses and camera footage, photograph the scene and the vehicles, and, when the case calls for it, retain a reconstruction expert to establish speeds and positions from the physical evidence. Ohio’s comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it if your share is greater than the other side’s, so the difference between a rider found 10 percent at fault and one found 60 percent at fault is the whole case. We do not let an adjuster’s assumptions decide that number.
Riders have their gear and their helmets; drivers have steel, airbags, and seat belts. The injuries reflect that difference.
Sliding across pavement strips away skin, and contact with a hot engine or exhaust causes burns. Deep road rash can require debridement, skin grafts, and scar treatment, and serious burn injuries can take months of care and leave permanent scars.
A rider thrown from the bike instinctively braces with the arm, and the nerve and bone damage that follows, known as biker’s arm, can cause permanent weakness or paralysis of the arm.
Even with a helmet, the force of a crash can cause a concussion or a severe brain injury. Symptoms such as memory problems, headaches, and mood changes may not appear for days.
Being thrown from a motorcycle can fracture vertebrae and damage the spinal cord, causing partial or complete paralysis and a lifetime of care needs.
Legs, ankles, wrists, collarbones, and ribs break when a rider goes down or is pinned under the bike. Multiple fractures and surgeries are common in a single crash.
Because riders have no protection, a collision that would be a fender-bender for a car can kill a motorcyclist. If you lost a family member, a wrongful death claim after a fatal motorcycle accident is handled by the same team.
Fight for Everything You’re Owed
When you are hurt in a motorcycle accident that someone else caused, talk with a motorcycle injury lawyer right away. When another driver was at fault, you can seek compensation from that driver’s auto insurance. You have to prove the cause of the crash. You have to prove the other driver was responsible. Then, you can demand compensation for your injuries, including:
Winning compensation after a motorcycle crash is not always simple or easy. But there are things you can do to help yourself.
You should call 911 after a crash. The Dayton Police Department or Ohio State Highway Patrol will respond to the crash. The police will talk to those involved and witnesses. They will write and file a crash report. The police also might ticket someone for the crash. If the other driver was ticketed, this could help you prove their fault. If you were ticketed, do not panic and talk with a motorcycle crash lawyer.
You should see a doctor as soon as possible after a crash. We recommend you go to the ER. If you choose not to go to the ER, then see a doctor within 72 hours. It can complicate your insurance claim to wait too long to see a doctor. The insurance company might claim your injuries are less serious than you claim. The insurer might claim you made your injuries worse by delaying treatment. The insurer might claim you were hurt before the motorcycle accident.
After you talk with the police and get medical care, call a Dayton motorcycle accident lawyer. The sooner you work with a lawyer, the better. Our Dayton car accident lawyers handle the claim against the driver, and the same team handles your motorcycle claim. Our legal team at Kisling, Nestico & Redick have decades of experience investigating motorcycle crashes. We gather evidence to determine the cause of the crash.
Evidence usually includes the police report, photos, videos, witness testimony, and your testimony.
For complicated or contentious claims, we might hire an accident reconstruction expert. Accident reconstructionists use the information available to determine the cause of the crash. They can calculate the speed and angle at which two or more vehicles collide.
We handle the insurance claim process for you. We review any letters you receive and respond. We make sure you do not sign any waivers that interfere with your rights. Some waivers allow insurers to dive into your medical history and invade your privacy.
We talk with the insurance adjuster and answer any questions. We provide the insurer with evidence of the other driver’s fault and your injuries. Our goal is to get the insurance company to approve your claim and negotiate a fair settlement.
Insurers often give low initial settlement offers. We are not afraid to fight for more.
Your Dayton motorcycle accident lawyer may recommend filing a personal injury lawsuit. Going to court can be intimidating. With a motorcycle accident attorney handling the process, it does not have to be. We will write and file the legal documents. We will make sure the defendant is served. We will appear in court to represent you.
Filing a lawsuit does not mean your case will go to trial. Most personal injury claims settle. But filing a lawsuit puts pressure on the insurer to take your claim seriously. The insurer may want to settle to avoid a lengthy and costly court case. Filing a lawsuit can help us win a better settlement.
Fatal motorcycle crashes are all too common in Ohio, and riders account for a share of the state’s traffic deaths far out of proportion to their numbers on the road.
If your parent, spouse, or child died from motorcycle accident injuries, call us right away. You might have the right to demand compensation from an insurance claim or through a wrongful death lawsuit. Our lawyers can explain your rights. If you plan to pursue compensation, we can guide you through the process.
We can fight for your family to receive compensation for:
Ohio places a time limit on how long you have to file a lawsuit. You have two years to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. The time limit for a personal injury claim begins the day of the accident, usually.
The limit for a wrongful death suit begins the day of your relative’s passing. That may be days, weeks, or months after the motorcycle accident.
The statute of limitations applies to a lawsuit only. Insurance claims have their own deadlines, which are much sooner. You need to talk with a Dayton motorcycle accident lawyer about the insurance claim right away. If you wait too long to pursue an insurance settlement, the insurer can try to deny your claim.
Motorcycle Accidents
Our client was stopped on his motorcycle at a four-way stop, waiting for a school bus to turn…
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What Makes KNR Special?
Since our inception in 2005, Kisling, Nestico & Redick has been dedicated to helping personal injury victims fight for the compensation they deserve after an accident affects their way of life. We have helped more than 10,000 people, and we’re ready to keep fighting for Ohioans and anyone who deserves compensation for their personal injury claims.
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Contact KNRWhat Makes KNR Special?
Even if this is not your first motor vehicle accident, you might not know how to handle the insurance company. Insurance adjusters are good at their jobs. They deal with accident victims every day. They are trained to look for reasons to deny a claim. They are encouraged to pay out as little as possible. By hiring an experienced motorcycle accident attorney in Dayton, you level the playing field.
If you were hurt, yes. Motorcycle claims are harder than car claims because insurers assume the rider was at fault and because the injuries are severe enough that the numbers are large. A lawyer preserves the evidence, deals with the adjuster, proves fault, and values the claim correctly, including future medical care. KNR handles motorcycle cases on a contingency fee, so there is no cost unless we recover for you.
You will need to establish that the other driver or some other party owed you a duty of care and disregarded it. This could be supported with evidence the other driver was speeding, distracted, or negligent in some other way.
Usually, yes. Ohio requires helmets only for riders under 18, riders in their first year of licensure, and their passengers, so most adult riders who ride without one have broken no law. The insurer may argue that a helmet would have reduced a head injury; whether that argument succeeds depends on the facts and the medical evidence, and it has no bearing on a broken leg, road rash, or a spinal injury. Ohio’s comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery only by the share of fault actually assigned to you.
No. Ohio does not permit riding between lanes of traffic. Two motorcycles may share a lane side by side, and a rider may use the full width of a lane, but passing between cars in adjacent lanes is not allowed. If you were lane splitting when the crash happened, expect the insurer to assign you a share of the fault; if the driver is simply describing lawful riding as lane splitting, that is an argument we know how to answer.
In general, you have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Ohio, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim. The insurance claim should begin much sooner. Evidence such as camera footage and vehicle data can be gone within weeks, and your own policy may have short notice requirements for uninsured motorist coverage. Call a lawyer as soon as you are able.
Whether you are a passenger or rider, there is a lot to consider when calculating the value of motorcycle accident injuries. You need to factor in your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering as well as what you will miss out on in the future. Because motorcycle injuries tend to be severe and permanent, future medical care and lost earning capacity often make up the largest part of the claim, and those are the numbers an insurer’s first offer leaves out.
Every motorcycle accident claim is unique. Some cases are wrapped up in weeks when liability is clear and the insurance companies are willing to negotiate in good faith, while others take months or years. Our motorcycle accident lawyers can give you an estimate based on the facts of your case.
Being struck by a reckless driver while riding your motorcycle is a terrible experience. It only gets worse if the driver has little or no insurance coverage. But you may still have options under your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage or by filing a motorcycle accident lawsuit against the driver. Your own policy may require prompt notice and your insurer’s consent before you settle with the other driver, so call a lawyer before you sign anything.
Do not let an adjuster decide what your crash was worth. Call (937) 427-4048 or 1-800-HURT-NOW, or contact our Dayton office online, for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
