Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
For a city its size, Redondo Beach sees a lot of motorcycle crashes. In 2019, the California Office of Traffic Safety ranked it 2nd of 105 similar cities for motorcyclists killed or injured, and it hasn’t been far behind since: 2021 is the only year from 2019 through 2023 when it fell outside the top 10. When the other driver’s insurer pushes back, expect two questions, about lane splitting and your helmet. Neither ends a claim on its own; your share of fault, if any, reduces the award rather than barring it (Li v. Yellow Cab Co.).
As a Redondo Beach motorcycle accident lawyer, Jon Olsson takes cases for riders and passengers injured on PCH and city streets, and he does the work on each one himself. The first conversation is free, and there’s no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident Claims: Key Facts
- Lawsuit deadline: generally two years for injuries (CCP § 335.1) and three years for damage to your bike and gear (CCP § 338).
- Road-defect claims: generally due within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2), to the City of Redondo Beach for City streets or to the State for Pacific Coast Highway.
- Lane splitting: addressed in the Vehicle Code, which lets the CHP develop educational guidelines for two-wheeled motorcycles passing between rows of stopped or moving vehicles in the same lane (Veh. Code § 21658.1).
- Helmets: required for every rider and passenger (Veh. Code § 27803).
- The other driver’s minimum coverage: $30,000 for one injured person and $60,000 per crash, often far less than a serious motorcycle injury costs.
- Courthouse: motorcycle injury suits from Redondo Beach are generally heard at the Torrance Courthouse, 825 Maple Avenue.
- Cost: no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Why Jon’s Corporate Defense Experience Helps Your Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident Claim
Jon spent the early part of his career on the other side of injury cases, so he knows how insurers and their lawyers will size up your claim. Before founding Olsson Law, he spent six years at a large international law firm defending companies in complex litigation, including serious injury and product liability matters. He then joined a Los Angeles personal injury firm, where he represented injured people in motor vehicle collisions, dangerous property conditions, public entity cases, and disputed liability matters. That background tells him what evidence moves a defense lawyer, and what they look for to justify paying less.
Jon stays directly involved from your first consultation through the resolution of your case, and works to reduce medical bills and liens so more of any settlement goes to you.
- Education: Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.); New York University (B.A.)
- Bar admissions: California, Texas, and Massachusetts
- Community: member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the South Bay Bar Association
Prior Results
- $3.85 million: wrongful death settlement
- $700,000: car accident, back and neck injuries
- $400,000: slip and fall, knee injury
These results include matters personally handled by Jon Olsson at prior law firms and matters in which he participated as part of a legal team. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Read more about Jon Olsson, our approach, and prior results.
Redondo Beach Motorcycle Crash Numbers
Motorcyclists make up a large slice of Redondo Beach’s crash victims. In 2020, the 18 riders and passengers killed or injured were 8.0% of everyone hurt in crashes in the city that year.
| Year | Motorcyclists killed or injured (rank) | Share of all Redondo Beach crash victims | Cities ranked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 16 (7th) | 5.0% | 103 |
| 2022 | 25 (6th) | 7.5% | 104 |
| 2021 | 12 (45th) | 4.1% | 105 |
| 2020 | 18 (6th) | 8.0% | 106 |
| 2019 | 21 (2nd) | 7.7% | 105 |
OTS ranks California cities of 50,001 to 100,000 people for their size, with No. 1 the worst (how OTS ranks cities). The share column is Olsson Law’s calculation from OTS’s yearly totals. 2023 is the latest year OTS has ranked as of October 2026.
How Motorcycle Crashes Happen in Redondo Beach
Pavement and work zones on PCH. Pacific Coast Highway is a State highway, and Caltrans has a pavement rehabilitation project scheduled through summer 2029 on PCH in Redondo Beach and six other cities from Torrance to Santa Monica. Uneven lanes, loose material, and pavement edges in a work zone are far more dangerous on two wheels, and a claim that the road caused the crash goes to the State.
Drivers turning left. Under the Vehicle Code, a driver making a left turn yields to approaching vehicles that are close enough to pose a hazard (Veh. Code § 21801). “I never saw the motorcycle” describes that mistake; it doesn’t excuse it.
Unsafe lane changes. A driver may move over only when it’s reasonably safe and after signaling when another vehicle may be affected (Veh. Code § 22107). That duty applies whether you were in the lane or splitting it.
Late-night traffic. In 2022, Redondo Beach ranked 3rd of 104 similar cities for injury crashes between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., and 1st for people hurt in alcohol-involved crashes (OTS 2022). An impaired driver often carries little insurance, which is where your own coverage comes in.
Who Is Responsible When the Road Causes the Crash?
| Where the crash happened | Agency responsible | How to make the claim |
|---|---|---|
| Redondo Beach city streets | City of Redondo Beach | The City’s liability claim form, signed by hand and delivered in person or by U.S. mail to the City Clerk’s Office (City Clerk forms) |
| Pacific Coast Highway | State of California (Caltrans) | Caltrans’s district office for claims up to $12,500; the Government Claims Program for larger ones |
These claims generally succeed only with proof that the agency made the road dangerous, or knew or should have known it was dangerous with time to repair it (Gov. Code § 835). When the agency denies the claim in writing, you generally get six months from that notice to sue (Gov. Code § 945.6).
Who Pays After a Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident?
| Cause of the crash | Where the money may come from |
|---|---|
| Another driver’s mistake | The at-fault driver’s insurer, up to the policy limit |
| An at-fault driver with little or no insurance | UM/UIM coverage on your own bike policy, if you carry it (Ins. Code § 11580.2) |
| A hit-and-run driver nobody identifies | Your UM coverage, subject to conditions in the statute such as physical contact with you or your motorcycle and a police report within 24 hours |
| A rider who carried a passenger and shared fault | The rider’s own liability coverage, in addition to the other driver’s |
| Debris, a pothole, or a pavement edge in a work zone | The City or Caltrans, after a timely government claim |
| A defective tire, brake, or other component | The maker of the part (CACI No. 1200) |
After a Redondo Beach Motorcycle Crash
- See a doctor the same day, even if you felt fine enough to ride home. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center provides Level I trauma care for the worst injuries.
- Get the crash on record. Drivers involved in an injury crash generally must report it within a day (Veh. Code § 20008), and a police report taken at the scene is the strongest record.
- Set the damaged helmet, jacket, and gloves aside without repairing or tossing them. They’re evidence of how hard you hit and that you were geared up.
- Take pictures of the pavement, not just the bike and car: loose gravel, uneven lane edges in a work zone, and where the car ended up.
- Collect the driver’s information, which the law requires them to give you, including their license number, the vehicle’s VIN, and their insurer (Veh. Code § 16025).
- Send the DMV an SR-1 within 10 days if there were injuries or more than $1,000 in damage.
- Talk to a lawyer before an adjuster asks about your speed or where you were in the lane.
Getting the Police Report
For crashes in Redondo Beach, the report comes from the Redondo Beach Police Department’s Records Unit. Requests go in through the City’s online records portal or by mail to the Records Unit, 401 Diamond Street, Redondo Beach, CA 90277, along with a copy of a government-issued photo ID; the City sets any fee once it processes the request. Jon’s office can handle this for you.
How Jon Builds a Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident Case
- What happened: the report, photos, video from nearby businesses and intersections, witnesses, and, for serious crashes, an expert who can rebuild speeds, sightlines, and signal timing.
- The blame-the-rider defense: a DOT-compliant helmet that was strapped on, and, for a lane-splitting crash, the speed of surrounding traffic and the driver’s signals.
- Checking the road: whether PCH or a City street had a defect that should be part of the claim.
- Medical proof: records, bills, and your doctors’ opinions on future treatment.
- Every policy: the at-fault driver’s, an employer’s if the driver was working, and your own UM/UIM and medical payments coverage.
- Resolution: negotiation backed by a documented demand, and a lawsuit when needed, generally filed in the district where the crash happened, the Torrance Courthouse for Redondo Beach.
Read about motorcycle accident claims generally.
Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident FAQs
A Car Changed Lanes Into Me While I Was Splitting Lanes on PCH. Is It My Fault?
Not automatically. Lane splitting is recognized in California, and the driver was still required to check, signal, and move over only when safe. If the insurer argues you share fault, comparative fault means your award goes down by that share; it doesn’t go to zero.
I Crashed in the PCH Work Zone. Who Is Responsible?
It depends on what caused it. If another driver hit you, the claim is against that driver. If a lane edge, loose material, or the work zone’s setup caused or worsened the crash, the State may share responsibility, and that claim is generally due within six months.
A Pothole on a Redondo Beach Side Street Took Me Down. Who Do I Claim Against?
The City of Redondo Beach, since it maintains city streets. The written claim generally must reach the City Clerk within six months, and the claim depends on showing the City created the hazard or had time to find and fix it.
I Was on an E-Bike, Not a Motorcycle. Does This Page Apply?
Some of it. E-bike crashes raise their own questions about bike paths, equipment, and insurance. Our Redondo Beach bicycle and e-bike accident guide covers them.
What Does a Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Cost?
Jon’s fee is a percentage taken from what he recovers; no recovery, no attorney’s fee. California requires the contingency agreement to be in writing (Bus. & Prof. Code § 6147).
Talk to a Redondo Beach Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Gravel, debris, and broken pavement that caused a crash can be cleaned up or repaired before anyone documents them, and claims about PCH or a City street are generally due within six months. Call Jon Olsson at (310) 304-4756 for a free consultation, or message us online. You owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
More about injury claims in the city is on our Redondo Beach personal injury lawyer page, and riders hurt next door can see our Torrance motorcycle accident page.
This page provides general information about motorcycle accident claims in Redondo Beach. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and rules can change and may depend on the facts of your case.