Portland Motorcycle Accident Attorney

If you have been injured on your motorcycle in a motor vehicle accident you will need to know what insurance is available to help with your medical bills, lost wages, and damages to your motorcycle and gear.

Hire An Attorney Who Rides

I have ridden thousands of miles on my street motorcycle and know the dangers that motorcyclists face every time they get on a bike.

In my experience, most motorcycle riders are very safe and cautious, as our life is on the line if we are not.

My consultations are always free and within a few minutes I can share my thoughts on your case so that you can decide what is best for you.

I am an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer with proven results.

Mike Colbach, Portland motorcycle accident attorney, on lead motorcycle riding at Portland International Raceway track day

In one motorcycle case the insurance company originally blamed my client and would not even fix his motorcycle.

I filed a lawsuit and a month before trial they offered $2 Million and said they would never pay a penny more.

After picking a jury and presenting witnesses, they nearly tripled their offer and the case settled.

I recently used Mike and his team due to a motorcycle accident that I was injured in. I can't say enough about the professionalism and level of knowledge that Mike brought to the table. Without Mike at the helm of this incident there is no way I would have been fairly treated. He's very objective and clear with what the possible outcomes could be. I knew what to expect down to each and every detail. -->More

Kris Preble

Google Review

In another case where my client, an injured cyclist, before trial they did not even offer to pay his medical bills. In 2024 a jury awarded my client over $4 million. (PDF of the Marion County Jury Verdict)

Two years ago, as I was riding my motorcycle, on my year long journey from Chile to Canada, I got very badly injured. After over 35,000 miles, my journey was abruptly interrupted, as a distracted truck driver failed to yield and cut the road a few meters ahead of me. -->More

David Denis

Google Review

$50,000 policy limit settlement for motorcycle accident.

$100,000 policy limits settlement for injured motorcycle rider.

$340,000 recovered for injured motorcyclist in motorcycle accident. His offer was zero before he hired me.

$350,000 policy limits settlement motorcycle accident. Before he hired me the insurance company blamed him and refused to pay a penny.

$374,500 jury verdict for motorcyclist hit by an underinsured motorist. State Farm's final offer before trial was $113K.

$750,000 policy limits settlement for motorcycle accident.

$1.1 Million recovery for injured motorcyclist in motorcycle accident.

$1.5 Million recovered for injured motorcyclist in motorcycle accident.

In Oregon, motorcyclists are not required to carry PIP (Personal Injury Insurance).

However, you can add PIP coverage to your motorcycle insurance policy which is no-fault healthcare and wage loss coverage (no-fault meaning it covers you even when you are responsible for your accident or if you just crashed by yourself and were injured with no other vehicle operator involved).

If you do not have PIP as part of your motorcycle insurance policy, and do not have health insurance, than the other driver's auto insurance should pay your medical bills. If your Oregon personal injury protection coverage limits are reached, the other driver's personal injury protection may also cover you if you do not have healthcare insurance.

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In Oregon you do need to report a motor vehicle accident within 72 hours to the DMV when:

• Damage to any vehicle is over $2,500 (even if y our vehicle was the only one in the crash);
• Any vehicle is towed from the scene;
• Injury or death resulted from this accident;
• or Damages to anyone's property other than a vehicle involved in this accident is more than $2,500.

If you do not file a report when required, Oregon law requires DMV to issue a suspension notice. If you were in an accident and the damages were less than $2,500, you can report to DMV if the other party doesn't have insurance. Be sure to clearly note on the accident report that it doesn't meet mandatory reporting criteria.

An Oregon Police Traffic Accident Report filed with DMV does not exempt you from the requirement to complete and submit an Oregon Traffic Accident and Insurance Report.

Regardless of a police officer's reporting, you are required, as outlined in ORS 811.720 and 811.725, to complete and submit the Oregon Traffic Accident and Insurance Report to DMV. The report must be completed using the form designated by DMV which is the Oregon Traffic Accident and Insurance Report.

Make sure to retain copies of the accident and insurance report for your records.

You do have the right to recover any police report submitted as a result of your motorcycle accident.

Contact the police department that responded to your motorcycle accident. The procedure for recovering the police report will vary from one jurisdiction to the other.

In Portland, you can get a copy of your accident report usually by contacting the Portland Police Bureau's Records Division at 503-823-0043 or the Police Report Request and Help Line at 503-823-0041.

Another way you can get a copy of your accident report in Portland is by filling out a request on the official website of the City of Portland.

If your motorcycle accident happened outside of Portland, then call DMV Customer Assistance at 503-945-5000 and request DMV send (snail mail/fax/email) you the accident report. You can also pick up a paper form from a DMV field office or your local law enforcement department.

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I am a big believer in motorcycle rider training and track days.

Motorcycle Track Days can help you stay safe on the roads.

Consider these findings in the new Motorcycle Crash Causation Study (PDF) that rely on the motorcycle riders skill, experience on all motorcycles but also on the motorcycle being ridden in order to properly execute the evasive action to avoid an accident:

Validity of Evasive Action for the Situation

• Proper evasive action was taken twice as often as the improper action in multiple vehicle crashes (27 percent proper versus 11 percent improper), while improper evasive action was taken twice as often as the proper action in single-vehicle crashes (43 percent proper versus 22 percent improper).
• "Yes, Evasive Action Was the Proper Choice for the Situation" was unrepresented in fatal crashes.

Competent Execution of Evasive Action

• Evasive action was neither taken nor properly executed in 80 percent of cases.
• Proper execution was underrepresented in single-vehicle and fatal crashes.

In the past I used to offer a free Track Day with every motorcycle case I handled and I even sponsored an invited motorcycle rider track day with PSSR at Portland International Raceway with the fastest motorcycle riders in the PNW.

I am the Oregon Motorcycle Attorney who is affiliated with professional motorcycle racer, who rides Super Hooligan, Super Bikes in MotoAmerica, and every other style of motorcycle riding, Andy DiBrino.

Andy and I grew up in the same area just outside of Portland.

Andy DiBrino has recently started coaching and running his own track days, and coaching sessions, in Canby, Oregon at Pat's Acres.

Learn more, and check out Andy's full schedule on his Department of Speed website. You can also find Andy coaching for other track day and motorcycle coaching events throughout the PNW, and sometimes at huge raceways like The Ridge..

Currently we also have track days offered by Moto Corsa which are scheduled at Portland International Raceway and at The Ridge Raceway not too far away in Washington; we also have another facility where Skip Track Days offers motorcycle track days. And more track day providers and riding schools and rider coaching offered by: Optimum Performance, MotoVixen,   2Fast, Pacific Track Time,  MotoFit, and Ken Hill Coaching.

Motorcycle rider training at these types of track days offer experience with your motorcycle in a non traffic environment where you can push your skills to improve and really get to know your motorcycle.

The help of other riders and coaches is also invaluable in helping you gain confidence and build new skills.

Get more quality motorcycle seat time with no cars, it's a fun time too.

Special Motorcycle Track Day Events With Andy DiBrino

Andy is planning a couple upcoming special events, June 1, and June 29 to coincide with the MotoAmerica / Super Hooligans at The Ridge in Washington and he hopes some of the professional MotoAmerica riders and friends of his, will come out for the fun as special guests. Learn more, and check out Andy's full schedule for motorcycle coaching and track days practice on his Department of Speed website.

I am proud to be supporting some of the prizes Andy will be giving out at both of these special events. June 1 was a celebration of life, remembering Andy's dear friend and fellow motorcycle racer, who he grew up riding and racing with at Pat's Acres and at PIR, even Thursday Night MX at PIR, Kelly Johnson.

Pictured below from Andy's June 1 event womens-only Superpole Laptime Shootout for $500 in price money which I was proud to sponsor (1st got $300, 2nd $150, 3rd $50 -winners are pictured on their podiums at Pat's Acres). Andy puts on fun events. He had tshirts for Kelly #303, stickers, and more.