Kevin Taguchi leads an eponymous personal injury law practice in Hayward, California. Experienced in handling a variety of vehicular crash cases, lawyer Kevin Taguchi has represented many clients who have been involved in motorcycle accidents.Lane splitting has long been a controversial practice in California, particularly when a motorcycle vehicle crash makes the news. It involves a motorcyclist riding between lanes of traffic and traditionally has neither been prohibited nor expressly allowed under California law.In the summer of 2016, however, the California legislature issued a bill that officially allows the state Highway Patrol to establish guidelines for safe lane splitting. The bill stands out as the first in the nation to formalize lane-splitting practices, and thus the first to communicate to motorists that the practice is allowed.Early versions of the bill officially restricted lane splitting to speeds 50 mph or below and forbade lane-splitting motorcycles from traveling more than 15 mph faster than other traffic. In response to push-back from citizens, however, legislators altered the bill to remove these regulations. As enacted, Assembly Bill 51 formalizes the definition of a “lane” and gives the Highway Patrol the authority to develop speed and related guidelines.
Attorney Kevin Taguchi has led a personal injury-focused law firm in Alameda County, California, for more than 25 years. In that time, Kevin Taguchi has represented many clients affected by auto accidents. In lawsuits related to auto accidents, California follows pure comparative negligence to determine fault. This means that the judge or jury in a trial will determine percentage of fault for the drivers involved, and any compensation is adjusted by that percentage. For example, if a person to whom the court awards $50,000 in damages is 25 percent at fault, that person would receive $50,000 minus $12,500, or $37,500.There are two ways in which the State of California determines fault. The most traditional way uses the common law concept of negligence, in which an injured individual must demonstrate that another driver failed to operate his or her car with sufficient care. To be valid, the injured party must prove that the negligence directly caused the accident and injuries.Determination of fault also may come from a review of the California Vehicle Code and its provisions. If a driver's violation of any such statute led to an accident, the law presumes that person to be negligent. This form of negligence, known as negligence per se, was formally adopted into the California Evidence Code through Section 669.
