Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your connection to motorcycling.

I’ve been riding motorcycles on and off for years. After spending some time away from riding, I eventually got back into it and rediscovered how much I enjoyed being on two wheels.

At first, I was drawn to adventure riding and spent time riding a BMW F800GS through the mountains of Colorado. When I later bought a motorcycle in Northern Virginia, I decided to go in a different direction and purchased a Harley-Davidson Iron 883. I wasn’t looking for a daily commuter. I wanted something fun to take on short rides and weekend trips.

I’ve had a great time with it. I enjoy attending Bikes & Breakfast events throughout the area and taking rides through places like Leesburg and Harpers Ferry whenever I get the opportunity.

Q: What do you enjoy most about riding?

Riding clears a lot of the static out of my head.

Part of that is because riding requires complete focus. When you’re on a motorcycle, you have to pay attention to everything around you, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. You’re constantly evaluating traffic and anticipating what other drivers might do next.

That car might pull out in front of you. Another driver may change lanes unexpectedly. Someone may be driving erratically and need to be avoided altogether. Then there are road hazards like gravel, potholes, and debris.

At the same time, there are moments when you look around and think, “This is amazing.” Whether you’re riding through the countryside or taking in a beautiful view, there is a sense of freedom and awareness that is hard to duplicate anywhere else.

Q: Has being a rider affected the way you represent injured motorcyclists?

Absolutely.

The first thing is empathy. Most personal injury lawyers have empathy—you almost have to in this line of work. But I’ve noticed that both within the legal profession and in the broader community, there is often a subtle judgment when someone is injured on a motorcycle. It’s a kind of “well, what did they expect?” mentality.

Part of recognizing that comes from my training as a trial lawyer. Personal injury attorneys know that people naturally create stories in their heads about why bad things happen. “If he had just done this, it wouldn’t have happened.” “I would have done it differently.” Those stories make people feel safer because they allow them to believe they could have avoided the same outcome.

As a rider myself, I know I’m susceptible to that same way of thinking. So when an injured motorcyclist comes to me, I consciously stop and remind myself that it’s not serving my client. The reality is that bad things happen to even the safest and most experienced riders.

At the same time, I know we live in a world where jurors are going to make those judgments. That means part of my job is helping them understand that these crashes can happen to anyone. The issue isn’t that someone chose to ride a motorcycle. The issue is whether another driver failed to drive safely.

There’s also no question that being a personal injury lawyer has made me a safer rider. I see the same crash patterns over and over again. For motorcyclists, one of the most common is the left-turn collision. As a rider, I do my best to assume that every vehicle is about to turn left in front of me and that nobody sees me.

Q: What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about motorcycle accidents and motorcycle riders?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that people often assume the rider must have been doing something wrong.

There is no question that riding a motorcycle involves risk. Riders understand that better than anyone. But what many non-riders don’t realize is that because motorcycling is inherently more dangerous, most riders are very aware of those risks and ride cautiously as a result.

The problem is that even the safest rider is still surrounded by other drivers, and not all of those drivers are paying attention. They may be distracted, impatient, looking at their phones, or simply fail to see a motorcycle.

When I represent an injured rider, I work hard to keep the focus where it belongs. The issue is not that my client chose to ride a motorcycle. The issue is whether the other driver acted reasonably and safely under the circumstances.

Unfortunately, many people start with assumptions. They subconsciously imagine the rider was speeding, weaving through traffic, riding aggressively, or taking unnecessary risks. Sometimes that’s true, but in many cases it isn’t. In many cases, the rider was simply riding responsibly when another driver made a mistake.

Part of my job is helping jurors and insurance companies look past those stereotypes and focus on the actual facts of the crash.

Q: What’s the most important thing a rider can do to protect themselves before a crash ever happens?

Beyond the obvious advice—wear a helmet, wear proper gear, and ride as though you’re invisible to other drivers—the biggest recommendation I have for motorcyclists is to make sure they have adequate insurance coverage, especially uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

As a lawyer, I’ve seen too many situations where someone did everything right, suffered serious injuries because of another driver’s negligence, and then discovered there simply wasn’t enough insurance available to compensate them fairly.

A crash is bad enough. You’re dealing with injuries, medical treatment, time away from work, and the stress that comes with recovery. It’s even worse when the crash wasn’t your fault and there’s not enough insurance available to cover the damage.

That’s why I tell riders to buy as much uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as they can reasonably afford and hope they never need it.

I also encourage riders to become familiar with the most common motorcycle crash scenarios. The left-turn collision is probably the classic example, but rear-end crashes and lane-change crashes are common as well. Understanding those patterns can help riders anticipate danger before it develops.

Finally, I recommend using a handlebar or helmet-mounted camera when practical. In many cases, video footage can make all the difference. It can preserve evidence, eliminate disputes about what happened, and provide a clear picture of events that might otherwise be difficult to reconstruct later.