Most motorcycle accident lawsuits hinge on the basic duty of care owed by one motorist to another (or the driver to the passenger) to operate the vehicle in a reasonably safe manner.
The recent case of Towe v. Sacagawea, Inc. is different in that it involves premises liability. The reason the standard is different is because of where it occurred – on a private access road, rather than a public thoroughfare.
The lawsuit, recently considered by the Oregon Supreme Court, was the result of a motorcycle accident in which the rider, on site to examine a for-sale property as advertised from the public road, crashed after being tripped by a cable that had been laid about a foot off the ground by one of the property owners.