Des Moines Side by Side ATV Injury Lawyer

You should not have to master Iowa’s injury statutes just to be treated fairly after a crash. We have that knowledge so that you don’t have to study, learn, and try to navigate the legal aftermath of a crash. 

Iowa is an at-fault state. 

Iowa follows an at-fault liability system rather than a no-fault PIP system. That means an injured person does not automatically receive PIP benefits simply because an accident occurred, although health insurance, medical-payments coverage, or other applicable coverage may help pay medical expenses. 

Fault gets divided, and a 51 percent share ends your claim. 

Under Iowa Code § 668.3, a claimant whose share of fault is greater than the combined fault of the other parties is barred from recovery. If the claimant’s fault does not exceed that threshold, the damages award is reduced in proportion to the claimant’s share of fault. 

Another factor in Iowa law is that fault can be pointed at people who are not even in the lawsuit. An insurer may try to blame an absent third party to shrink its own exposure. You can expect the insurer to make arguments that you rode recklessly or should have known the ground was dangerous, whether or not the evidence supports it. 

You have two years, and it goes faster than it sounds. 

Iowa Code § 614.1(2) gives you two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim. That is far shorter than some neighboring states allow. 

Because the side-by-side itself is the single most important piece of evidence in a crash, it’s important to work with an attorney as soon as possible. The clock may not run out until two years have passed, but the evidence starts disappearing fast. If the SXS gets repaired, scrapped, or sold before anyone inspects it, the theories that depend on it can vanish with it. A discovery rule can extend the clock when an injury was not reasonably knowable right away, but no one should count on that.

Where you can legally ride can affect decisions about fault. 

Since 2022, registered side-by-sides can run on public roads in all 99 Iowa counties, staying off interstates and four-lane highways, capped at 35 miles per hour. Road operation requires a driver who is at least 18, licensed, and insured, and road travel is meant for the most direct route to a trail, park, or home.

Cities and counties can tighten these rules further. Where you were and what the local ordinance said feed straight into who was at fault.

Belts and seating can shift blame onto the operator. 

When a side-by-side built with belts is run on a road, they have to be worn, and passengers belong in a manufacturer’s seat rather than a cargo bed. Bed riding is a quick way for an operator to pick up liability.

The coverage question most riders get wrong. 

Iowa generally requires uninsured- and underinsured-motorist coverage to be included in qualifying auto liability policies, although a named insured can reject some or all of that coverage in writing. Whether the coverage applies to a particular side-by-side crash also depends on the policy’s terms and exclusions.