Motorcycle Accidents

Important Information to Know if You Have Been Hurt in a Motorcycle Accident

1. It is essential to understand that New York’s No-Fault law is different for car and motorcycle accidents. For car drivers, the No-Fault law will pay for some of the accident-related expenses, like doctor and hospital bills and lost wages from work, but it is more difficult for people who have been injured in car accidents to sue for pain and suffering, unless they have a severe injury. The No-Fault law defines severe injuries as bone fractures, loss or limitation of a body part, the death of a fetus, or the ultimate death of the injured person.

However, due to the high risk of injury when riding on a motorcycle, the No-Fault benefits are not given to people who have been hurt in motorcycle accidents. No-Fault insurance does not cover motorcyclists. People hurt in motorcycle accidents must use their own private insurance to pay for accident-related expenses. Although, unlike car drivers, motorcyclists have the right to file a lawsuit without having to be severely injured.

2. People who have been injured in motorcycle accidents may be entitled to two types of compensation: compensatory damages and punitive damages.

Compensatory damages pay for any out-of-pocket expenses as well as future costs related to the accident. Compensatory damages may help to cover medical bills, lost wages from work, property damage, disability, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and/or loss of life.

Punitive damages come into play in cases where there was negligence or malice. This type of financial compensation to a person who was injured acts as a punishment for the party who was reckless, and can be awarded by a jury, if your case goes to trial.

3. Under New York State law, even if the motorcyclist was partially at fault for the accident, they may still be able to recover financial losses. There is a rule called comparative negligence, which means that more than one person can be responsible for an accident. However, even if you did something wrong and were partly responsible for your accident, you still have legal rights. It’s important to keep in mind that the amount of money the you recover if you were partly at fault for the accident will be lowered in proportion to the amount at which you were at fault. If your case goes to trial, the jury needs to determine what percentage of the accident was the fault of the other party, and what percentage of the accident was your fault, if any. For example, a jury could find that the other party was 80 percent responsible for the accident and that you were 20 percent responsible for the accident. In this situation, you might still be able to receive a monetary settlement, but it would be for 20 percent less than if the accident were absolutely no fault of yours.