Princeton, NJ Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Motorcycle accidents can leave victims with serious injuries and expenses they need help paying for. Insurance is supposed to cover these injuries, but motorcyclists often have different access to insurance than other drivers in NJ.
For help with your injury case, get help from a Princeton, NJ motorcycle accident lawyer. Instead of being able to rely on your own no-fault insurance in New Jersey, motorcyclists often need to file lawsuits to get the compensation they need for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Call Princeton motorcycle accident lawyer Jerry Friedman today for a free case review. Jerry is a motorcycle rider himself, and he understands the risks and dangers that accident victims can face. Our number is 1-800-529-4464.
When to File a Lawsuit for a Motorcycle Accident in Princeton
Any time an auto accident involves injuries, you should consider filing a lawsuit to get compensation. The laws surrounding insurance and the limits of insurance claims are often too strict to help motorcycle accident victims get the compensation they need in Princeton.
New Jersey typically requires drivers to carry no-fault insurance that will cover their injuries in the event of a crash. These same policies, however, are not available to motorcycle riders. Instead, motorcycle riders will usually file a third-party claim against the driver who hit them.
Since most drivers pay premiums to ensure they have good no-fault insurance to cover their own injuries, their liability insurance to cover other peoples’ injuries might not be as strong. In fact, it could fall short of covering a motorcycle rider’s injuries in full. Instead of settling for an insurance payout – which will often be reduced to save the insurance company money – you may need to file a lawsuit. Minimum insurance requirements are set by law, but these minimums might still be too low to cover a serious crash without a lawsuit.
When suing a driver for hitting you with their car, you can claim any damages you faced from the motorcycle accident. Your Princeton motorcycle accident attorney can help you claim damages for medical expenses, the damage to your bike, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages related to the crash.
Proving Fault in a Princeton Motorcycle Accident
Motorcycle accidents typically happen in three different scenarios: single-vehicle crashes, crashes between two vehicles, and multi-vehicle crashes. Liability is a bit different in each scenario, and our Princeton motorcycle lawyer will usually seek compensation from different parties depending on which type of crash you were involved in.
Single-Vehicle Crashes
When one motorcycle crashes into a stationary object or skids to a stop off the side of the road, it is often difficult to blame anyone but the operator. If you were a passenger on a motorcycle when the operator crashed, you could be entitled to sue them for your injuries. If the accident was the result of another driver’s mistakes in a “near-miss” situation, then the case might be resolved as if the other vehicle actually crashed into your bike.
Two-Vehicle Accidents
In a crash between a motorcycle and another vehicle (typically a car or truck instead of another motorcycle), you will likely want to claim that the other driver was at fault. Again, if you were injured as a motorcycle passenger, you may be able to claim that the driver you were riding with was responsible, at least in part.
When suing another driver for a motorcycle accident, you will have to prove their fault by producing evidence that they did something wrong to cause the crash. Some accidents are total and complete accidents, and some insurance policies might still be able to cover the damages in those cases. Barring that rare circumstance, you can usually sue another driver for things like traffic violations or unsafe driving that leads to a crash.
Common causes of accidents include failing to keep a proper lookout for motorcycles, speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, or other traffic violations. Drivers can also be held liable for a motorcycle crash if they did something wrong that is not part of an explicit traffic violation. Talk to a Princeton motorcycle accident lawyer for additional information.
Multi-Vehicle Accidents
When more than two vehicles are involved in a crash, the court can assign partial fault to each driver. This can include the victim, as many motorcycle accidents involve facts that are not perfect and do indicate some level of blame even for the victim. In fact, the victim can be assigned partial blame in two-vehicle crashes as well.
When the court assigns blame, each driver or other party that contributed to the accident is assigned a percentage of the fault in the case. That party is then ordered to pay that percentage of the damages to the victim. For example, if the court finds that a motorcycle accident was caused 50% by one driver and 50% by another driver, each driver pays the motorcycle rider for half of their total damages.
When the victim is assigned partial blame, they lose that percentage of the damages. For example, in a case where the injured motorcycle rider was deemed 10% at fault, one driver was deemed 25% at fault, and another driver was deemed 65% at fault for a $100,000 case, damages will be divided as follows:
- One driver pays $25,000
- One driver pays $65,000
- The victim misses out on the other $10,000 (as though they paid for that portion of damages themselves).
Sometimes, cases involve parties that were not driving a car, such as a negligent auto manufacturer or a commercial driver’s employer (e.g., a trucking company). Your Princeton motorcycle accident lawyer can help identify the proper parties to file suit against.
Call Our Princeton Motorcycle Injury Attorney Today
If you were hurt in a motorcycle accident in or near Princeton, NJ, call Jerry Friedman today. Jerry is a Princeton motorcycle accident lawyer that has been representing motorcycle accident victims for over 40 years. For a free case review, call us today at 1-800-529-4464.
