Spotswood, NJ Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Proving your injuries to the insurance company can be difficult. If you were hurt in a motorcycle accident, it is important to always work with an injury attorney who can stand up to the insurance companies and fight to get you what you deserve.
Our Spotswood, NJ motorcycle accident attorneys can represent you in negotiations with the insurance companies and work to get you the payments you need. If negotiations break down, we can file a lawsuit in court and put your case before a judge and jury to get your damages paid. Never talk to the insurance companies without consulting a lawyer first, and never accept payments without making sure they cover your needs.
Spotswood motorcycle accident attorney Jerry Friedman has been working for decades to help injured motorcycle riders and their families get justice after a serious motorcycle crash. For a free case review, call us today at 1-800-529-4464.
When to Call a Motorcycle Accident Attorney in Spotswood, NJ
If you were in a motorcycle accident near Spotswood or you live in Spotswood and need help with a crash somewhere else in NJ, you should call us as soon as you can. There is no time to waste after a motorcycle accident.
First, it is important that you focus on your recovery and get yourself the medical attention you need. Especially with serious motorcycle crashes, victims can face anything from broken bones to massive head trauma, and getting the care you need can be life or death. There are also many injuries – such as back, neck, and head injuries – that might not be outwardly obvious. Getting scans and testing at the hospital can show deeper problems. As soon as you have the medical treatment you need, calling a lawyer should be your next step.
You do not need to wait until things fall through with the insurance company to call a lawyer. Our Spotswood motorcycle accident attorneys can represent you during negotiations and talks with insurance companies. This can help prevent them from misconstruing anything you say as an admission of fault. It can also help you avoid low-dollar settlement offers that do not cover your needs.
All in all, you should contact a lawyer within the first week or so after your motorcycle accident. If you wait too long, it may be harder to track down witnesses and gather evidence about the accident.
Calling a lawyer even earlier can be advantageous in many situations. For example, your lawyer may be able to find security camera video or traffic cam footage of the accident – but many recording systems only retain footage for around 48 hours before overwriting it. Acting quickly is always ideal.
How Fault Is Proven in a Motorcycle Accident Case in Spotswood, NJ
In a court of law, the judge and jury can hold whoever was at fault for the accident responsible for the damages the accident caused. In many motorcycle accident cases, this is going to mean going after the driver who hit you, but multiple drivers may actually share responsibility. In any case, there are some thresholds that need to be met before a driver can be considered “at fault.” There are also rules about what evidence can be used to prove fault and how fault can be allocated among multiple drivers.
Finding a Driver at Fault
For a driver to legally be considered at fault or “liable” for a motorcycle accident, you must be able to prove they did something wrong. Some accidents are merely that: accidents. In these cases, no one is really responsible for the crash, and no-fault insurance may be able to cover injuries instead. However, if the other driver violated traffic laws, caused the accident because of distracted driving, or intentionally hit you with their car, for example, they are certainly at fault.
For a driver to be at fault, there must be some mistake, violation, or unreasonable act that the driver committed. Things like speeding or drunk driving often qualify, as to tailgating or failing to look out for motorcycles on the road. Once you prove there was a mistake or error, you also have to prove that it actually caused the crash. If the mistake was not actually connected to the crash or the accident would have been unavoidable even without the mistake, you cannot hold the driver liable for your damages.
Evidence Needed
In any injury case, you and your attorney have the burden of production and the burden of proof. That means you need to supply the evidence to convince the jury that the other driver is responsible.
Your Spotswood motorcycle accident attorney can help you collect and assemble evidence. Things like camera footage are ideal, but photos of the accident scene, witness statements, and your own testimony provide the basis of many motorcycle accident lawsuits.
You can legally use a wide range of evidence to show the jury what happened and why the other driver is at fault. However, there are some evidence rules that might keep certain things out because they are hearsay, such as police reports. However, the other driver’s statements and admissions are almost always admissible, so be on the lookout for anything the driver said to admit fault. As another example, evidence of previous accidents and previous bad behavior might not be admissible under certain circumstances.
Allocating Blame
In many cases, multiple drivers actually share responsibility for a crash. Motorcycles are often caught up in other crashes. This means two or more other drivers could have actually caused your accident and both could be at fault. The court may even assign partial blame to you after a crash.
Courts allocate fault by stating a percentage of fault for each driver involved. Each driver pays the victim that share of the total damages, and the victim’s damages are reduced by their own percentage of the blame. Victims can still get damages in NJ as long as they are not more at fault than the other drivers combined (i.e., over 50% at fault).
Call Our Spotswood, NJ Motorcycle Accident and Injury Attorneys
If you or a family member was hurt in a motorcycle crash in Spotswood – or anywhere else in NJ – call Spotswood motorcycle accident attorney Jerry Friedman today. Call 1-800-529-4464 to get started with a free case evaluation.
