New York City Motorcycle Accident Attorney
Motorcycle accidents can be extremely dangerous. The likelihood of serious injury or death is high, even for those who wear protective gear. Victims and loved ones alike suffer the fallout from motorcycle accident injuries and death. Motorcycle accident claims are challenging, but they can be won. New York motorcycle accident attorney Eric R. Bernstein is here to help you recover the full compensation that you deserve.
Motorcycle Accidents and Driver Negligence
In motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle, driver negligence on the part of the other driver is typically the cause. Despite public awareness campaigns, drivers still fail to look for motorcycles and fail to respect motorcyclists’ right of way. Common examples of driver negligence leading to motorcycle accidents include:
- Driver making left-hand turn into the path of a motorcycle
- Lane change into the motorcycle
- Lane change that forces motorcyclist to make evasive maneuvers resulting in a crash that may not directly involve the at-fault driver’s vehicle but may involve other vehicles or end in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash
- Following too closely
Other Causes of Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents are not always caused by negligent drivers. Other causes include:
- Defective motorcycle
- Defective roadway
In addition to causing motorcycle accidents, a motorcycle defect or a roadway defect can cause motorcycle accident injuries to be worse than they otherwise would have been. For instance, a missing or damaged guardrail does not cause a crash but can cause a survivable motorcycle accident to become fatal, no matter what the initial cause of the accident.
Compensation if You Were Not Wearing a Helmet
Motorcyclists in New York are required by law to wear a helmet, but that does not mean that you cannot recover compensation for your motorcycle accident injuries if you were not wearing a helmet. In fact, failure to wear a helmet may not affect your claim at all. It depends on the type of injuries you sustained and whether a helmet would have reduced the severity of your injuries.
Helmet use will have no impact on compensation for injuries such as amputations, back injuries, and knee injuries. If you suffered a brain injury, failure to wear a helmet can cause your recovery to be reduced, but it does not let the negligent driver or other responsible party off the hook entirely. New York is a comparative negligence state, which means that your recovery can be reduced by your percentage of blame for your injuries.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a New York motorcycle accident, the Law Offices of Eric R. Bernstein, P.C. can help. Please, call us today at (212) 683-1530 or submit an online contact form today to schedule your free initial consultation.
