Long Island Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Fighting for Motorcyclists to Secure the Compensation They Deserve

Any motor vehicle collision can be devastating. Unfortunately, the risk of catastrophic injuries greatly increases in a motorcycle crash. After all, bikers have very little to protect them other than a helmet and possibly sturdy riding gear. Even if riders take all necessary precautions, though, the most common motorcycle accident injuries can be disastrous. When these injuries are caused by a third party’s negligence, a Long Island motorcycle accident lawyer may be able to help you secure compensation.

At The Law Offices of Elke E. Mirabella, PC, our New York personal injury law firm will work diligently to secure a favorable outcome in your case. We know that medical bills can pile up quickly, and when you’re facing lost wages, this can be a recipe for disaster. Additionally, New York law provides fewer protections for motorcyclists, so it’s important for you to understand your rights. Automobile drivers cause far too many unnecessary accidents involving motorcycles, but we’re here to hold them accountable.

Contact us today for a free legal consultation. A motorcycle accident lawyer at our law firm will help you understand your options.

Does No-Fault Insurance Cover Motorcycle Accident Victims?

New York no-fault insurance laws allow injury victims to recover compensation following a car accident regardless of liability. While this may seem catered to helping injury victims, its primary goal is to reduce strain on the court systems. Requiring all drivers to have no-fault insurance greatly reduces the likelihood that any case will make it to court. In fact, serious injuries must meet a certain threshold before someone can file a lawsuit in these situations. However, motorcycle riders are not covered under New York no-fault insurance laws.

This can be a double-edged sword. While it’s unfortunate that personal injury bike riders won’t be able to get compensation from their own insurance company, it does reduce the hurdles to filing a lawsuit for compensation. Since there isn’t a no-fault threshold to meet in motorcycle accident cases, an injured individual can immediately seek financial recovery from the negligent driver and their insurance company. This could allow them to recover medical expenses, lost wages, and even damages for non-monetary losses such as pain and suffering.

New York’s lack of no-fault protection for motorcycle riders is disappointing, but it does offer the opportunity for more significant compensation. To ensure you have the best chance of maximizing your financial recovery, it’s important to work with an experienced legal team. That’s exactly what you’ll find at The Law Offices of Elke E. Mirabella. Contact our Long Island motorcycle accident lawyers today to discuss your case during a free consultation.

Are You Entitled to Compensation for Your Injuries?

Since no-fault insurance is not an option in a motorcycle accident case, it all comes down to proving liability. While it may seem clear that the other driver’s negligence caused your accident, you may end up having to prove this in a court of law. Establishing liability is also important for settlement negotiations. After all, an insurance company is unlikely to offer a fair financial settlement if it believes there’s no risk of losing in court.

That’s why experienced motorcycle accident lawyers in Long Island will investigate your case and strive to establish the following three elements of liability:

Duty of Care

Your Long Island motorcycle accident lawyer will start by establishing that the other party had a duty of care. This is a responsibility to avoid acts that could be harmful to others. This can be straightforward since all motorists have a responsibility to drive carefully.

Violation of Duty

It’s also necessary to show that the at-fault party violated a duty of care. This can be done in many ways. Perhaps the motorist was speeding, or maybe they turned into the intersection without identifying oncoming traffic. Any of these actions increase the risk of roadway accidents.

Causation of Harm

Lastly, it’s necessary to show that a person’s violation of duty resulted in harm. For instance, an injury victim may have mounting bills for the medical treatment they need after a motorcycle accident. Harm could include present and future bills — along with non-monetary damages such as emotional distress.

What Are Common Injuries in Motorcycle Accidents?

Sometimes, it’s not enough for a motorcyclist to practice proper safety. The negligent and reckless actions of other parties can still lead to serious accidents. While no two motorcycle accidents are exactly alike, the suffered injuries are often similar. This is due to the nature of riding such a motor vehicle. With minimal protection during often high-speed collisions, it’s no wonder why the following common motorcycle-related injuries occur so frequently:

Road rash
Broken bones and fractures
Head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
Spinal cord injuries
Disfigurement
Soft tissue injuries
Organ damage
Joint injuries
Amputations
Burn injuries
Whiplash
Crush injuries
Bruises and contusions
Eye injuries
Emotional trauma
Facial injuries
Motorcycle fatalities

Whether you’re an experienced New York Freedom Riders member or a novice learning to ride the open highways, you should be able to travel our streets without fear of harm. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a reckless automobile driver — or other negligent parties — to snatch this ability away from motorcyclists. When this happens, it’s critical to remember that you have legal rights. Whether you suffered a serious injury or simply mental distress, you may be entitled to significant compensation.

Contact The Law Offices of Elke E. Mirabella today to discuss your case with a Long Island motorcycle accident lawyer. We’ll work hard to help you understand your options and secure every bit of compensation you deserve.

What Are Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents?

It’s clear that serious injuries are common in motorcycle accidents. However, it’s important to understand what leads to such injuries. Why are motorcycle riders at such significant risk while on New York roadways? One need only review the most common reasons for motorcycle crashes in our state to understand why these incidents can be so devastating. When you put a fast-moving vehicle with minimal protection into any of the following scenarios, outcomes are detrimental more often than not:

Speeding
Distracted driving
Lane splitting
Inexperienced riders
Unsafe lane changes
Left-turning vehicles
Impaired driving
Poor road conditions
Inclement weather
Hazards on the roadway
Failure to yield
Mechanical defects
Animals on the road
Sudden stops
Reckless driving

Any of these scenarios greatly increase the risk of motorcycle crashes along state roadways. When such outcomes occur, it’s not uncommon for medical bills to start piling up at the worst possible time. In especially tragic instances, loved ones may lose family members in these accidents. The sad fact is that — even in these horrible situations — insurance adjusters will try to avoid paying what victims are fairly owed. This is true even when riders seek help from their own motorcycle insurance company.

This is why you need a dedicated legal advocate on your side. At The Law Offices of Elke E. Mirabella, you’ll work with a Long Island motorcycle accident attorney who will help defend your legal rights and work to secure maximum compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation.

What if Riders Are Partially Liable for Motorcycle Accidents?

As evidenced by some of the leading causes of motorcycle accidents in Long Island, bikers sometimes contribute to their own accidents. For instance, envision a scenario where a rider is lane-splitting and isn’t seen by a merging vehicle until the last second. In this scenario, it’s understandable to assume that both parties may be responsible for the serious injuries that result from the crash. However, many injury victims fail to seek legal assistance because they believe their own liability removes the potential for compensation.

Fortunately, this belief is misguided. If you’re in a motorcycle crash that you partially contributed to, New York law may still allow you to secure compensation. That’s because we live in a comparative negligence state. This means that victims can secure compensation equal to the other party’s level of liability. For instance, a judge may decide that an accident resulted in $1 million in damages. However, they may also believe that the other driver was only 90% at fault for the collision.

In this situation, the injured biker would receive $900,000 — 90% of the $1 million of damages — to reimburse them for their losses. This is why it’s critical for injury victims not to make assumptions about their case. Long Island motorcycle accident attorneys can review your case and help you understand what you may be entitled to. And since you can schedule a free case evaluation at The Law Offices of Elke E. Mirabella, you have nothing to lose by reaching out.

Can Long Island Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Really Help?

Following a motorcycle accident, many injury victims question whether they even need to work with a personal injury law firm. Perhaps they believe liability is clear and that there’s no way they’d lose their case. Maybe the liable party’s insurance company has already contacted them and offered a seemingly fair settlement. In such instances, it will be tempting to forgo a consultation with Long Island motorcycle accident attorneys. However, this could be harmful to your case.

Simply put, personal injury victims who are represented by lawyers secure higher compensation on average. Legal professionals know how to negotiate with insurance companies, and they know that victims are often entitled to much more than just reimbursement for medical bills. Insurance adjusters are also far less likely to try to take advantage of an injury victim when they have experienced legal counsel. However, the benefits of having an attorney go far beyond settlement negotiations.

Experienced Long Island motorcycle accident lawyers will know how to investigate the most complex cases properly. They can handle all the difficult documentation work that’s necessary for personal injury claims. They also have resources the average person simply doesn’t have access to. More importantly, they can handle litigation on your behalf if the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement. You deserve dedicated legal advocacy, and that’s what our law firm offers.

What Damages Might You Be Entitled To?

In most motorcycle accidents, injury victims won’t have to go to court. That’s because the majority of personal injury cases are resolved with settlement negotiations. Unfortunately, this isn’t always how things work out following a motorcycle crash. Perhaps the at-fault party’s insurance company wants to avoid a potentially high settlement, or they think they’d succeed in court. Whatever the case, filing litigation to pursue compensation might become necessary.

In such a situation, an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer in Long Island may be able to help you secure the following damage types:

Economic Damages

Also known as special damages, economic damages are meant to reimburse motorcycle drivers for the monetary losses they’ve suffered. This could include medical expenses, property damage, therapeutic costs, lost wages, future medical treatment costs, and more.

Non-economic Damages

Also known as general damages, non-economic damages are meant to reimburse injury victims for non-monetary losses. In a serious motorcycle accident — or sometimes even in minor incidents — this could include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment in life, and more.

Punitive Damages

If you’ve suffered a motorcycle accident injury, courts often try to reimburse you for all your losses. However, additional damages that are not focused on reimbursement may be available. Rather, punitive damages are meant to punish the liable party for particularly egregious acts. Your Long Island motorcycle accident lawyer can help you understand whether you may be eligible.

What Should Motorcyclists Do After an Accident?

Many people don’t realize it, but a successful personal injury claim starts on the accident scene. What happens immediately before and after the collision can prove invaluable to the law firm working on your case. When you’re involved in a collision caused by another driver’s negligence — or any liable party — it’s essential first to get yourself to safety. If you can, documenting the scene of the accident is important. Doing so may reduce the need for accident reconstruction analysts to figure out what happened.

However, this will not always be possible. Due to the often severe injuries suffered in motorcycle accidents, bikers are frequently unable to do much more than wait for medical assistance to arrive. If this is the case, that’s absolutely fine. An experienced Long Island motorcycle accident lawyer can investigate your accident — from reviewing the accident report to reconstructing the scene — to help you build a strong case for compensation. Therefore, injured riders should do nothing that might eventually hinder their recovery.

On top of reporting the accident, seeking medical treatment and speaking to a personal injury lawyer are the most important steps you can take following a collision. Motorcycle accident victims often find themselves facing extended recovery times — and loved ones frequently are left dealing with funeral arrangements and other tragic outcomes. Let the Long Island motorcycle accident lawyers at our law firm carry these burdens for you. We’re ready to assist.

Contact a Long Island Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today

Motorcycle crashes are often devastating in nature. In fact, they’re among the most catastrophic personal injury cases that many lawyers will ever handle. If you or a loved one have suffered severe injuries, it’s important to have someone help you throughout the legal process. An experienced attorney can negotiate with the responsible party’s insurance company, and if a fair settlement cannot be reached, a trial lawyer can initiate litigation on your behalf. Put simply, you don’t have to go through this alone.

At The Law Offices of Elke E. Mirabella, we understand motorcycle accidents because we strive to ensure riders get every dime they deserve. While we handle cases ranging from minor car accidents to significant premises liability claims, we frequently take on more cases involving catastrophic injuries. That’s because we have seen what happens when victims try to handle the legal process on their own. Since we offer a free consultation and don’t get paid unless you do, you have nothing to lose by reaching out.

Contact us today at (631) 557-6127 to schedule your complimentary case review. Our Long Island motorcycle accident lawyers are here to help.