Motorcycle Accident Lawyer NYC
NYC motorcycle accident lawyers. Motorcyclists are excluded from New York no-fault — here is how medical bills get paid and how bias defences are beaten. Free case review, no fee unless we win.
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Motorcyclists are excluded from New York no-fault
This is the most important and least known fact in New York motorcycle law: riders do not receive no-fault (PIP) benefits. Your medical bills go to your health insurance and to any optional medical payments coverage you bought, and the liability claim against the at-fault driver becomes far more important than in a car case. The upside is that motorcyclists are not restricted by the serious injury threshold, so pain and suffering is recoverable without meeting that test.
Beating the bias defence
Insurers begin with the assumption that the rider was speeding or lane-splitting. We rebut it with physical evidence: helmet and gear condition, scrape and gouge marks, EDR data from the striking vehicle, and reconstruction of the driver's left-turn or lane-change movement. Left-turn-across-path collisions — the most common serious motorcycle crash in New York City — are almost always the driver's failure to yield.
Crashes we handle
- Left-turning vehicles crossing a rider's path at intersections.
- Unsafe lane changes and door-zone collisions on avenues.
- Potholes, sunken plates and grating on bridges and roadways — with a notice of claim deadline against the City.
- Car doors opened into traffic and double-parked vehicle pull-outs.
- Uninsured and hit and run drivers, where your uninsured motorist coverage or MVAIC applies.
Injuries and damages
Without a vehicle frame, motorcycle impacts produce fractures, degloving and road rash, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage. Because health insurance rather than no-fault pays the bills, lien negotiation strongly affects what you actually keep — it is a core part of our work, not an afterthought.
Helmet and gear questions
New York requires helmets. Not wearing one does not bar a claim, but it can reduce recovery for head injuries under comparative fault. Wearing one strengthens your case considerably.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions clients ask us most.
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