New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

The Garden State might not be Hollister, CA, but straddling a bike and roaring down the Garden State Parkway still provides greater freedom and exhilaration than you can find in the tight confines of a passenger car. Unfortunately, operating a motorcycle involves greater risk of severe injury or death even in a minor a collision. According to the N.J. Division of Highway Safety, motorcyclists are five times more likely than passenger car occupants to be injured and more than 26 times more likely to die in a crash. If you or a loved one sustained a serious injury in a motorcycle crash, you might have the right to compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, and your pain and suffering. But only if you can prove that someone else was responsible for the accident. At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, our injury attorneys are dogged investigators and passionate advocates for injured bikers. We fight aggressively to obtain the full compensation you need and deserve.

Any type of motor vehicle accident is scary, but motorcycle accidents are especially terrifying. Motorcycles are much smaller than other vehicles and don’t have the same safety equipment, so these wrecks can lead to severe injuries and even death. If someone else’s negligence contributed to your crash, they should be held accountable. However, fighting for your legal rights and fair compensation can be difficult if you’re trying to do it all alone.

At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, we want to stand by your side and help you get through this difficult time. Our trusted New Jersey motorcycle accident attorneys have helped clients just like you across the Garden State get fair compensation for their injuries. We have been named as the best law firm in New Jersey, and we have helped clients recover over $425 million for their injuries.

When you call Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, you’ll have a true ally in your fight for justice. Our compassionate lawyers will go above and beyond to give you personal attention and answer all your questions. Don’t wait another day to get on the road to recovery. Call us at (973) 364-8300, fill out our online contact form, or click the live chat button to set up a free consultation today.

Do I Need a Lawyer for My Motorcycle Accident?

Having a skilled attorney is critical to recovering compensation due to the complexities of motorcycle crashes. Not only are motorcycle accident injuries and damages even more severe than in car crashes, but it’s also more difficult to get justice in these types of cases. Some insurance agents and jurors see motorcyclists as risk-takers, so they are quick to blame them for accidents instead of fairly assessing who is at fault. When facing these kinds of prejudices, motorcyclists face difficulties getting fair compensation if they’re trying to handle their case on their own.

When someone else’s negligence causes you harm, you shouldn’t have to pay for their poor decisions. The experienced motorcycle accident attorneys at Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers understand the challenges that motorcyclists face in getting justice and compensation and know what it takes to overcome them. As our multimillion-dollar results, positive reviews from past clients, and industry recognition demonstrate, Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers has the skills and resources to help you win your case. Let our compassionate and experienced attorneys fight for you.

Common Injuries from New Jersey Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcyclists and their passengers are thoroughly exposed in the event of an accident, sustaining impacts from vehicles and/or the hard surface of the road. If a crash occurs at sufficient speed, a rider can skid across the ground for many yards, causing extreme damage to the skin. Resulting injuries include:

• Bone fractures
• Concussion and traumatic brain injury
• Internal organ damage and bleeding
• Road rash
• Neck and spinal trauma, including paralysis
• Wrongful death

Catastrophic injuries alter a rider’s life forever and often require a lifetime of medical and/or personal care. Such injuries cry out for justice. But it takes a skilled and determined attorney to recover the full compensation you deserve.

What Types of Motorcycle Accidents Does Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers Handle?

Many of the causes and effects of road accidents are the same no matter what type of motor vehicle you are in, but the impacts on motorcyclists can be much more serious. Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers handles all types of motorcycle accident cases, including wrecks caused by circumstances, such as:

• Motorcycles struck by other vehicles turning left
• Speeding
• Drunk or drowsy driving
• Driving between lanes
• Unsafe and unmarked road conditions and obstacles

What Should I Do After a Motorcycle Accident?

After a motorcycle accident, your health in the number one priority. If you weren’t treated at the time of the accident, have a medical professional evaluate your injuries as soon as possible. Motorcycle wrecks can cause severe injuries and chronic medical conditions, but not all injuries are obvious right away. A doctor can help detect these injuries and give you the treatment needed to get back to health.

The doctor’s report will also be a critical piece of evidence if you decide to file a claim because it will help prove the extent and cause of your injuries. Without this report, insurance companies might try to claim that your injuries aren’t as severe as you say they are or that your injuries were actually caused by some underlying medical issue instead of the crash.

Other vital pieces of evidence include pictures and an evaluation of the accident scene. Photograph your injuries, damages to your vehicle, and damages to any other vehicle involved in the crash. Also, take pictures of that day’s weather conditions and the road conditions at the time of the wreck. This might include traffic signs, traffic lights, skid marks, road construction, or any other warning or hazard.

Don’t speak to the other party’s insurance company without your lawyer, and don’t admit fault for the accident to anyone, including the police. Accidents are complicated and can be caused by many different factors, so it’s difficult to truly understand responsibility without a full investigation. If you admit fault, you might be held responsible for the wreck, even if an investigation finds that someone else was liable.

Keep a log of everyone you speak to about the crash. Include the date, names, and contact information for people such as witnesses, your lawyer, and medical professionals. Get all the information you can on the other drivers involved in the accident, including names, contact information, insurance information, and their driver’s license and license plate numbers. If the police were called to the scene, ask them for a copy of the official accident report.

The best way to make sure you have all the evidence you need and protect your legal rights is to contact an experienced motorcycle attorney. They can help you gather all the necessary evidence, speak with insurance on your behalf, work to negotiate a fair settlement, and represent you in court if needed to get you full compensation.

What Kinds of Compensation Can I Get in a Motorcycle Accident Case?

At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, we have helped clients get hundreds of thousands of dollars in motorcycle accident cases. While the exact amount of money you can recover depends on the details of the case, compensation typically covers things like:

• Future medical expenses
• Outstanding medical bills
• Repair or replacement of your vehicle
• Lost wages
• Reduced earning capacity
• Pain and suffering

If your loved one was killed in a motorcycle accident, no amount of money can ever make up for their loss. However, you might be able to recover compensation to cover expenses, such as:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of income

Determining fault in a New Jersey motorcycle accident

Fault in a motorcycle accident can be difficult to prove. Because bikes are much riskier than passenger cars, there’s a stigma attached to riding. Hollywood, along with criminal gangs such as the Hell’s Angels, has reinforced the image of bikers as rebels who flout the law. That image can be tough to overcome for a plaintiff biker, unless they have a tough trial lawyer on their side.

Our legal team at Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers has experience with motorcycle accidents, and we aggressively pursue your claim by reconstructing the accident and proving the fault of the other driver.

Accident reconstruction includes expert consultation with engineers who use scientific analysis of the accident scene and physical evidence to determine the sequence of events. Other aspects of reconstruction include reviewing accident reports, obtaining and reviewing satellite photographs of the scene, retrieving surveillance video from security cameras of local businesses, and conducting interviews with witnesses. This type of attention to detail is only something an experienced motorcycle accident attorney can and will do.

How New Jersey’s motorcycle helmet law can affect your case

According to the New Jersey Helmet Law – P.L. 39:3-76.7: “No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless he wears a securely fitted protective helmet of a size proper for that person and of a type approved by the federal DOT. Such a helmet must be equipped with either a neck or chin strap and be reflectorized on both sides.”

Helmet law make sense when you consider the safety facts:

• Even low-speed impacts can be fatal.
• Unhelmeted riders are three times more likely to die from head injuries than riders wearing a DOT approved helmet.
• Helmets do not interfere with a biker’s vision.
• Most crashes occur on short trips, just a few minutes after starting out, so the idea that you’re just running a short errand is no excuse to go out unprotected.

But what happens if you violate the helmet law and get into an accident? How does that affect your right to recover compensation?

The answer depends on the type of injury you are claiming. New Jersey operates under the legal rule of “comparative negligence.” When a plaintiff brings a personal injury lawsuit, the defendant can assert the defense that the plaintiff is also partially responsible for causing his own injuries. If you claim a head injury, the jury could conclude that your negligence in failing to wear a helmet caused you to be injured more severely than you otherwise would have been. If that happens, you might only recover compensation for a minor bump on the head instead of a much more serious traumatic brain injury.

Comparative negligence can be a consideration in any personal injury claim, and insurance companies for defendants often use this law as a tactic to reduce or totally bar a plaintiff’s claim. As your determined advocate, we protect you from allegations of comparative negligence, so you can recover the full, fair compensation you deserve.

Motorcycle accident facts and figures

While there are many more car accidents in the U.S. each year, motorcycle accidents are much more likely to cause injury or death. Only 3% of vehicles registered in the U.S. are motorcycles, but 14% of traffic-related deaths are motorcycle accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 5,100 motorcyclists were killed in 2017, and motorcyclist fatalities happened nearly 27 times as often as fatalities for passenger car occupants, per vehicle miles traveled.

Some other important motorcycle crash statistics include:

• Over 42% of fatal two-vehicle crashes involved a car making a left-hand turn
• Over 30% of motorcycle riders killed in crashes were speeding
• Nearly 30% of motorcyclists killed in traffic accidents were alcohol-impaired
• Almost 30% of motorcycle drivers in fatal crashes didn’t have a valid motorcycle license
• In New Jersey alone, over 80 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in 2017

How long do I have to file a motorcycle accident lawsuit?

Motorcycle accident lawsuits are limited by “statute of limitations” laws, which are different in each state. Per New Jersey’s statute of limitations, you typically have two years to file a lawsuit after a motorcycle accident, but there are exceptions to this deadline. A skilled motorcycle accident lawyer can help determine which laws, regulations, and timelines apply to your circumstances.

How much does it cost to hire a motorcycle accident lawyer?

Various lawyers have different fee schedules, so sometimes an initial meeting and investigation can cost thousands of dollars. However, other law firms such as Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers work on a contingency basis, which means you won’t pay any upfront fees. Your initial evaluation is completely free, and you won’t pay a cent unless we help you win your case.

What if I was partially at fault for the accident?

Even if you were partially responsible, you might be able to recover compensation. New Jersey’s comparative negligence laws provide that anyone can pursue a claim against another party who was more at fault for the accident. For example, if they were 60% at fault and you were 40% at fault, then you can pursue a claim.

Contact an aggressive NJ motorcycle accident lawyer for your accident claim

Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers provides determined representation for victims of motorcycle accidents throughout New Jersey. Let us help you get the maximum amount of compensation possible for your claim. Call us today at (973) 364-8300 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.