Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in New Jersey

Who pays after a motorcycle accident in New Jersey?

New Jersey's no fault PIP system, built around auto insurance, does not automatically extend to motorcycles the way it does to cars. A standalone motorcycle policy typically does not include PIP medical coverage unless you purchased it separately, so many riders' medical bills after a crash are paid instead through the PIP coverage on a household member's auto policy, health insurance, or, once the case resolves, from the at fault driver's liability coverage.

This gap is one of the first things we sort out. We review every policy in your household, including any auto policy that names you as a resident relative, to find PIP or medical payments coverage that applies. Where none exists, health insurance becomes the primary source for treatment, and its liens are addressed when the case settles.

Whether you can recover pain and suffering from the at fault driver depends on the tort option on the applicable policy. Under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8, the verbal threshold allows non economic damages only for death, dismemberment, significant scarring, a displaced fracture or a permanent injury confirmed by objective medical evidence. Motorcycle crash injuries, road rash requiring grafts, complex fractures, joint reconstructions, routinely clear this threshold because a rider has no crumple zone to absorb the impact.

New Jersey requires liability coverage on every registered vehicle under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3, and where the driver who hit you carried too little or no insurance, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, if your motorcycle policy includes it, or a household relative's auto policy, can respond. We check every available policy before we tell you what the case is worth.

How much is a New Jersey motorcycle accident claim worth?

The value of a claim is the sum of what the crash took from you. Economic damages are the measurable losses: emergency and surgical care, rehabilitation, future procedures, lost wages and benefits, reduced earning capacity, and out of pocket costs. Non economic damages cover pain, scarring, the loss of activities you can no longer do and, where the rider can no longer ride at all, the real loss of something that mattered to them, which courts recognize as part of loss of enjoyment of life.

A rider has no crumple zone, no airbag and no door frame between them and the road. Even a moderate speed impact routinely causes fractures of the legs, pelvis, wrists and collarbone, road rash deep enough to require skin grafts, traumatic brain injury and spinal injury. Multiple surgeries and months away from work are common, and each surgery moves the claim into a higher tier. Property damage to the bike and to destroyed gear, helmets, jackets, boots, is recoverable separately and we document it with replacement cost, not depreciated value.

The verbal threshold and available insurance both cap value in practice. A minimum liability policy pays its limit no matter how badly you were hurt, which is why we search for every additional source: the vehicle owner's policy, an employer's policy if the driver was working, and any uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage that applies.

We do not quote a number on the first call. We document your injuries, your gear and your riding record, gather the evidence that answers the bias against riders, and, when your doctors can describe your future, put a demand on paper backed by evidence. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is decided on its own facts.

What if the insurance company denies or lowballs your claim?

Expect the bias to show up in the offer. Adjusters lean on the assumption that a rider was speeding or lane splitting, even where the physical evidence says the other driver simply did not look. Each of those arguments has an answer, and the answer is evidence gathered early.

On fault, New Jersey applies modified comparative negligence under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1: you can recover as long as your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of the people you are suing, and recovery is reduced by your percentage. A recorded statement in the first days, where a casual sentence becomes a fault argument, is exactly what an adjuster wants from a rider. Do not give it. We handle every call.

We answer the bias with the same evidence that defeats any fault argument: witness statements, intersection camera footage, the other driver's phone records and, where needed, a reconstruction of sight lines and speeds. We also document who you are: a clean license, proper endorsements, a helmet and protective gear, and a well maintained bike are not the caricature the insurer wants to present, and that picture matters when a case is valued.

On the threshold, the insurer will send you to its own doctor and argue your injury does not meet the standard. We answer with your treating physicians, objective imaging and, where needed, a permanency certification from a specialist.

If the insurer will not pay a fair number once treatment is complete, we file suit in the Superior Court. Riders make sympathetic plaintiffs when the story is told honestly with real evidence, and we tell it that way.

How long do you have to file a motorcycle accident claim in New Jersey?

New Jersey gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. A wrongful death action has its own two year clock running from the date of death under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3.

If a public entity was involved, such as a municipal police car or a county road crew vehicle, the Tort Claims Act requires written notice within 90 days of the crash under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, and suit cannot be filed until six months after that notice.

Insurance deadlines run sooner and are easy for a rider to miss, especially where PIP coverage comes from a household relative's policy rather than a bike policy of your own. That policy requires prompt notice of the crash, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage requires you to notify the carrier before settling with anyone else.

What should you do in the first 72 hours after a New Jersey motorcycle crash?

Get checked by a doctor the same day, even if you feel more shaken than hurt. Road rash and fractures are obvious, but internal injuries and concussions are not, and a gap between the crash and your first medical visit is the first thing an adjuster will use against you. University Hospital in Newark is the region's Level I trauma center, and Hackensack University Medical Center and Jersey City Medical Center are Level II trauma centers.

Make sure a police report exists and get the report number; New Jersey requires a driver to report an injury crash under N.J.S.A. 39:4-130. Photograph both vehicles, your bike, the road, skid marks, debris and your visible injuries and gear damage before anything is moved or repaired.

Do not let your bike be repaired or the salvage disposed of until we have documented it, and do not throw away damaged helmets, jackets or boots; they are evidence of both the impact and your property loss. Look for cameras before you leave the scene, and tell us where the crash happened so we can send preservation letters immediately.

Notify your own insurer, and any household relative whose auto policy might provide PIP coverage, that a crash occurred. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer. Keep a file of every bill, appointment and missed day of work.

What Your Claim Can Cover

• Road rash, fracture and head injury claims
• Rebutting the assumption that the rider was at fault
• Recovery when no fault coverage does not apply to you
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
• Long term care and lost earning capacity