Motorcycle Accidents often involve personal injury problems for motorcycle drivers and passengers˳ In New York State, the rules for motorcycle accident cases are different than for car accidents˳
In car accident cases, your medical bills and lost wages are paid by the insurance company for the car you were in at the time of the accident˳ This comes through a part of the insurance coverage on that car called “No-Fault,” which also applies to pedestrians or bicyclists injured in a collision with the car˳ However, this coverage for a car does not apply to a motorcycle driver (or motorcycle passenger) who collides with the car˳
The No-Fault Law in New York generally does not apply to motorcycles, and the coverage is not included in motorcycle insurance policies˳ An injured biker will often have substantial medical bills and lost wages˳ These may be paid by some other form of insurance, or the motorcyclist may have to deal with them out of his or her own pocket˳
The issue of medical bills and lost wages affects the biker’s personal injury claims as well˳ In a car accident personal injury case for pain and suffering, these “economic damages” are generally not a factor unless they exceed $50,000 – which is rare˳ In motorcycle cases, these damages often come into play˳ If a health insurer paid the bills they will often assert a “lien” against the damages from the personal injury case˳ The case cannot be resolved without addressing the lien, and some of this may come out of whatever the motorcyclist gets˳ Similarly, if the medical bills were not paid, the hospital and other medical providers may assert a lien themselves˳
One consequence of the No-Fault Law for car accidents is that an injured person must prove that they sustained a “serious injury˳” Many New York car accident lawyers refer to this as the serious injury threshold˳ It makes these more difficult and indeed, renders many cases worthless˳ By contrast, since No-Fault does not apply, New York motorcycle accident lawyers have an easier time getting money for clients because they do not have to get over the serious injury threshold˳
Another concern in motorcycle accident cases is the danger of jury bias˳ Many people view motorcycling as an inherently risky activity, and they may view bikers in a bad light˳ Such jurors are more likely to find a motorcyclist at fault˳ An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer will assess potential jurors during jury selection with an eye to finding people with these or other harmful biases and removing them˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Motorcycle-Accidents-and-New-York-Personal-Injury-Law&id=601989
