A New York Lawyer Who Gets Results for Motorcyclists
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, we can help you get back up.
Bikers have every right to use the roads in New York City and statewide, but too many motorists don’t really see it that way. When drivers of cars and trucks fail to look out for motorcycles, lives can be changed forever. Dealing with the insurance company can be as painful as the crash itself – but you don’t have to go it alone.
Keogh Crispi, P.C. has a long track record of results for injured bikers, including a $250,000 recovery for a motorcyclist who was injured in a collision with a van that didn’t check twice before making a left turn. If you were hurt in a motorcycle crash, take charge of what happens next. Contact us today for a free consultation with a New York motorcycle accident attorney.
New York law puts injured motorcyclists in a unique place.
New York uses a no-fault insurance system for car accidents, meaning people who are injured in car crashes can claim no-fault benefits but cannot sue the at-fault driver unless they meet a “serious injury” threshold. However, if you were on a motorcycle when the accident happened, you are not eligible for no-fault benefits. This means it can be harder to get your medical bills paid, but it also means you don’t have to cross the “serious injury” threshold.
What this means is motorcycle accident cases, even more so than other types of injury cases, are won and lost based on who a jury believes is at fault for the accident. This can be a problem because juries have a bias against motorcyclists. They believe the stereotype that the men and women who ride are all irresponsible thrill-seekers. Insurance companies, who make their money by paying injured bikers as little as possible, are more than happy to take advantage of this bias, even though they know perfectly well that most bikers are safe and responsible operators.
The way to overcome that bias is to build a rock-solid case. It starts with your story: you were there, and you know what happened. We can help you explain why it was negligence on the part of the driver that caused your injury. Then, we thoroughly investigate and find evidence to prove it.
We understand the real causes of motorcycle accidents.
There are many reasons motorcycle accidents happen, but one way or another, they tend to boil down to inattention or aggressive driving on the part of a motorist. Because motorcycles are smaller than cars, it’s easy for motorists to fail to notice them when they take a left turn, change lanes, or open a door into the roadway. That means distracted driving is a particular threat to bikers, whether that’s texting and driving, adjusting the radio, talking to passengers, or simply getting lost in thought and failing to check before moving over.
Motorcyclists are also vulnerable to being hit by drunk drivers or motorists who fall asleep at the wheel. Moreover, even some otherwise attentive motorists fail to share the road with motorcyclists; they follow too closely and then rear-end a bike when it has to slow down, or assume they have the right of way when they don’t. Sometimes, the cause is a mechanical issue rather than negligence on the part of the driver.
Again, when in doubt, juries tend to believe the driver instead of the biker, so our job is to build an airtight case that you weren’t responsible for what happened to you. We interview witnesses and cross-reference their stories, review physical evidence from the scene, pore over police accident reports, and when necessary, hire experts to help reconstruct the accident. Our goal is to tell a convincing story that proves the other driver caused your injuries – and thus their insurance company must pay for them.
The stakes are high. We’re all-in.
Even with protective gear like helmets and leather clothing, motorcyclists are much more vulnerable to injury than people in enclosed vehicles. A motorcycle crash can cause severe and life-altering injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI): even with a helmet, damage to the head and brain is common in motorcycle crashes. A TBI can cause permanent disability and require lifelong medical care.
- Neck, back, and spinal cord injuries: unfortunately, it’s common for injured bikers to be permanently paralyzed or develop chronic pain.
- Biker’s arm: when you fall, a natural reflex is to use your arms to break your fall. While this is certainly preferable to a head injury, nerve damage to the arm can cause permanent loss of use.
- Loss of limbs: a leg or arm that is badly damaged enough might need to be amputated.
- Road rash: when a biker’s body hits the road, the skin can be seriously damaged. Road rash may require skin grafts and can lead to infection if dirt or gravel enters the wound.
The crash itself may have been over in moments, but if you have a serious injury, it can affect you for the rest of your life. You may need extensive medical treatment, surgery, and physical therapy. You might be out of work for a long time. You’re off your motorcycle and unable to do other things you love.
Under New York law, you have a right to seek fair compensation for all those losses. That’s why you need to choose the right lawyer. We’ll listen to your story and work with you to determine how much the accident has affected your life. We gather documents, hire expert witnesses, and put together a strong case for the full amount of compensation you need to be made whole again.
There’s a reason we’re the law firm New York bikers trust.
From the moment you start telling us your story, we start thinking about the end of your case: our strategy to get full value for your accident. If you decide to hire us, we’ll launch an immediate investigation to prove that the driver who hit you was at fault and build an airtight narrative in support of your interests. We’ll take care of the day-to-day interactions with the insurance company while keeping you informed and involved in strategic decisions. You were there, you know what happened, and our job is to tell your story in a way that a jury will find convincing.
When the insurance companies see that we’re prepared to take them to trial, they come to us ready to pay up. If not, we’ll fight for your interests in court. We prepare every case for trial because we know that’s the only way to get real results for injured bikers. Our goal is to get justice for you, and to send a strong message to New York motorists that they need to share the road.
We represent injured bikers on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t owe us a dime unless we win your case. If we recover for you, our fee is a percentage of the recovery; if we don’t win, you don’t pay us at all. You have rights, and we want to protect them regardless of your ability to pay. You have nothing to lose by hiring a lawyer; what you can’t afford is to go it alone.
Remember, you need to act quickly, before evidence disappears and legal deadlines expire. Get your free consultation with an experienced New York motorcycle accident lawyer. Contact us online or give us a call today.