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You can often still recover compensation even if you believe you’re partially at fault for your motorcycle accident in New York. The state allows injured individuals to seek damages as long as another party also contributed to the incident.
A New York motorcycle accident lawyer evaluates your case, protects you from unfair blame, and works to secure the compensation available.
Key Takeaways
- New York’s pure comparative negligence rule allows you to seek compensation even if you were partially responsible for the crash.
- Insurance adjusters may try to use any admission of fault to unfairly reduce or deny your claim.
- A personal injury lawyer helps establish the other party’s liability, using the evidence of your case to counter unfair blame.
Understanding New York’s Pure Comparative Negligence Rule
New York law operates on a pure comparative negligence system. This legal standard means that an injured person’s financial recovery is reduced by their own percentage of fault. You won’t be barred from compensation unless you’re 100% at fault for the motorcycle crash.
This approach allows the legal system to assign responsibility more fairly among all involved parties.
How Pure Comparative Negligence Works
Under this rule, insurers, lawyers, and investigators examine the actions of everyone involved in the motorcycle crash. They then assign a percentage of fault to each person. If the opposing sides cannot reach an agreement on percentages, a judge or jury will decide.
For example, a driver who made an unsafe lane change might be found 95% at fault, while a motorcyclist who was slightly over the speed limit might be found 5% at fault.
In this instance, the injured motorcyclist can still file a claim and receive compensation from the at-fault driver. The total damages they would have received are then reduced by their 5% share of the fault.
What Pure Comparative Negligence Means for Your Financial Recovery
The pure comparative negligence rule means you shouldn’t abandon a claim just because you think you were partly to blame for your motorcycle accident. A moment of inattention or a minor traffic infraction doesn’t give others a license to act negligently.
This makes it very important to have an accurate assessment of liability. Insurance companies have an incentive to shift as much blame as possible onto you to reduce their payout. An experienced attorney counters these tactics by building a case that accurately portrays the events.
Common Ways Insurers Unfairly Blame Motorcyclists
Motorcycle riders often face an uphill battle against unfair biases after a crash. Drivers and insurers sometimes have misconceptions about motorcyclists, which can influence how fault is assigned.
A skilled lawyer anticipates these arguments and builds a defense against them. They work to focus the case on the actual evidence of the accident, not on negative stereotypes.
Bias Against Riders
There is a persistent and unfair stereotype that motorcyclists are inherent risk-takers. Some people automatically assume the rider was speeding, weaving through traffic, or otherwise riding recklessly.
This bias can cause an initial police report or an insurance adjuster’s assessment to lean heavily against the rider, even when the other driver made the critical error.
The truth is that most motorcyclists are safe and defensive riders who are well aware of the risks they face. A personal injury attorney challenges this bias with facts. They use evidence like witness statements and traffic camera footage to show what truly happened.
Allegations of Speeding or Weaving
Speeding is one of the most common accusations leveled against motorcyclists after an accident. A driver who failed to see a motorcycle when making a left turn may claim the bike “came out of nowhere,” implying an impossible speed.
An analysis of the motorcycle’s damage, the length of any skid marks, and the final resting positions of the vehicles can help estimate the rider’s speed at the time of impact. Witness testimony can also corroborate your account that you were traveling at a safe and legal speed before the collision.
The Helmet Defense
New York law requires all motorcycle operators and passengers to wear a helmet. If you weren’t wearing one at the time of the crash, the defense may try to use it against you to show you were partly to blame for the motorcycle accident.
While it cannot be used to argue that you caused the accident, not wearing a helmet can be used to argue you contributed to the severity of your head injuries. This is a separate issue from who is at fault for the crash itself.
This argument can reduce the portion of your settlement that is related to a head or brain injury. However, it doesn’t impact your ability to recover damages for other injuries, like broken bones or road rash.
The Insurance Company’s Tactics When You Share Fault
Insurance adjusters work for the insurance company, not for you. Their goal is to resolve claims for the lowest possible amount. When they see a case with potential shared fault, they view it as an opportunity to drastically reduce their payout or deny the claim completely.
An attorney who handles motorcycle cases knows these tactics well and acts as a shield between you and the adjuster. They protect your rights and keep the focus on the other driver’s negligence, not on a minor mistake you might have made.
Adjusters may use several methods to devalue your claim, including the following:
- Requesting a Recorded Statement: Adjusters will likely press you for a statement, hoping you’ll say something they can use to assign more blame to you or to suggest your injuries aren’t severe.
- Presenting a Lowball Offer: They may offer a quick settlement before you know the full cost of your recovery, a tactic designed to make you settle for far less than your claim is worth.
- Misstating the Law: An adjuster may incorrectly imply that because you share some fault, you cannot seek compensation, hoping you’ll drop your case or avoid seeking legal counsel.
5 Steps To Protect Your Claim After a Motorcycle Crash
If you think you’re partly to blame for your motorcycle accident, then you need to take proactive steps to protect your chances at securing compensation.
Here are five steps you can take to safeguard your case when you are dealing with a shared fault motorcycle accident:
- Stop Communication With Insurers: Don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance adjuster. They’re trained to ask questions in a way that can make you seem more at fault than you were. Let your personal injury lawyer handle all communications.
- Write Down the Details: Memory fades over time. Write down everything you can remember about the moments leading up to the crash, the impact itself, and what happened immediately after. Note the weather, road conditions, and any conversations you had with other motorists.
- Organize Your Documents: Keep all accident-related paperwork in one place. This includes the police report, medical records, bills, receipts for out-of-pocket expenses, and any letters from insurance companies.
- Track Your Injuries and Recovery: Keep a journal detailing your pain levels, medical appointments, and the ways your injuries are impacting your daily life. This helps document the full extent of your non-economic damages, like pain and suffering.
- Contact a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer: The sooner you get legal advice, the better. A lawyer can immediately take over communication with insurance companies, begin an independent investigation, and give you peace of mind if you’re partly to blame for your motorcycle accident.
How a Lawyer Helps You Share Blame for Your Motorcycle Accident
When you share fault in a crash, a lawyer’s role becomes even more defined. Their primary goal is to minimize your percentage of fault and maximize your financial recovery.
Here is how an attorney assists you:
- Investigation: A lawyer conducts an independent investigation of the crash, separate from the one done by the police. They collect evidence, such as photos, witness statements, and traffic camera footage, to build the strongest possible case for the other driver’s negligence.
- Expert Consultation: They may hire accident reconstruction experts to analyze the physical evidence and provide a scientific opinion on how the crash occurred and who was at fault. This expert testimony can be very persuasive in negotiations and court.
- Handling Insurers: Your lawyer takes over all communication with insurance companies. They prevent you from making statements that could harm your case,, and they counter the adjuster’s tactics to shift unfair blame onto you.
- Negotiation: Your attorney negotiates with the insurance company on your behalf. They present the evidence they gathered during the investigation to argue for the lowest possible percentage of fault to be assigned to you and to fight for a settlement that covers all of your damages.
- Litigation: If the insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement, your lawyer can file a lawsuit and argue your case in court. They’ll represent your interests before a judge and jury, fighting for a favorable verdict.
FAQ for What if I Am Partly To Blame for My Motorcycle Accident?
How Is Fault Determined in a New York Motorcycle Accident?
Investigators determine each party’s fault by examining the evidence to see who acted negligently. This can include the police report, witness testimony, photos of the scene and vehicle damage, and video surveillance.
Can I Get Compensation if I Wasn’t Wearing a Helmet in New York?
Yes, you can still get compensation even if you didn’t have a helmet on when the collision happened. Not wearing a helmet doesn’t affect who caused the accident itself.
However, the defense may argue that your compensation for any head injuries should be reduced by claiming that the helmet would have lessened their severity. You can still recover compensation for your other injuries.
What Happens if I Received a Traffic Ticket for the Motorcycle Accident?
Receiving a traffic ticket doesn’t prevent you from filing a personal injury claim. The ticket represents the police officer’s opinion of a traffic law violation, which is separate from the determination of fault in a civil lawsuit for your injuries. You also have the right to challenge the ticket in traffic court.
Even if the ticket stands, your lawyer can still argue that the other driver’s actions were the primary cause of the crash and your injuries. For example, another driver could run a red light while you were driving five miles per hour over the speed limit.
A jury may find that the other driver’s action holds a much greater percentage of the fault than what the police officer cited you for.
What if I Was Lane Splitting When the Accident Happened?
New York law doesn’t permit lane splitting. If you were lane splitting when your accident occurred, a court may assign you a portion of the fault for the accident.
Your percentage of fault will depend on the specific circumstances of the case, such as how fast you were going and the actions of the other driver.
If a Police Report Says I’m at Fault for My Motorcycle Accident, Is My Case Over?
No, your case isn’t over if the responding officer states that the accident was your fault. A police report is an officer’s initial opinion based on limited information at the scene. It’s not the final word on liability. Sometimes, new evidence becomes available later on that shifts the dynamics of the case.
An attorney can challenge the findings in a police report by conducting a more thorough investigation and presenting new evidence.
Put a Fighter on Your Side
Being partly to blame for a motorcycle accident doesn’t erase your right to hold another negligent driver accountable. You need an advocate who can build a strong case, counter unfair blame from insurance companies, and protect your financial future.
Let Finz & Finz, P.C. focus on the legal battle so you can focus on your recovery. We fight for injured riders across New York. If you were hurt in a crash and have questions, call us to discuss your case. Contact us today for a free consultation at (516) 433-3000.
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Leonard L. Finz founded the firm in 1984. He is a former New York State Supreme Court Justice and a top-ranked trial lawyer with the highest ratings for legal ability and ethics, having earned a reputation as a master trial advocate in the courtroom. He has achieved the highest legal rating of “Preeminence” in addition to being peer-reviewed as “One of America’s Preeminent Lawyers.”
