Personal Injury Summer Edition Part I: Motorcycle Safety

Summer time presents a beautiful opportunity to ride your motorcycle or take out your scooter and enjoy a few care free days. However, as more people are out and about, the chance of getting hurt from these summer activities also tends to increase. During this season, we receive an increasing number of calls from clients who sustain injuries on boats, motorcycles and scooters.

Our Summer edition on this topic will be divided into two parts. In the next part, we discuss personal injury law considerations for motorcycle operators and, in part II, we address personal injury law as it pertains to boating. Subscribe to our email newsletter to receive both parts.

When it comes to motorcycles and scooters, most people assume that these operators have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers of cars, and that the same laws and statutes apply.

However, there are important distinctions.

For instance, motorcyclists and scooter operators are not eligible for No-Fault benefits as part of their insurance coverage, which is mandatory for all cars. So, if you’re thinking on hopping on one of those, you’d better have private health care insurance!

Being outside the realm of No-Fault coverage has its advantages, however.

UnderInsurance Law Section 5102(d)– also known as the No-Fault law – in order to qualify for compensation, the occupant of a motor vehicle involved in an accident must have sustained a “serious injury” as defined by the statute or their case can be dismissed. Even if another party was clearly at fault and the claimant has full insurance coverage and has been injured, there is still a chance that the case will be dismissed, and they will not be compensated.

However, that same threshold does not apply to operators of motorcycles and scooters. Motorcycle operators are not required to prove evidence of a serious injury to win a personal injury case, making it easier for them to settle and win their cases.

Unfortunately, the number deaths and serious injuries that have resulted from motorcycle accidents in New York is growing. These are some recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• On average there were 141 deaths each year due to motor vehicle traffic-related motorcyclist injuries, killing 0.7 of every 100,000 New Yorkers. The rates were highest for males and New Yorkers ages 20 - 44.
• The rate of deaths due to motor vehicle traffic-related motorcyclist injuries increased from 0.6 deaths per 100,000 New Yorkers in 2000 to 1.0 deaths per 100,000 in 2006. Since then, it decreased to 0.7 in 2012 and has remained at 0.7 through 2014.
• On average there were 1,558 hospitalizations each year due to motor vehicle traffic-related motorcyclist injuries, hospitalizing 7.9 of every 100,000 New Yorkers. The rates were highest for males and New Yorkers ages 15-19.
• The rate of hospitalizations due to motor vehicle traffic-related motorcyclist injuries has increased from 6.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 New Yorkers in 2000 to 9.1 in 2012. In 2014 the rate decreased to 7.2.
• On average there were 4,458 emergency department (ED) visits each year due to motor vehicle traffic-related motorcyclist injuries, treating 22.7 of every 100,000 New Yorkers. The rates were highest for males and New Yorkers ages 20-24.
• The rate of ED visits due to motor vehicle traffic-related motorcyclist injuries have remained consistent, increasing from 21.8 visits per 100,000 residents in 2005 to 23.0 in 2013. In 2014 the rate decreased to 22.1.

If you are injured in a motorcycle or scooter accident, it is imperative that after calling 911, you call an attorney experienced in the nuances of personal injury law.

Several years ago we had the highest reported verdict for a motorcycle accident in New York, $2.19M.

Save our number now in case you need it later:(212) 366-4600