How The Sanders Law Firm Fights for Long Island Motorcycle Accident Victims
Founded in 1967, The Sanders Law Firm was built for the New York legal landscape, ensuring our clients are protected, educated, and empowered throughout the claims process. Here’s what you can expect when you work with us:
- In-depth investigations: With decades of local experience, we know what steps to take to determine fault and gather crucial evidence.
- Expansive resources: We have access to a network of expert witnesses and in-house medical consultants who help us build your case.
- Open communication: We prioritize clear communication at every stage to ensure our clients understand the process.
- Maximizing compensation: With relentless New York grit, our team identifies all available avenues for compensation and pursues the full value of your claim.
- Trial-readiness: We take a deliberate, litigation-forward approach and are prepared to take your case to court.
- Diverse and accessible team: We provide multilingual support to help after a motorcycle crash, with team members fluent in Spanish, Russian, French, and more.
I had a great experience with the Sanders Law firm.
The firm did amazing job. I greatly thankful for the Brooklyn office. They are truly amazing people you can trust. Special thanks for Shahzoda who really helped me through this process. Thank you!
Isroil S.
The Unique Challenges Motorcycle Accident Victims Face
Motorcycle accident claims carry distinct complexities that standard car accident cases typically do not. An attorney can help you navigate these unique hurdles riders face from day one:
- Unfair rider bias: Insurance companies can stereotype motorcyclists as reckless, automatically assuming rider fault to unfairly minimize or deny your claim.
- Injury severity: Minimal protection often leads to life-changing injuries, resulting in overwhelming medical expenses and extensive, long-term medical care.
- No-fault insurance exclusion: New York excludes motorcycles from its traditional no-fault insurance system, completely changing how victims must pursue compensation for medical bills, missed work, and other losses.
- Fleeting accident evidence: Critical scene evidence, skid marks, and witness memories fade rapidly, making immediate investigation vital to proving liability.
Working with a Long Island motorcycle injury lawyer who understands these specific challenges can protect you from insurance tactics that can impact the outcome of your case.
Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents on Long Island
Motorcycle accidents are frequently caused by negligent motorists who fail to share the road. Due to a motorcycle’s smaller profile, drivers often overlook riders on major roads, such as the Long Island Expressway (I-495) or Sunrise Highway. Common causes include:
- Distracted driving: Motorists texting or looking away while on busy routes, including Merrick Road and Jericho Turnpike
- Failure to yield: Drivers pulling out in front of riders at intersections
- Unsafe lane changes: Vehicles merging into a motorcyclist’s lane without checking mirrors
- Left-turn collisions: Failing to see an approaching rider when turning left across oncoming traffic
- Speeding: Drivers traveling too fast to react safely to motorcycles
- Impaired driving: Drunk motorists with delayed reaction times
- Dooring accidents: Parked drivers opening car doors directly into a rider’s path
- Dangerous road conditions: Potholes, gravel, uneven asphalt, or poorly maintained state highways
- Construction zones: Narrowed lanes, debris, and other construction zone hazards on Montauk Highway and other older corridors
Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Long Island Motorcycle Accident?
Determining liability after a crash depends on the unique circumstances surrounding the collision. Because motorcycle accidents are often complex, multiple parties can share fault for your injuries. Identifying every responsible party is essential to securing the full compensation you need to heal. Possible liable parties may include:
- Negligent drivers: Violating traffic laws, driving distracted, or failing to yield the right-of-way
- Vehicle owners: If the person driving the car at the time of the crash was not the registered owner
- Government entities: May be responsible for dangerous road design, missing signage, or poor highway maintenance
- Parts manufacturers: Possibly at fault for mechanical defects, such as faulty brakes or tire blowouts
- Employers: If the at-fault motorist was actively working or making deliveries during the crash
Gathering the Evidence to Support Your Claim
Strong evidence is necessary to prove fault and build your case, but it can disappear quickly after a crash. Our motorcycle accident attorneys on Long Island move quickly to preserve crucial evidence before it’s lost or destroyed, including:
- Police accident reports, including citations, diagrams, witness information, and the officer’s recorded observations
- Pictures and videos of vehicle damage, skid marks, and road conditions
- Surveillance and traffic footage from nearby businesses or intersections showing the collision
- Witness statements providing unbiased, third-party accounts of the driver’s negligence
- Medical records proving the direct connection between the crash and your injuries
- Accident reconstruction testimony from professionals who scientifically recreate the impact events
- Black box electronic data retrieved from the involved vehicles to prove speed and braking actions
We Have Your Back
Founded in 1967, The Sanders Law Firm has grown into a large, thriving organization of attorneys, paralegals, medical consultants, and support staff – all committed to providing the highest level of legal representation to injured New Yorkers.
What Compensation May Be Available to You After a Motorcycle Crash
Depending on the circumstances of the crash and the extent of their injuries, motorcycle accident victims may be entitled to significant compensation. They can claim both economic and non-economic damages to cover their current and future losses.
Economic damages are the expenses or financial losses caused by the accident, such as:
- Medical bills
- Cost of future medical care
- Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
- Motorcycle repair or replacement costs
- Other out-of-pocket expenses
Non-economic damages are the intangible or subjective ways the accident has affected a victim’s life, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
Our firm meticulously evaluates your situation to ensure your rights are protected and you recover every dollar you deserve.
New York Cap on Non-Economic Damages
While New York generally does not cap pain and suffering damages in motorcycle accident cases. However, recent changes to New York motor vehicle law created a narrow $100,000 cap on non-economic loss in certain Article 51 serious-injury cases involving at-fault claimants who were operating an uninsured motor vehicle, were impaired and convicted, or were committing or fleeing from a felony and convicted. This rule is narrow, does not apply to wrongful death cases, and may not apply the same way in every motorcycle claim.
How Comparative Fault Can Reduce or Bar Your Recovery
Under New York’s comparative negligence law, you can still recover compensation if you are partially responsible for the motorcycle crash. However, your final compensation is reduced in direct proportion to your percentage of shared fault. Also, if you are found more at fault than the combined defendants, you are completely barred from recovering any damages.
For example, if a speeding delivery van hits you, but a jury decides you were traveling slightly over the speed limit and assigns you 20% fault, a $100,000 total award drops to $80,000. However, if they find you 51% responsible, you receive nothing
Insurance companies may try to twist facts to shift blame onto motorcyclists, exploiting stereotypes and unfairly reducing a claim’s value. Our attorneys will push back against these tactics and demand the compensation you’re entitled to.
Deadlines You Need to Know Before Filing a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit
In most cases, New York gives injured victims three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. Waiting too long puts both your legal claim and available evidence at risk. Along with the possibility of losing time-sensitive evidence, missing the deadline means losing your right to recover compensation.
Additionally, there are exceptions to the three-year deadline. For example, significantly shorter deadlines apply if a government entity is involved, requiring a Notice of Claim within 90 days. Speak with an experienced New York motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights and preserve vital evidence.
Talk to a Long Island Motorcycle Accident Attorney at No Cost
If you were injured in a motorcycle crash, our team knows what you’re going through and offers fierce legal advocacy and compassionate support. With 50 years of experience and billions of dollars recovered in settlements and verdicts, we’re large enough to take on complex cases, yet structured to provide the personalized attention you deserve.
Your city. Your case. Our fight. Call (833) SANDERS or contact us online for a free consultation with our motorcycle accident lawyers in Long Island, NY. We’ll answer your questions, explain your rights, and discuss your legal options at no cost to you.