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Tips for Summer Motorcycle Safety

June 2, 2023 by

Minimize Your Risk of Injury on the Road This Summer

Tips for Summer Motorcycle SafetySummer’s finally here!! The best time of the year (at least in New Jersey) to get out on the open road on your bike. Of course, that means more motorcycles on the roads and typically leads to more than twice as many accidents on any given day. Many crashes are caused by the failure of other motorists to pay attention to the road, but there are other factors as well that make summer more dangerous on a bike. Let’s look at some of the ways you can reduce the risk of injury while riding your motorcycle this summer.

Wear Bright Gear and Cover Up

We understand—there’s nothing like cruising down the highway on a warm summer day with your tee-shirt sleeves flapping in the wind. You may even think that you’ll be cooler (temperature-wise) than if you’re fully clothed. The warm breeze, though, will rapidly wick moisture from your arms (and legs), providing little cooling effect. In fact, two undesirable consequences can come from exposed arms and legs—a greater risk of sunburn, and a greater likelihood that you’ll become dehydrated. You’re better off wearing mesh riding gear with synthetic garments underneath. Furthermore, if you’re involved in any type of crash, your gear can help minimize your injuries.

Drink Plenty of Water

The combination of heat and the wind against your body can quickly cause you to lose bodily fluids. Often, you can become dangerously dehydrated before your body starts to tell you. As a basic rule, you should drink water or clear liquids only, and you should always drink more than you think you need. Instead of stopping periodically to consume large amounts of water, it’s much better if you carry a CamelBak° or similar water bladder on your back, allowing you to regularly take smaller sips and stay consistently hydrated.

Wake Up and Ride

There are a number of good reasons for starting your ride earlier in the day (and ending sooner). The temperatures are almost always cooler in the morning than in the afternoon. You’ll generally feel more rested and alert in the morning as well. Furthermore, because severe weather more often arises in the afternoon or evening, you won’t have to contend with rain or thunderstorms.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accidents Tagged With:

Motorcycle Accidents in New Jersey

May 24, 2023 by

Motorcycle Accidents in New JerseyAfter a motorcycle accident in New Jersey, where you have been cited for lane splitting, you will only be able to recover compensation for your losses if you can show that another motorist was primarily responsible for causing the accident. Call attorney David Karbasian at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT.

Filed Under: Motorcycle Accidents Tagged With:

Partially Responsible for Causing a NJ Motorcycle Accident?

May 16, 2023 by

Can You Still Recover For Your Losses?

Partially-Responsible-for-Causing-a-NJ-Motorcycle-Accident-imgYou were out on your bike on a sunny day in late spring or early summer. Maybe you rolled through a stop sign, only to be driven off the road by another motorist traveling well over the speed limit. You wouldn’t have been hurt if he’d been obeying the law, but the accident also wouldn’t have happened if you’d come to a complete stop. What are your rights? Will the fact that you ran the stop sign prohibit you from recovering anything for your injury or loss? That depends.

Comparative Negligence in New Jersey

It’s fairly common for more than one party to contribute to causing a motor vehicle accident. Under the law as it existed for centuries (known as “contributory negligence”), a person who had even the slightest responsibility for causing an accident could not recover compensation for injuries sustained in that accident. As a result, defense attorneys looked for even the remotest involvement by an injured person in the cause of the accident. The result—many seriously injured people with minimal fault had no recourse against extremely careless or negligent defendants.

Because of the perceived inequities in personal injury claims outcomes, New Jersey (and most other states) replaced the principle of contributory negligence with the concept of comparative negligence. Under the comparative negligence approach, the jury first calculates the total amount of an injured person’s losses. Next, the jury determines the extent to which the injured person was at fault, stated as a percentage of liability. Finally, the jury reduces the recovery/damage award by the percent of liability.

For example, if you were careless on your motorcycle, causing an accident that resulted in $500,000 in losses, your recovery could be reduced by $125,000 if the jury determined that you were 25% responsible for causing the crash.

One caveat—New Jersey adheres to the principle of “modified comparative negligence.” That means that you can only recover compensation for your losses is you were less responsible for them than the defendant.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Claims Tagged With:

Lane Splitting and Motorcycle Accident Claims in New Jersey

May 11, 2023 by

Will You Be Barred from Recovering Compensation for Your Injuries?

Lane Splitting and Motorcycle Accident Claims in New JerseyWhen you’re out on the road on a motorcycle, you generally have a lot more maneuverability than other motorists. When there’s a traffic jam, for example, you may be able to ride between the lanes to work your way out of a virtual parking lot. That’s commonly known as “lane splitting,” and while it’s not specifically prohibited in New Jersey, you may also be cited for doing it. What happens, then, if you’re in an accident while or immediately after you engage in lane splitting? Will you be prohibited from filing a personal injury lawsuit to cover your losses? Will it matter if you get a ticket for violating traffic laws?

Will Lane Splitting Automatically Keep You from Recovering Damages in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Your right to recover compensation after any type of accident will almost always be based on allegations of negligence. If you are seeking monetary damages for injury or loss suffered in a motorcycle accident, you’ll need to initially show that the defendant (person from whom you week compensation) was acting negligently at the time of the crash. What does that mean? It means that you have to prove, with evidence, that the defendant was not acting like a reasonable person would at the time.

Of course, even if you can show that the defendant was negligent, the defendant can introduce evidence of your negligence to counteract your claim. When both parties to an accident were careless, New Jersey follows the legal principle of comparative negligence. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, any amount you are entitled to receive as the result of an accident will be reduced by your percentage or degree of liability. If you were primarily responsible for causing the accident, you won’t be able to recover anything.

Accordingly, if a jury determines that your lane splitting contributed to the cause of the accident, your damage award can be reduced or even wiped out.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Claims Tagged With:

Common Causes of New Jersey Motorcycle Accidents

April 24, 2023 by

The Reasons behind Most Bike Wrecks

Common Causes of New Jersey Motorcycle AccidentsThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there are about 9 million registered motorcycles on the nation’s roadways, accounting for approximately 3% of all traffic. Unfortunately, motorcycles are involved in nearly 6% of all traffic accidents and are more than 30 times as likely to cause a highway-related fatality. Statistics show that about 80% of people who are involved in a motorcycle accident suffer significant injury or even death, whereas about one in five passengers in automobiles are hurt or killed.

What Are the Factors that Most Often Cause or Contribute to Motorcycle Accidents?

As a general rule, most motorcycle accidents result from carelessness or negligence of another person. In essence, negligence involves a failure to do the things a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances. Specific examples of negligence that can cause a motorcycle accident include:

  • Opening a car door in front of a moving bike—Too often, passengers in a parked vehicle open the door on the traffic side of a vehicle without looking to see if anyone is coming
  • Distracted driving—Other motorists will frequently take their eyes off the road, whether to use a cell phone or handheld device, adjust the stereo, talk to a passenger, wolf down lunch on the run or take in a roadside attraction/distraction
  • Violation of traffic laws—Excessive speed, failure to yield to the right of way of a motorcycle, illegal lane changes, rolling stops at a red light or stop sign
  • Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol—Another driver may have diminished capacity behind the wheel because of the use of controlled substances
  • Tailgating or other aggressive driving—Other drivers may fail to maintain a reasonable distance behind a motorcycle or otherwise drive to close to a bike

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail or call our offices at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Tagged With:

Proving Negligence in a New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Claim

April 13, 2023 by

What Must You Prove? Who Determines the Standard for Negligence?

Proving Negligence in a New Jersey Motorcycle Accident ClaimYou’ve been hurt in a motorcycle accident, either as a passenger or while operating the bike? Maybe another motorist pulled in front of you when you had the right of way. Maybe another driver veered into your lane without looking. Though you can always file a lawsuit for losses caused when someone else intentionally causes you injury, as a practical matter, most accidents are the result of carelessness, negligence, or a failure to pay proper attention.

What Do You Have to Prove to Show Negligence?

A legal claim of negligence requires that you prove that the defendant (person from whom you seek compensation) failed to act as a reasonable person would have under the circumstances. For example, if a motorist rolled through a stop sign and hit you, your claim of negligence would be based on the argument or allegation that a “reasonable person” would have come to a complete stop and looked both ways before going forward.

Ultimately, the jury will decide what would have been reasonable behavior, as well as whether the defendant’s actions were reasonable. To support your claim, you’ll want to provide evidence of the defendant’s failure to act reasonably. That may come in the form of physical evidence…skid marks at the scene, accident reconstruction models from an expert, or an examination of the damage to the vehicle. Additionally, it may come in the form of testimony from eyewitnesses (including you and passengers in your vehicle).

Don’t be surprised if the defendant introduces evidence that seems to contradict yours. To succeed in a personal injury lawsuit, you must convince the jury that your version of the facts is more believable than the defendant’s story—what is commonly referred to as a “preponderance of the evidence.”

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Motorcycle Accident Claims Tagged With:

What to Expect When You Have a Personal Injury Claim, Part I

March 9, 2023 by

What Will the Legal Process Entail?

What-to-Expect-When-You-Have-a-Personal-Injury-Claim-Part-I-imgYou’ve been hurt in a car, truck or motorcycle accident, or you’ve tripped on broken pavement or stairs at a local business and suffered a debilitating injury. You know you need to take legal action to recover for your losses, but you’ve never done that before, and have no idea what to expect.

The First Phase of a Personal Injury Claim—Filing a Lawsuit

To initiate a claim in court after a personal injury, you will need to file a complaint. You could do this yourself, but you’d be at a significant disadvantage, as there are rules about where you can file your claim and how soon you must file your claim. An experienced personal injury attorney will know those rules and will ensure that your rights are protected.

Once you file your complaint, the defendant has a certain amount of time to respond (by filing an “answer” to the complaint). If the defendant fails to answer the complaint by the deadline, you can seek a default judgment.

As a general rule, in New Jersey, you have two years from the date of the accident/injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. The defendant must generally answer within 35 days of service of the complaint.

The Next Phase—Gathering the Evidence

If the defendant files a timely answer, the court will typically schedule a meeting of all parties. At that meeting, the judge will learn some of the basic details of the case, will inquire as to the likelihood that the case can be settled without trial, and will establish a timetable for “discovery,” where the parties gather evidence.

Discovery typically includes three components:

  • Depositions, where witnesses are questioned under oath and in the presence of a court reporter
  • Interrogatories, where the parties submit written questions to each other
  • Requests for production of documents or other evidence, to be examined by the other party

The discovery period can last anywhere from six months to a year, on average, though it may be longer in more complicated cases.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Personal Injury Lawsuits Tagged With:

How Trucking Laws and Regulations Can Affect a Personal Injury Claim

March 2, 2023 by

The Impact of State and Federal Regulations after a Truck Accident

How-Trucking-Laws-and-Regulations-Can-Affect-a-Personal-Injury-Claim-imgDid you know that a fully loaded semi, 18-wheeler or tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds? When you consider that the average passenger vehicle tips the scales at slightly more than 4,000 pounds, the potential for serious injury when your car collides with a big rig becomes obvious.

Lawmakers have long understood the inherent risks posed by 40-ton semis barreling down the nation’s roadways. That’s one of the reasons that the United States Congress and many state legislatures have enacted laws and implemented regulations governing the trucking industry, particularly with respect to how much time truck drivers spend on the road, and how well they maintain their vehicles.

What Are the Federal “Time on the Road” Limits for Commercial Truck Drivers?

Most commercial truck drivers are paid by the load delivered, which creates an incentive to spend more time on the road. At the same time, though, one of the most frequent causes of truck accidents is driver fatigue. Because too much time on the road can leave a driver tired, less attentive, and less responsive in an emergency, federal law establishes restrictions for how much time a driver can continuously be behind the wheel and how much time a driver can operate a truck over a given period of time:

  • Drivers may drive up to 11 hours at a stretch, but only if preceded by 10 consecutive hours off duty
  • Drivers must take at least 30 minutes off every 8 hours
  • Drivers may not be behind the wheel more than 60 hours in any given 7-day-period or 70 hours in any given 8-day-period

What Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection Reports Must a Driver Keep?

Drivers must maintain a log, which must include a daily post-trip inspection report. The inspection report must identify the vehicle, as well as any defects that may have an impact on the safe operation of the vehicle.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

The Importance of an Expert Witness in a New Jersey Truck Accident

February 8, 2023 by

Helping a Judge and Jury Understand the Complex Issues in a Truck Accident Claim

The Importance of an Expert WitnessIn the aftermath of a collision with a semi, big rig, 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer or other large commercial truck, you have the right to seek full and fair compensation for all your losses, including unearned wages and income, unreimbursed medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium/companionship, and property damage. Truck accident claims pose unique challenges, though:

  • The causes of the accident can often be difficult to determine
  • The potential medical and financial consequences can be uncertain

In a lawsuit to recover damages for losses sustained in a commercial truck accident, it’s common to introduce testimony from other parties to the accident, or from bystanders who witnessed the events. You can also bring in physical evidence, such as pictures of the road conditions or the damage to your vehicle. However, it’s usually essential to retain expert witnesses to most effectively present your case to the judge and jury.

What Is the Function of an Expert Witness?

To succeed with a personal injury lawsuit, you must show two things:

  • Who is liable—Who caused the accident and how they caused it
  • How much you have and will lose as a consequence of the accident (your damages)

Expert witnesses are commonly used to establish both liability and damages.

To establish liability, your attorney will typically work with an “accident reconstruction specialist,” often an engineer, who will gather factual data and re-create the events of the accident. That may include measuring skid marks or carefully examining and documenting the damage to both vehicles (among other things).

Two different expert witnesses are commonly used to establish your losses:

  • A medical expert will testify regarding the nature of your injuries, how they were sustained, and what care/costs will be required in the future
  • A financial expert can accurately calculate both the present and future costs of all your losses, and will typically provide a present value of all future damages

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

Proving Fault in a New Jersey Truck Accident

February 1, 2023 by

What You Need to Show to Recover Compensation for Your Losses

Proving Fault in a New Jersey Truck AccidentWhen you’ve been injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, chances are your injuries are significant. After all, a semi, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler or big rig can legally carry up to 80,000 pounds. Even the largest passenger vehicles (the Chevy Suburban is the heaviest) come in at less than 7,000 pounds. Though it can often seem to you that the causes of the accident were obvious, proving liability in a truck accident claim can be challenging, mostly because there are so many different factors that can contribute to an accident:

  • Driver fatigue
  • Poor maintenance of the truck
  • Dangerous or defective components (brakes, steering mechanism, tires)
  • Poorly maintained roadways
  • Operator error
  • Lack of training, experience or supervision

What Must You Prove to Win a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Though you can always file a lawsuit based on the intentional and wrongful acts of another person, as a practical matter, most personal injury claims are based on allegations of negligence. To succeed with a negligence claim, you must show three things:

  • That the person from whom you seek compensation (the defendant) failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances (drove too fast, failed to properly maintain the truck, etc.)
  • That the failure to act reasonably caused the accident
  • That you suffered actual losses as a consequence of the accident

What Types of Evidence Can Be Used to Support Your Claim?

Evidence can be obtained from a variety of sources:

  • Eyewitness testimony from persons involved in the accident or from bystanders
  • Testimony from expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists
  • Data gathered from the truck’s “black box recorder”
  • The official accident report filed with law enforcement officers
  • Forensic evidence, such as examination of vehicles, roadway conditions or injuries sustained
  • Pictures taken at the scene of the accident

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

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