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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:

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:

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