New York City Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Injured in a motorcycle crash in New York? Our seasoned motorcycle accident attorneys in New York City can help you see the compensation and justice you deserve.

A motorcycle crash in New York City changes your life in seconds, and the fight that follows is often just as brutal as the impact. Riders make up a small fraction of registered vehicles across the five boroughs, yet they account for a disproportionate share of serious traffic injuries and deaths.

When a distracted driver, an Access-A-Ride van, or a delivery truck sends a rider to the pavement on Atlantic Avenue, Queens Boulevard, or the Grand Concourse, the medical bills, missed paychecks, and long recovery road start piling up immediately, all while insurance companies look for reasons to pay you as little as possible.

Our skilled New York City motorcycle accident lawyers represent injured riders across Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, Long Island, and Westchester County.

At Grigor Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we build every motorcycle case the way we build every jury presentation: with reconstruction experts, medical documentation, and a clear narrative that dismantles the “reckless biker” stereotype adjusters count on. You focus on healing. We handle the insurance carriers, the evidence, and the courtroom.

Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

Do You Need a Attorney After a Motorcycle Accident in NYC?

Motorcyclists have less physical protection than any other driver on New York City’s roads, and less protection in the insurance system, too. New York’s no-fault law, which covers a car driver’s initial medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, specifically excludes motorcycles under state law. You must pursue the at-fault driver directly through a personal injury claim to recover anything at all.

Insurance companies know this, and they use it against you. They also lean on a pervasive public bias: the assumption that any rider who got hurt must have been riding recklessly. The job of our New York City motorcycle accident attorneys is to prove otherwise and fight for a full recovery on your behalf.

Why Hire Grigor Law for Your NYC Motorcycle Accident Case

We bring a “shark attitude” to every case we take, and the insurance companies know it. That reputation is exactly why we negotiate from a position of strength, not desperation.

• Trial-Ready Representation: We prepare every file as if a jury will hear it. That posture is what turns lowball offers into fair settlements.
• Experienced Legal Team: Grigor Law was founded in 2015 by Chrissy Grigoropoulos, Esq. Our trial attorneys, Madalene Sabino and Michelle Jablonski, Esq., bring focused experience in injury law and courtroom advocacy.
• Three Offices Across the Metro Area: We operate from Ridgewood (Brooklyn/Queens), The Bronx, and Hempstead (Long Island), covering every borough, Long Island, and Westchester County.
• We Come to You: If your injuries prevent you from traveling, our attorneys will meet you at your home or hospital room, wherever you need us.
• No Fee Unless We Win: Every case is handled on a contingency basis. You pay nothing in attorney’s fees until we recover money for you.

What Are Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents in NYC?

Driver negligence, not rider recklessness, causes most motorcycle crashes in New York City. Insurance companies rarely lead with that admission. We investigate every contributing factor to build the strongest possible case on your behalf.

Common causes we encounter include:

• Left turns made directly into an oncoming motorcycle
• Unsafe lane changes and blind-spot sideswipes
• Distracted driving from phones, food delivery apps, and in-car screens
• “Dooring,” a driver or passenger opening their door into a rider’s path
• Rideshare and taxi drivers stopping abruptly without warning
• Impaired drivers operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Road defects like potholes, steel construction plates, and raised manhole covers
• Speeding and running red lights at intersections

Our New York City motorcycle accident lawyers identify every responsible party, including third parties and government entities that often get overlooked.

One pattern we consistently see in motorcycle claims across Brooklyn and Queens is that the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad rarely responds to the scene unless the crash involves a fatality or a life-threatening injury, which leaves most riders relying on their own photos and witness accounts to reconstruct what happened.

We also see left-turn and dooring incidents cluster along corridors like Flatbush Avenue and Queens Boulevard, where heavy commercial traffic and double-parked vehicles create blind spots for drivers.

Adjusters routinely try to frame these crashes as the rider’s fault for lane-splitting or speeding before any real investigation has taken place. Securing traffic camera footage and nearby business surveillance before it gets overwritten is usually what makes or breaks the case.

Who Is Liable for a Motorcycle Accident in NYC?

The driver who hit you is rarely the only party with legal responsibility. Our New York City personal injury lawyers pursue every avenue of recovery to maximize what you can collect.

Negligent Drivers and Vehicle Owners

The at-fault driver is the primary defendant. Under New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, the registered owner of the vehicle can also be held financially responsible, even if someone else was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.

Employers and Commercial Carriers

When a delivery driver, rideshare driver, or commercial trucker causes a crash while working, their employer can be held liable under vicarious liability, the legal rule that an employer shares responsibility for an employee’s on-the-job actions.

City Agencies and Roadway Contractors

New York City, the State DOT, or a private contractor can be held liable when dangerous road conditions cause a crash. These claims require a Notice of Claim, a formal legal document submitted to the appropriate government agency, to be filed within just 90 days of the accident.

Parts Manufacturers

If defective brakes, tires, or other equipment contributed to the crash, the manufacturer can be held accountable through a product liability claim, separate from and in addition to your claim against the driver.

How Does Motorcycle Insurance Work in New York?

Motorcycles are excluded from New York’s no-fault insurance system under the Insurance Law. This changes how your entire claim works.

Because no-fault does not apply, you do not have to meet the “serious injury” threshold, the legal bar car accident victims must clear before they can sue. You can file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver for any injury. The tradeoff is that your own insurance will not cover your initial medical bills. Your private health insurance takes that role instead.

Coverage & Rights	Car Driver	Motorcyclist
No-Fault (PIP) Medical and Wage Benefits	Yes	No
Must Meet “Serious Injury” Threshold to Sue	Yes	No
Can Sue for Any Injury, Including Minor Ones	No	Yes
Primary Source of Medical Recovery	No-Fault PIP	At-Fault Driver’s Policy

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Motorcycle Crash?

We pursue your losses across two categories. Special damages cover your economic losses, medical bills, future treatment costs, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and property damage to your bike and gear. General damages address the non-economic toll: your physical pain, emotional suffering, and loss of enjoyment of daily life.

When a crash is fatal, surviving family members can pursue a wrongful death claim for funeral expenses, lost financial support, and the loss of their loved one’s companionship. We benchmark every figure against comparable New York verdicts to make sure your demand reflects the actual value of your claim, not a number the insurer invented.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident in NYC

The steps you take immediately after a crash determine how much evidence we can preserve and how strong your case will be.

1. Call 911 and Get Medical Care: Always get evaluated, even if you feel fine, spinal injuries, internal bleeding, and concussions often have delayed symptoms.
2. Document the Scene: Photograph vehicles, license plates, skid marks, and any road defects like potholes or steel construction plates.
3. Identify Witnesses: Collect names and phone numbers, and note any nearby businesses or buildings with security cameras.
4. Refuse a Recorded Statement: The at-fault driver’s insurance adjuster is not on your side. Decline any request for a statement and have them contact us.
5. Preserve Your Motorcycle and Gear: Do not repair or discard your bike, helmet, or damaged clothing. Our reconstruction experts need to examine them.
6. Call Grigor Law Immediately: Contact us before evidence is deleted and deadlines begin to close.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim in New York?

New York sets firm time limits, called a statute of limitations, on your ability to bring a lawsuit. Once those windows close, your right to compensation is typically gone.

• Personal Injury Claims: Three years from the date of the accident
• Wrongful Death Claims: Two years from the date of death
• Claims Against NYC or Any Government Agency: A Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days

Surveillance footage gets deleted within days. Witnesses forget details. Acting quickly is not just important, it is essential to your case.

Can You Recover Compensation If You Were Partly at Fault?

Yes. New York follows a pure comparative fault rule, which reduces your recovery by your percentage of blame, but does not eliminate your right to compensation. If you were found 20% at fault, you would still recover 80% of your total damages.

Insurance companies routinely inflate a rider’s share of the blame to reduce what they pay out. They use police reports, witness statements, and driver accounts to build a case against the very person they owe money to. Our NYC motorcycle accident lawyers collect and challenge that evidence before it can be used against you.

What we see across the motorcycle claims we handle throughout the five boroughs is that insurers lean hardest on comparative fault when a crash happens on a highway like the Belt Parkway or the Cross Bronx Expressway, where merging patterns make it easier to argue the rider contributed to the collision.

Adjusters often point to minor traffic infractions, like riding close to the shoulder or filtering through slow traffic, as evidence of fault even when the other driver caused the crash. In our experience handling these disputes, the fault percentage an insurer proposes in its first letter is rarely the number it settles on once medical records and crash reconstruction are in the file.

We push back on inflated fault allocations before they get baked into a lowball offer.

Common Injuries in NYC Motorcycle Crashes

When a rider goes down in New York City traffic, the injuries are often severe and expensive to treat for years. Without the protection of a vehicle frame, your body absorbs the full force of the collision.

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): From post-concussion syndrome to permanent cognitive damage, even when a helmet was worn
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Partial or complete paralysis requiring lifelong care and adaptive equipment
• Road Rash: Deep abrasions that cause permanent scarring, nerve damage, and risk of serious infection
• Degloving Injuries: A severe wound where skin and tissue are torn away, requiring reconstructive surgery
• Complex Bone Fractures: Breaks to the pelvis, femur, arms, and ribs that often require multiple surgeries
• Internal Organ Damage: Injuries to the liver, spleen, kidneys, or lungs from blunt-force impact
• Traumatic Amputations: The loss of a limb during the crash or through medically necessary surgery afterward

These injuries carry costs that extend years into the future. We make sure every one of those future expenses is fully calculated into your claim.

Across the motorcycle injury claims we handle citywide, riders treated at trauma centers like Bellevue Hospital, Kings County Hospital, and Jacobi Medical Center often face a second round of imaging weeks after discharge, once swelling subsides and a fracture or soft tissue injury missed on the first scan becomes visible.

Insurers frequently point to that gap between the initial emergency room visit and the follow-up diagnosis to argue the injury was not caused by the crash.

We see this most often with spinal and internal injuries, where the full extent of the damage does not surface until physical therapy fails to resolve the pain. Documenting that timeline early is one of the most consistent ways we protect the value of a claim.

Experienced NYC Motorcycle Crash Law Firm

The insurance company’s first offer is designed to close your file as cheaply as possible, not to reflect what your injuries, your pain, and your disrupted life are actually worth.

We handle every case on a contingency basis. You owe us nothing until we win. Our attorneys work from offices in Ridgewood, the Bronx, and Hempstead, and they will come to you if you cannot travel.

Contact Grigor Law today for a free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Pays My Medical Bills If Motorcyclists Are Excluded from No-Fault Coverage?

Your private health insurance covers your initial treatment costs. We then pursue full reimbursement of those bills, along with all other damages, directly from the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability policy.

What Happens If the At-Fault Driver Had No Insurance?

Your own Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage steps in when the other driver has no policy. If their insurance exists but cannot cover your full losses, your Supplemental Underinsured Motorist (SUM) coverage fills the remaining gap.

Do I Need to File a Notice of Claim If a Road Defect Caused My Crash?

Yes, and this deadline is critical. Claims involving a government-maintained road condition require a Notice of Claim within 90 days, so contact us immediately if road conditions played any role in your crash.

Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Not Wearing a Helmet?

Yes. Not wearing a helmet may reduce your recovery specifically for head injuries, but it does not bar you from collecting full compensation for every other injury you sustained.

Will an Attorney Come to Me If I Cannot Travel After My Accident?

Yes. Our attorneys regularly travel to meet clients at their homes and hospital rooms across all five boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester County.

Can I File Both a Workers’ Compensation Claim and a Lawsuit If I Was Riding for Work?

Yes. If you were working at the time of the crash, as a courier, delivery rider, or in any other occupation, you can simultaneously pursue workers’ compensation benefits and a separate personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver.