Long Island Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

A motorcycle accident lawyer represents riders injured in crashes caused by negligent drivers across Nassau County and Suffolk County. 

Motorcycle accidents often cause catastrophic injuries, and the legal process that follows is different from a standard car accident claim in ways that matter: riders do not have access to New York no-fault benefits, insurers often try to blame the motorcyclist, and recovery may require months or years of treatment.

William Mattar, P.C. can represent motorcycle accident victims throughout Nassau and Suffolk County. Our attorneys understand what makes these claims different from every other motor vehicle case we handle: riders are excluded from no-fault coverage and the injuries demand a damages case built around motorcycle-specific trauma, not a car accident template with different vehicle names.

Call (516) 444-4444 for a free case evaluation with a trusted motorcycle accident attorney.

What Sets a Motorcycle Accident Case Apart — and What Your Attorney Needs to Know

Motorcycle cases are handled differently by insurance companies, and they need to be handled differently by your attorney, too. Riders are excluded from New York's no-fault system, which means there's no PIP safety net covering your bills from day one. Adjusters and defense attorneys exploit anti-rider bias to inflate your comparative fault percentage. And the injuries, from road rash to orthopedic trauma, and TBIs, even with a helmet, require medical documentation that speaks to motorcycle-specific mechanisms of injury.

Our attorneys have concentrated on motor vehicle accident claims for more than three decades, including the motorcycle cases that demand a different approach: countering "the rider was reckless" narratives with crash reconstruction, establishing coverage pathways when PIP doesn't exist, and documenting how common motorcycle accident injuries differ from what a car occupant would experience in the same collision.

We work on a contingency basis — no upfront cost, no fee unless we recover compensation. Call (516) 444-4444 to discuss your case with a motorcycle accident attorney at William Mattar, P.C.

How a Long Island Motorcycle Accident Claim Differs From a Car Accident Case

Most motor vehicle accident cases in New York start with the no-fault insurance system. Your own PIP coverage pays for medical bills and lost wages up to $50,000 regardless of fault, and you must meet the serious injury threshold before you may sue for pain and suffering.

Motorcycle accidents don't follow those rules. Under New York Insurance Law, motorcycles are excluded from the no-fault system entirely. That exclusion changes your case in important ways:

• No PIP benefits after a crash. Riders and their passengers are not eligible for the $50,000 in PIP coverage that car occupants receive. There is no automatic insurance safety net covering your medical expenses from day one, which means injured motorcyclists often face immediate financial pressure while the liability claim develops.
• No serious injury threshold to clear before you may sue. Car accident victims must prove their injuries fall into one of nine defined categories before they may pursue pain and suffering damages. Motorcyclists are exempt from that requirement. If another driver caused your crash, you may file a claim for the full range of damages, including pain and suffering, from the start.

This legal framework creates both a challenge and an advantage. The challenge is covering early medical costs without PIP. The advantage is that your right to sue is broader than what most car accident victims have. Health insurance, MedPay coverage (if purchased on the motorcycle policy), or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may help bridge the financial gap while your claim develops.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents on Long Island

Long Island's road network creates hazards that are manageable for drivers inside a 4,000-pound vehicle but potentially fatal for a rider on a motorcycle.

High-speed arterials like Sunrise Highway, Route 110, and Jericho Turnpike carry dense traffic through commercial corridors where drivers make frequent turns across oncoming lanes. The Long Island Expressway and Southern State Parkway see aggressive lane changes and tailgating at speeds where a motorcycle has almost no margin for error. Residential streets throughout Nassau and Suffolk County add risks from drivers pulling out of driveways, opening car doors into traffic, and failing to check blind spots. These are some of the most common causes of motorcycle accident claims throughout Long Island.

Road surface conditions compound the problem. Potholes, uneven pavement, gravel, oil slicks, and poor drainage that a car driver barely notices may cause a motorcyclist to lose control. When a road defect contributes to a crash, a claim against the responsible municipal entity may be available, though these claims require serving a notice of claim within 90 days. Time is of the essence. 

How Insurance Companies Try to Blame Motorcyclists

Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys know that juries sometimes view motorcyclists less favorably than other accident victims. The assumption, whether spoken or not, is that the rider was being reckless, weaving through traffic, or taking unnecessary risks simply by choosing to ride.

This bias shows up in how claims are handled:

• Adjusters may assume shared fault without evidence. The insurer for the driver who caused your crash may argue that you were speeding, lane-splitting, or riding aggressively, even when the evidence points entirely to the other driver's negligence.
• Defense attorneys highlight the motorcycle itself. Opposing counsel may try to frame riding a motorcycle as an inherently risky choice to create sympathy for the driver who hit you.
• Injury severity gets questioned differently. Because motorcycle injuries tend to be severe, insurers sometimes argue that the injuries are disproportionate to the crash rather than acknowledging that the lack of a protective vehicle frame explains the severity.

New York follows a comparative negligence rule, which means partial fault does not necessarily bar recovery. Motorcycle accident attorneys anticipate these strategies and build cases that counter bias with evidence: crash reconstruction as needed, witness testimony, traffic camera footage, and documentation that puts fault squarely where it belongs.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Long Island Motorcycle Accident

Liability in motorcycle accident cases depends on who acted negligently and how that negligence caused the crash. Multiple parties may share responsibility.

Negligent Drivers

The most common cause of motorcycle accidents is another driver who failed to see the rider. Left-turn collisions, where a driver turns across the path of an oncoming motorcycle, are among the deadliest crash types. Lane-change accidents, failure to yield at intersections, distracted driving, and impaired driving all create liability for the at-fault driver.

Municipal Entities Responsible for Road Conditions

When a road defect, missing signage, inadequate lighting, or a poorly designed intersection contributes to a motorcycle crash, the government entity responsible for maintaining that road may share liability. These claims require a notice of claim within 90 days of the accident.

Employers of Negligent Drivers

If the driver who caused your crash was operating a commercial vehicle, delivery van, or company car within the scope of employment, the employer may share liability for the collision.

Our attorneys trace liability across every potentially responsible party to pursue every available source of compensation.

Evidence That Can Strengthen Your Motorcycle Accident Claim

Motorcycle accident cases depend on evidence that establishes what happened, who was at fault, and how severely you were injured. Much of this evidence is time-sensitive.

• Crash scene evidence. Photos of the scene, skid marks, debris patterns, road conditions, and vehicle positions help reconstruct the collision. This evidence may disappear within hours as roads are cleared.
• Surveillance and dashcam footage. Traffic cameras, business security systems, and dashcams from nearby vehicles may capture the crash or the moments leading up to it. This footage is often overwritten within days.
• Witness statements. Drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bystanders who saw the crash provide independent accounts that counter the at-fault driver's version of events.
• Police reports. The responding officer's report documents initial observations about fault, road conditions, traffic violations, and driver behavior.
• Motorcycle and vehicle data. Event data recorders, GPS data, and mechanical inspection results may reveal whether either vehicle was speeding, braking, or experiencing a mechanical failure at the time of the crash.
• Medical records. Comprehensive documentation of your injuries, treatment, and prognosis establishes both the severity of your condition and the connection between the crash and your medical needs.

Our attorneys move quickly to preserve this evidence, including sending preservation demands to businesses with surveillance cameras and to government entities with traffic camera footage near the crash site.

What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident on Long Island

The steps you take in the first days after a crash directly affect the strength of your claim. Once you're past the immediate aftermath, these actions may help protect your legal position:

• Get medical attention and follow through on treatment. Some injuries, particularly internal injuries and concussions, may not present significant symptoms immediately. Consistent treatment helps you reocver.
• Report the crash to police. A police report documents the scene, the officer's observations about fault, and the parties involved. This report becomes a foundational piece of evidence.
• Photograph the scene, your injuries, and your motorcycle. Damage to your bike, road conditions, debris patterns, traffic signals, and your protective gear all matter. Take photos from multiple angles before anything is moved or repaired.
• Preserve your riding gear and motorcycle. Do not repair or dispose of your helmet, jacket, gloves, or motorcycle before your attorney has had an opportunity to document their condition. Damage to gear may corroborate the force of impact and the mechanism of injury.
• Talk to a motorcycle accident attorney before you sign anything or accept any offer. Without PIP coverage, you may feel financial pressure to settle quickly. That's exactly what the insurer is counting on. A free evaluation gives you a realistic picture of what your claim may be worth before you close the door permanently.

Acting early also gives your legal team time to obtain surveillance footage, secure witness contact information, and file any required notices before deadlines pass.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Long Island Motorcycle Accident?

Because motorcyclists are excluded from the no-fault system, the full range of damages is available from the start — no serious injury threshold to clear.

A motorcycle accident claim may pursue:

• Medical expenses with no PIP buffer. Without no-fault coverage absorbing the initial costs, every dollar of medical treatment, emergency trauma care, orthopedic surgery, skin grafts for road rash, neurological evaluation, and months of rehabilitation goes into the claim from the outset. If you're facing long-term follow-up care or future procedures, those projected costs factor in as well.
• Lost income and earning capacity, compounded by the no-fault gap. Riders who can't work during recovery have no PIP wage-replacement benefit to fall back on. The claim needs to capture both the immediate income loss and, for severe injuries, the permanent impact on what you can earn going forward.
• Pain and suffering without threshold restrictions. Car accident victims must prove their injuries meet one of nine statutory categories before they can pursue non-economic damages. Motorcyclists don't. If another driver caused your crash, pain and suffering — physical, emotional, psychological — is recoverable from the start.
• Loss of enjoyment of life, including the ability to ride. Your motorcycle wasn't just transportation. When a crash takes away your ability to ride, to feel the road, to experience what drew you to motorcycling in the first place, that's a loss the claim should account for.

We work with medical providers and financial consultants to build a damages case that reflects the actual trajectory of your recovery, not a formula designed to close the file quickly.

Filing Deadlines for a Long Island Motorcycle Accident Claim

Because motorcyclists are excluded from no-fault, the usual 30-day PIP application deadline doesn't apply to you. But the remaining filing deadlines are just as strict:

Three years to file a motorcycle accident lawsuit under CPLR § 214, measured from the date of the crash. This is a hard cutoff — miss it and the claim is gone regardless of the evidence.

Ninety days to serve a notice of claim if the crash involved a government vehicle, a road defect, or a municipal entity. This shorter deadline applies to cases where pothole damage, poor signage, or a government-operated vehicle contributed to the crash.

Two years for wrongful death claims, measured from the date of death rather than the date of the accident.

Evidence preservation runs on its own clock. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses may be overwritten within days. Crash scene evidence gets cleared. Witness memories lose detail. The earlier a Long Island personal injury lawyer starts collecting and preserving evidence, the stronger the case becomes.

FAQs for Long Island Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Talk to a Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Who Rides on Your Side after a Long Island crash 

A motorcycle accident on Long Island may leave you with injuries that take months or years to recover from, medical bills that pile up without PIP coverage to absorb the initial costs, and an insurance company that treats you differently because you were on two wheels instead of four. 

William Mattar, P.C. can handle Long Island motorcycle accident cases from the first phone call through resolution. Our Jericho office serves Nassau and Suffolk County residents directly, and our phones are always answered.

Call (516) 444-4444 to speak with a Long Island motorcycle accident lawyer. The consultation is free, available 24/7, and comes with no obligation. No Fee Until We Win℠.

Past performance does not guarantee future results, including financial results or client satisfaction.