Riding your motorcycle in North Las Vegas, you enjoy all the freedom and fun Nevada offers. You ride in the sun with stunning mountain ranges at your back. You enjoy Nevada's scenic beauty and exciting entertainment destinations.
Unfortunately, dangerous drivers sometimes overshadow your riding pleasure. When you share the road with negligent commuters, anxious tourists, and frantic rideshare drivers, they often endanger your life.
As a biker, the open-air experience that makes your journey so exciting also makes you vulnerable to harm. If a vehicle strikes your motorcycle, it can cause serious and catastrophic injuries. Even a low-speed impact easily ejects you from your bike and sends you crashing to the road. Even if a negligent driver doesn't intentionally injure you, their actions often cause avoidable accidents and disabling injuries. When a driver's negligent actions injure you, Edward Bernstein and Associates do what's necessary to make them pay.
If a driver injures you in a crash, you should never deal with an insurance company alone. Let our North Las Vegas motorcycle accident lawyers determine if they owe you compensation.
Why Contact Edward Bernstein and Associates?
When Edward Bernstein and Associates handle an injury case, our seasoned legal advocates take up the challenge. We understand that motorcycle accidents often involve complicated legal scenarios and catastrophic injuries. As insurance companies sometimes dispute liability and damages, we approach each case with a sense of urgency. When we accept an injury claim, our legal team handles every detail with dedication and aggressive legal action.
We Investigate Every Case
When a negligent driver causes a crash, it doesn't necessarily mean they or their insurer will admit liability. That's why we investigate the circumstances and evaluate the liability issues as soon as possible following an accident. We conduct a site investigation, talk to witnesses, and review police reports and evidence. We identify any negligent parties and take steps to protect our client's legal rights.
We Place all Negligent Parties on Notice
The driver who crashes into your motorcycle isn't always the only legally responsible party. Sometimes another party or entity owns the vehicle, or the driver is on company business. As negligent drivers won't always share this information, we identify all potentially responsible parties during our investigation. We determine their part in causing your injuries and notify them of your pending claims.
We Intervene With Liability Insurers
Whether or not an insurance company accepts liability for their client's actions, they reach out to document an injured party's story. Most claim representatives ask questions about the accident, and they record the responses. This generates a permanent record that the injured person can't take back. Injured victims don't always know or understand the underlying issues, so insurers often use their own words to dispute liability.
When handling an injury claim, we take immediate steps to prevent these types of deceptive interactions. We intervene on our client's behalf and deal directly with insurers and their representatives until we resolve all pending claims.
We Protect Our Client's Rights
We deal directly with insurers, self-insured entities, independent claim agencies, and their legal representatives when appropriate. We protect our clients by managing all contacts, information exchanges, and settlement negotiations. We track critical dates, including statutes of limitations, filing deadlines, and court-mandated conferences and hearings.
We're Here When Our Clients Need Us
Our law firm has convenient locations in Henderson and Summerlin. We have worked with injured clients throughout Clark County, resolving cases involving injury claims from minor disabilities to catastrophic trauma. In addition to motorcycle accident injury claims, we handle injury cases involving private passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, taxis, and rideshare vehicle crashes, workers' compensation accidents, premises injuries, and other casualty losses.
Schedule a Free Consultation
If you need to know whether a negligent party owes you compensation for your injuries, message us through the text link on our website or call. We'll arrange a free consultation to discuss your case.
At Edward Bernstein and Associates, We Get Results
When injured people establish a working relationship with our law firm, we begin working on their cases from day one. We deal directly with insurers, but we evaluate our cases independently. We assess the legal issues and obtain medical documentation, bills, and narrative reports. When our client is ready to settle, we work to resolve our client's cases through the most beneficial means possible.
We Negotiate, Mediate, and Litigate Cases
We negotiate directly with insurers, self-insured entities, or their legal representatives when possible. We also resolve cases through Mediation and other Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures. We talk to our clients about litigation if we can't reach a fair settlement. When we try a case, we present our evidence before a judge and jury and let the court decide the outcome.
Client Testimonials and Reviews
Our law firm has successfully resolved claims for many injured clients. We can't promise a specific case outcome because no two injury claims are alike. To learn more about our law firm's results, we invite potential clients to visit our Testimonial Pages. Past clients share information about their positive experiences with our law firm. They also post reviews on Google, Yelp, and other sites that host public reviews.
Motorcycle Accident Injury Compensation
When motorists or truckers crash into bikers, they usually manage vastly different consequences. The impact often sends the motorcyclist airborne or leaves them pinned beneath their motorcycle. While a biker often requires emergency assistance for serious or catastrophic injuries, the vehicle motorist usually drives away unharmed.
Before we reach settlement negotiations, we assess the issues and evaluate the damages. We consider relevant legal issues, injuries, compensable damages, and other factors to accomplish this.
Can We Prove the Other Driver's Negligence?
To determine legal responsibility for an accident, we evaluate each party's actions in light of the evidence and the relevant legal issues.
Even in complex liability situations, we usually assess our final liability based on a simple negligence formula.
- Duty owed: Did the other driver have a duty to operate their vehicle in a way that kept other people safe?
- Duty breached: How did the driver fail to meet that duty?
- Proximate cause: Were the driver's actions the cause of the accident?
- Damages: Did the accident cause or contribute to the motorcyclist's injuries?
Can We Prove an Injury's Value?
We document, review, and evaluate all available medical information to establish a claim's value. We consider valid compensation for an accident in North Las Vegas. We then negotiate a settlement that includes economic damages and non-economic damages. If we try a case, we sometimes seek punitive damages.
Economic Damages
This includes out-of-pocket expenses incurred during treatment, recovery, rehabilitation, and disability. If a client is still receiving treatment when we finalize their settlement, we also seek financial consideration for future expenses.
Economic damages often include:
- Lost income and lost earning capacity
- Doctor bills
- Medications
- Hospital expenses
- Mobility structures and devices
- Prosthetics
- Physical and psychological therapy
- Medical Transportation
- Replacement services
- Funeral and burial expenses
Non-Economic Damages
Settlements usually include a negotiated figure for psychological, emotional, and other subjectively assessed damages.
These often include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Psychological trauma
- Disruption of marital and family relationships
- Functional losses
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Temporary and permanent disabilities
Exemplary Damages
Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 42, gives courts the legal authority to punish a defendant by awarding exemplary damages. We must produce clear and convincing evidence that proves the person who injured our client was guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice.
Motorcycle Accidents in Clark County
Clark is the busiest county in Nevada. Although the most recent Zero Fatalities traffic statistics reflect a drop in traffic-related fatalities, they still occur too often.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration shows the following full-year traffic accident statistics.
- Total Traffic Fatalities in Nevada: 385
- Total Motorcycle Fatalities in Nevada: 87
- Total Motorcycle Fatalities in Clark County: 63
The Worst Streets in North Las Vegas
The Nevada Department of Transportation's Five-Year Crash Data Map shows that accidents occur frequently on North 5th Street.
The map documents five years of accidents at or near these intersections.
- East Craig Road and North 5th Street: 243 crashes
- Ann Road and North 5th Street: 58 crashes
- North Las Vegas Boulevard and North 5th Street: 148 crashes
- North Decatur Boulevard and North 5th Street: 485 crashes
Motorcycle Riders Rights In Nevada
Nevada Revised Statutes expressly grant motorcyclists and motorists the same rights.
- NRS §486.35, Rights and duties of drivers, briefly explain that motorcyclists and moped riders have the same rights and duties as other drivers
- NRS §486.341, Right to full use of a traffic lane, warns motorists to avoid depriving a motorcyclist or moped rider of their right to use an entire lane.
These statutes are critical to motorcycle safety in Nevada. Many motorcycle accidents occur when drivers disrespect a cyclist's right to share the road.
The Deadline to File an Injury Claim
Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 11, Limitation of Actions gives injured motorcyclists a two-year timeframe to resolve their injury liability claims. If an injured person doesn't settle their claim or file a lawsuit by the two-year milestone, they lose the right to file a claim. Our law firm keeps track of our clients' statute of limitations and other critical dates. We ensure that our clients meet any critical milestones.
Motorcycle Accident Injuries
At 4,000 pounds, the average car far outweighs recently manufactured motorcycles which average 300 to 500 pounds. This difference becomes problematic when a vehicle/motorcycle crash occurs. The size and profile differences make the vehicle driver more likely to ignore, misjudge or miss a potentially dangerous situation. The distinct differences in vehicle weight increase the cyclist's vulnerability to injury.
Types of Motorcycle Accidents
Serious accidents often involve risky driving behaviors such as alcohol or drug impairment, speeding, or distracted driving. Motorcycle accidents also occur due to vehicle drivers' perception or visibility issues.
The National Transportation Safety Board's Select Risk Factors Associated with Causes of Motorcycle Crashes reports how failed perceptions sometimes contribute to the most common motorcycle accidents.
- Vehicles make right turns in front of motorcycles.
- Motorcyclists lay their bikes down on the pavement to avoid an accident.
- Vehicles sideswipe motorcycles when they are legally in their own lane.
Many of these crashes occur because motorists don't see the biker. Psychologists and scientists call this phenomenon inattentional blindness. Vehicle drivers also cause motorcycle accidents because they misjudge a motorcycle's speed or they don't react in time to avoid a crash.
Types of Motorcycle Accident Injuries
When a crash occurs, a biker has no airbags, seatbelts, or other safety devices to protect them. Even a low-speed crash can send a biker crashing into the pavement. This often leaves them with serious or catastrophic injuries.
Past NHTSA studies have determined that bikers sustain these serious injuries most frequently.
- Multiple lower-extremity fractures
- Degloving injuries (skin traumatically removed from a foot or digit)
- Chest injuries
- Head and brain trauma
- Spine and spinal cord damage
- Abdominal injuries
- Fatal injuries
Bikers sustain lower body trauma often multiple fractures more frequently than upper body injuries. When upper body and head trauma occur, they often cause severe, catastrophic, or fatal injuries. When a head trauma isn't fatal, it can cause brain injuries that affect cognitive, physical, motor, and other critical functions. When a biker sustains a spine injury, it sometimes leaves them with paralysis or other disabilities.
Our law firm has handled numerous motorcycle accidents. We understand how bikers sustain serious injuries, and we understand their value. We work hard to recover the financial compensation our clients deserve.
Dealing With Liability Insurance Companies
After an accident, liability insurers want to know everything about you. They call you, come to your home, and sometimes visit you in your hospital. That doesn't mean that they intend to pay your claim. Sometimes, they gather as much information as possible for reasons to deny liability for your accident. If they make an offer and you accept it, you may never know it was fair.
Our North Las Vegas motorcycle accident lawyers can intervene with insurers before they mislead our clients. You need our legal advocates to step in before an insurance company convinces you to jeopardize your right to a fair settlement.
What to Do After an Accident
We take vital steps to recover damages on our clients behalf.
We also ask that our clients do their part to protect their legal interests.
- Dial 911: Nevada Revised Statutes, §484E.030, require a police report when an accident involves injuries. When the police arrive, they can assist you with medical transport for emergency treatment. They can also document the accident circumstances and your injuries.
- Follow doctor's orders: After your initial treatment, you must comply with your doctor's treatment plan. Doctors help establish your injury value. You must keep your medical appointments, fill prescriptions, and discuss potential recovery issues. This allows them to provide an accurate injury assessment. Also, you should return to work only after the doctor says you're ready.
- Keep an injury journal: This will help you remember important details about your treatment, injury, and recovery. Document your pain and discomfort, activities you couldn't do, tasks you couldn't perform, and any impairment difficulties. Track missed family celebrations, difficulties with family relationships, emotional issues, replacement services, and other relevant details. This information helps your attorney evaluate your case and prepare for settlement negotiations, depositions, mediations, or court testimony.
- Don't talk to liability insurance investigators: Liability claim personnel represent the person who injured you. When they ask you questions, your responses may jeopardize your case. Always have your motorcycle accident attorney communicate on your behalf.
- Remember that insurance company investigators are (probably) watching you: Insurance companies have rather creepy strategies for learning about you and your injuries. They monitor your actions, capture you on video, talk to your neighbors, study your social media pages, and do credit checks. Our lawyers can predict their actions and protect your privacy.
Contact Our North Las Vegas Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
If a motorcycle accident hurts you, you need a seasoned legal professional looking out for you. When you work with Ed Bernstein and Associates, our motorcycle accident lawyers handle the legal details. We can discuss your accident and determine if we can hold the other driver responsible. When appropriate, we contact the liability carrier and take steps to resolve your injury claim.
Contact us to discuss your motorcycle accident and learn more about your legal rights with a personal injury law firm in North Las Vegas. You can reach us by email, chat, or phone at (702) 840-5103. We'll arrange a free consultation to discuss your case and determine if we can help you.