In August of last year, the New Jersey state legislature passed a bill intended to create safer conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians on New Jersey roads.
The New Jersey Safe Passing Law adds additional requirements for drivers when passing cyclists, pedestrians, and those driving motorized scooters or wheelchairs.
Please get the word out: check your Health Insurance policy language to make sure it covers you if you are injured in a motorcycle accident. Every day I see new clients who have been injured by an irresponsible driver and every day I have to explain, to their surprise, that they do not have the proper insurance to cover their medical bills.
Continue Reading Does Health Insurance Cover Motorcycle Accident Injuries?
If you own a vehicle in New Jersey, you are required to carry auto insurance. For many people, it is as simple as that, and they try to obtain the cheapest policy possible to meet the legal requirements. But sadly, many motorists in New Jersey are unaware that while your automobile insurance covers damages you may cause in an accident, your policy can also protect you and your loved ones.
While there are many parts to an auto insurance policy, here we will only look at two major components of a policy: Liability Coverage, also known as 3rd party coverage, and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, also known as 1st party coverage. Both liability and UM/UIM generally have both bodily injury and property damage components. We will be dealing only with the bodily injury component for our purposes here.
Continue Reading What Is Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage and Why Should You Care?
While it may not have received a lot of mainstream media coverage, the recent passage of the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“NJIFCA”) was a huge victory for those injured in car crashes in New Jersey. The law was signed into effect by Governor Murphy on January 18, 2022, over the boisterous objection of the insurance companies and lobbyists here in New Jersey. In the past few months, you may have even received a letter from your insurance company asking you to contact your legislators and tell them to vote against the bill.
Continue Reading New Jersey Enacts an Insurance Bad Faith Statute for Auto Insurers
If you ride a motorcycle, you know the joy and sense of freedom it can bring, but you’ll also want to take extra care to keep yourself safe on the roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are 29 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash, and four (4) times more likely to be injured, than the occupants of passenger vehicles. In 2019 alone, 84 people were killed in motorcycle accidents on New Jersey roads.
Continue Reading Causes of New Jersey Motorcycle Accidents, and How to Avoid Them
The COVID-19 pandemic may have halted or reduced travel for many in New Jersey, but the end of the year also came with a surprising and sobering statistic: the number of fatal accidents involving cars in New Jersey rose in 2020 despite the pandemic.
Last year, 587 fatal accidents were reported across the state, up from 558 in 2019. Fatal accidents involving pedestrians have also risen, and so have fatal accidents involving cyclists. Eighteen cyclists lost their lives on New Jersey roads last year, up from only twelve the year before.
In response to these alarming numbers—and the long-term work of certain local bike safety advocacy groups—the New Jersey state legislature recently passed a bipartisan bill to increase the safety of New Jersey’s bikers and pedestrians. This bill, now known as the New Jersey Safe Passing Law, was signed into law by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday, August 5th.
Continue Reading New Jersey’s Safe Passing Law Aims to Protect Cyclists and Pedestrians on the Road
Now that the temperatures outside have started to dip and the winter driving season is upon us, it is time to remind you of New Jersey’s ice and snow removal law. Remember to remove all ice and snow from your vehicle before driving, especially from the hood, windows, and roof. Motorists who fail to obey this law face fines of $25 to $75 for each offense, regardless of whether the ice and snow is dislodged from the vehicle. If flying ice or snow causes property damage or injury to others, motorists face fines of $200 to $1,000 for each offense.
Continue Reading New Jersey Ice and Snow Removal Law and Winter Driving Tips
Carrying sufficient Uninsured and Underinsured coverage on your motorcycle and personal vehicles is less obvious, but just as critical, as having health insurance coverage.
After ensuring that your health insurance policy, will cover any medical treatment for injuries suffered in a crash, check your own vehicle policies to be sure you have sufficient liability, uninsured, and underinsured coverages on your bike and personal vehicles.
Continue Reading Uninsurance and Underinsurance for Motorcycle Riders
Motorcycle riders: please review your health insurance coverages!
Before we ride, we often do a safety check of our bikes. We check brakes, lights, signals, tires, and gas. We make sure the bike is safe before we, and our passengers get on.
What is just as important, but less obvious, are the insurance coverages you should have. I strongly recommend that you make sure you are well protected by your own insurance policies. Having excellent health insurance to cover any medical bills will ensure you are not left owing substantial bills you incur from treatment following a crash.
You may have heard this one before: 50 percent of all normal and asymptomatic adults have at least one herniated disc (sometimes referred to as a slipped disc.) However, unlike many other buzzy medical “factoids,” this one is more myth than truth.
Continue Reading Do 50 Percent of People Have a Herniated Disc? Dispelling the Myth