New Bedford riders may face added challenges after a motorcycle crash, including insurance limits and road safety concerns. Larson Law helps riders across Bristol County review the crash and claim options.
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Between 2019 and 2021, MassDOT recorded 10,790 crashes in New Bedford, including 17 fatal and 177 serious injury crashes, confirmed from MassDOT data cited by WBSM.com. New Bedford had more of the 100 most dangerous intersections in southeastern Massachusetts from 2017 to 2019 than any other city in the region per MassDOT data cited by WBSM.com, with 31 of those 100 locations in New Bedford. Ashley Boulevard and Coggeshall Street alone recorded 91 crashes during that period, the most documented dangerous intersection in the city. I-195, running through the center of New Bedford, recorded a multi-car crash, a wrong-way collision, and a tractor-trailer crash with severe and deadly injuries in 2022, confirmed from WBSM.com citing MassDOT.
For motorcycle riders navigating any of these corridors, Massachusetts law creates an additional legal exposure: Personal Injury Protection is excluded for motorcycle riders under Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 90 Sec. 34M and 211 CMR 3.00. A New Bedford motorcycle accident claim has no automatic safety net; every dollar of compensation must be built from proving another driver’s fault on roads that MassDOT has documented as among the most dangerous in southeastern Massachusetts.
Larson Law handles New Bedford motorcycle accident claims across Bristol County. If you were injured in a motorcycle crash in New Bedford, a New Bedford motorcycle accident lawyer can review your situation at no cost.
Under MGL Ch. 90 Sec. 34M and 211 CMR 3.00, Personal Injury Protection is excluded for motorcycle riders in Massachusetts. A driver injured in a New Bedford car accident gets automatic PIP coverage that pays initial medical costs regardless of fault, a financial bridge while the liability claim develops. A rider injured in a New Bedford motorcycle accident gets no such coverage unless they separately purchased optional medical payments coverage. Every dollar of compensation in a New Bedford motorcycle accident claim must come from establishing that another driver’s negligence caused the crash. On New Bedford’s documented high-crash corridors, where the public record of intersection danger is extensive, that fault investigation needs to begin the moment the crash occurs.
Massachusetts follows a modified comparative fault rule under MGL Ch. 231 Sec. 85. In a New Bedford motorcycle accident claim, you may still recover compensation as long as your share of fault was less than 51 percent. Below that threshold, compensation is reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. Insurers handling New Bedford motorcycle accident claims routinely argue that riders were speeding, lane-splitting illegally, or poorly positioned at intersections with documented high crash rates, using the public crash record of places like Ashley Boulevard and Coggeshall Street to build a contributory negligence argument. Lane splitting is illegal in Massachusetts under MGL Ch. 89 Sec. 4A. For how fault is assessed in other New Bedford vehicle accident claims, see our New Bedford car accident lawyer page.
The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority operates bus routes throughout New Bedford connecting to the SRTA MicroConnector and the MBTA Commuter Rail network. SRTA is a government entity. If your New Bedford motorcycle accident involved an SRTA bus, a City of New Bedford vehicle, or state road maintenance activity on I-195, the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act under MGL Ch. 258 Sec. 4 requires a formal written presentment to the relevant government entity within two years after the cause of action arose. Missing this separate deadline bars the claim against the government entity entirely, even if the general three-year statute of limitations under MGL Ch. 260 Sec. 2A is still open.
MGL Ch. 90 Sec. 7 requires all Massachusetts motorcycle operators and passengers to wear DOT-approved protective headgear at all times. If you were wearing a compliant helmet during your New Bedford motorcycle accident, an insurer cannot reduce your claim on the basis of helmet non-compliance. Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory under MGL Ch. 175 Sec. 113L for motorcycle policies; if the at-fault driver in your New Bedford motorcycle accident had no insurance or insufficient coverage, your own UM or UIM policy may be a critical source of compensation, particularly given the severity of injuries that frequently result from crashes on New Bedford’s high-speed corridors.
I-195 runs through the center of New Bedford, connecting the city to Providence to the west and Wareham to the east. It is under Massachusetts State Police jurisdiction. In 2022, I-195 in New Bedford recorded a multi-car crash, a wrong-way collision, and a tractor-trailer crash with severe and deadly injuries, confirmed from WBSM.com citing MassDOT crash records. For motorcycle riders, I-195’s high speeds, merge conflicts at ramp transitions, and commercial truck volume, including trucks hauling seafood from the Port of New Bedford, create crash conditions that frequently produce severe injuries. State Police crash reports from I-195 are critical evidence in any New Bedford motorcycle accident claim from that corridor. If a commercial truck was involved in your I-195 New Bedford motorcycle accident, federal FMCSA regulations also apply; see our New Bedford truck accident lawyer page for how those claims work.
Ashley Boulevard and Coggeshall Street is New Bedford’s most documented dangerous intersection, with 91 crashes from 2017 to 2019 per MassDOT data cited by WBSM.com. New Bedford had 31 of the 100 most dangerous intersections in southeastern Massachusetts during that period, more than any other city in the region per MassDOT data. For motorcycle riders, the documented crash history of Ashley Boulevard, Route 6, and Coggeshall Street creates specific evidence of what drivers should have anticipated at those locations. The public crash record at any of these intersections is part of the evidence base that may be directly relevant in a New Bedford motorcycle accident claim originating at those sites.
U.S. Route 6 runs east-west through New Bedford, crossing the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge and Popes Island Bridge before continuing toward Cape Cod. Route 6 is a significant commercial vehicle route carrying freight between New Bedford’s port facilities and the eastern Cape Cod corridor. For motorcycle riders, Route 6’s dense intersection activity, including the seven-point intersection at Route 6 and Pleasant Street and the five-point junction at Route 6 and Route 140, creates the same conflict conditions documented in MassDOT’s intersection rankings. New Bedford Police respond to crashes on Route 6 and New Bedford’s surface roads and generate the crash reports that serve as primary evidence in any New Bedford motorcycle accident claim.
New Bedford motorcycle accident cases are filed based on the amount in dispute. Smaller civil claims fall under the New Bedford District Court in New Bedford, confirmed from mass.gov, which serves Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, New Bedford, and Westport. Larger personal injury claims from a New Bedford motorcycle accident are filed at the Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford, confirmed from mass.gov.
Because PIP does not apply to motorcycle riders in Massachusetts, every category of compensation in a New Bedford motorcycle accident claim must be recovered through the fault-based claim against the at-fault driver. The specific scope depends on your injuries, the at-fault driver’s insurance, and any additional UM or UIM coverage under your own motorcycle policy.
Go to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford right away. Describe the crash, photograph both vehicles and the scene, and do not give any insurer a recorded statement before speaking with a lawyer at all.
Call us or fill in the form. A New Bedford motorcycle accident lawyer will confirm how the no-PIP rule applies to your crash, identify what evidence to preserve, and tell you what to do. No cost now.
We build the fault case, deal with the at-fault driver and their insurer directly, pursue every source of coverage in your New Bedford motorcycle accident claim, and manage all legal deadlines ahead.
A New Bedford motorcycle accident claim starts at fault from the moment of the crash, with no PIP buffer, no threshold, just evidence and liability. Tell us where the crash happened and what you know from the scene. We will explain what your New Bedford motorcycle accident claim may support and what to do right now. If your New Bedford motorcycle accident resulted in a fatality, our New Bedford wrongful death lawyer page explains how wrongful death claims work alongside a motorcycle accident claim in Bristol County.
We handle motorcycle accidents, car accidents, truck accidents, wrongful death, and more across New Bedford, Bristol County, and all of Massachusetts. For statewide vehicle accident representation, see our Massachusetts car accident lawyer page.
Personal Injury Protection is excluded for motorcycle riders in Massachusetts under MGL Ch. 90 Sec. 34M and 211 CMR 3.00. PIP is mandatory coverage for standard motor vehicles but is not required for motorcycle policies and does not apply to New Bedford motorcycle accident claims. A rider injured in a New Bedford motorcycle accident cannot use their own insurance to cover initial medical expenses regardless of who caused the crash. Every dollar of compensation must come through the fault-based liability claim against the at-fault driver from the day of the New Bedford motorcycle accident.
Yes, it can be directly relevant. New Bedford had 31 of the 100 most dangerous intersections in southeastern Massachusetts from 2017 to 2019, more than any other city in the region, per MassDOT data cited by WBSM.com. Ashley Boulevard and Coggeshall Street recorded 91 crashes during that period. The documented crash history of a specific intersection is part of the public record and can be used as evidence in establishing what a driver should have reasonably anticipated at the location where your New Bedford motorcycle accident occurred. An attorney can identify what MassDOT crash data exists for the specific intersection involved in your claim.
I-195 is under Massachusetts State Police jurisdiction. State Police respond to crashes on I-195 rather than New Bedford Police, and their crash report is a critical piece of evidence in any New Bedford motorcycle accident claim from that corridor. I-195’s high speeds mean motorcycle accidents there frequently produce severe injuries. If a commercial truck from the Port of New Bedford was also involved in your I-195 New Bedford motorcycle accident, federal FMCSA regulations apply, and the truck’s electronic logging device data and black box records need to be preserved immediately before the vehicle returns to service.
Massachusetts follows a modified comparative fault rule under MGL Ch. 231 Sec. 85. In a New Bedford motorcycle accident claim, you may still recover compensation as long as your share of fault was less than 51 percent. Below that threshold, compensation is reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. Insurers frequently push a higher share of fault onto motorcycle riders after a New Bedford motorcycle accident, citing lane positioning and speed choices, or failure to anticipate conditions at documented dangerous intersections like Ashley Boulevard. Without PIP as a backstop, having legal representation in a New Bedford motorcycle accident case is especially important.
The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority is a government entity. Claims involving SRTA vehicles are governed by the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act under MGL Ch. 258 Sec. 4, which requires a formal written presentment to the SRTA within two years after the date the cause of action arose; for a personal injury this is generally the date of the New Bedford motorcycle accident. Missing this separate deadline bars the claim against the SRTA entirely. The SRTA also benefits from certain immunity provisions and damages limitations under the Tort Claims Act that private insurers do not have.
The most critical evidence after a New Bedford motorcycle accident starts with the crash report. On I-195, request the State Police crash report promptly. On Route 6, Ashley Boulevard, and New Bedford’s surface roads, request the New Bedford Police crash report. Photographs of both vehicles, road conditions, any intersection signage, and your injuries taken before anything is moved are essential. Surveillance footage from businesses along Ashley Boulevard, Coggeshall Street, and Route 6 can be overwritten quickly after any New Bedford motorcycle accident. For evidence considerations in other New Bedford vehicle accident claims, see our New Bedford car accident lawyer page.
Yes. MGL Ch. 90 Sec. 7 requires all Massachusetts motorcycle operators and passengers to wear DOT-approved protective headgear at all times. If you were wearing a compliant helmet during your New Bedford motorcycle accident, an insurer cannot reduce your claim on the basis of helmet non-compliance. Preserving your helmet and documenting its DOT certification after the crash are important steps in protecting your New Bedford motorcycle accident claim from any compliance challenge.
Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory in Massachusetts under MGL Ch. 175 Sec. 113L for motorcycle policies. If the at-fault driver in your New Bedford motorcycle accident had no insurance, your own UM coverage may apply. Underinsured motorist coverage, available on motorcycle policies in Massachusetts, responds when the at-fault driver’s policy limits fall short of your actual losses from the New Bedford motorcycle accident. Given the severity of many New Bedford motorcycle accident injuries on high-speed corridors like I-195 and Route 6, coverage limits frequently fall short of what a claim may support.
Under MGL Ch. 260 Sec. 2A, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Massachusetts is three years from the date of the New Bedford motorcycle accident. The practical window for preserving critical evidence is far shorter; crash scene footage from New Bedford’s commercial corridors can be overwritten within days. If a government entity such as an SRTA bus or city vehicle was involved in the New Bedford motorcycle accident, MGL Ch. 258 Sec. 4 imposes a separate presentment deadline of two years after the cause of action arose. Contacting a lawyer promptly protects both deadlines.
Smaller civil claims from a New Bedford motorcycle accident fall under the New Bedford District Court in New Bedford, confirmed from mass.gov, which serves Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, New Bedford, and Westport. Larger personal injury claims from a New Bedford motorcycle accident are filed at the Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford, confirmed from mass.gov. If your New Bedford motorcycle accident resulted in a death, the wrongful death claim also proceeds through Bristol County courts; our New Bedford wrongful death lawyer page explains that process.
Yes. Larson Law handles New Bedford motorcycle accident cases and motorcycle crash claims across all of Bristol County. Whether the crash happened in New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Acushnet, Westport, Fall River, Taunton, or any other Bristol County community, we can help. Reach out by phone, text, or through the form on this page at no cost to discuss your New Bedford motorcycle accident or any motorcycle crash in Bristol County.
Left-turn collisions, where a vehicle turns across the path of an oncoming motorcycle, are among the most common causes of New Bedford motorcycle accidents at its documented dangerous intersections. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms that most multi-vehicle motorcycle collisions involve a motorist’s failure to detect the approaching rider. In a left-turn New Bedford motorcycle accident, the turning driver had a duty to yield to oncoming traffic and failed to do so. The documented crash history of the specific intersection where your New Bedford motorcycle accident occurred may be relevant evidence in establishing what the at-fault driver should have anticipated.
