Plainfield is a city made for riding. Cyclists use Park Avenue, Front Street, and West Seventh Street daily, sharing tight lanes with buses, delivery trucks, and commuters heading toward Route 22.
One missed blind spot or a car door swung open can leave a rider with fractures or a head injury. New Jersey law reflects that vulnerability in ways that favor the injured rider.
The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. represents injured cyclists across Plainfield and Union County, helping victims build a claim for medical bills and lost income. Call (908) 241-3445 or (908) 241-4595 for a free consultation.
New Jersey's verbal threshold restricts a car driver's right to recover pain-and-suffering damages, limiting it to injuries that fit one of six statutory categories under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a). That restriction is tied to the no-fault automobile coverage drivers are required to carry.
Whether you face the verbal threshold depends on your own auto policy, not on the bicycle. Under New Jersey's No-Fault Act, a cyclist counts as a pedestrian, so if you or a relative you live with has a car insurance policy, your medical bills are paid through that policy's PIP coverage, and the lawsuit option chosen on that policy applies to you too.
If that policy has the limitation on lawsuit (verbal threshold) option, which is the default, you must show one of the six qualifying injuries under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a) to recover for pain and suffering. If no one in your household has auto insurance, the threshold generally does not apply to you. Checking your household policy is one of the first steps in a bicycle case.
Claims against a public entity follow different rules. If the vehicle that hit you belonged to a government body, such as an NJ Transit bus or a municipal or county truck, the New Jersey Tort Claims Act allows pain-and-suffering damages only for a permanent loss of bodily function, permanent disfigurement, or dismemberment, and only where medical treatment expenses exceed $3,600 (N.J.S.A. 59:9-2(d)).
Punitive damages are not available against a public entity, and benefits you receive from insurance can be deducted from the award.
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, a cyclist can recover as long as their share of fault is not greater than that of the driver, or, when more than one party is responsible, not greater than the combined fault of all of them. Any award is reduced by the cyclist's own percentage. A cyclist found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing.
Cyclists often suffer serious injuries in collisions, so the defense may try to shift as much blame as possible onto the cyclist. They may argue that the cyclist ran a red light, swerved into traffic, or was riding outside the proper lane or position.
Even a cyclist who was partly at fault still recovers as long as their share does not exceed fifty percent. Whether the cyclist or the driver had the right of way, and who failed in their duty, is usually disputed, and objective evidence determines the allocation.
Bicycle crashes follow recognizable patterns, and those patterns can point to the fault. A driver turning across a cyclist's path, a driver who fails to yield or runs a signal, a driver who passes too closely, and the dooring crash, in which a driver or passenger opens a car door into a cyclist's path, are among the most common. Each places responsibility on the driver who failed to account for the cyclist.
New Jersey's Safe Passing Law, N.J.S.A. 39:4-92.4, requires drivers overtaking a cyclist to move over a lane when they can, otherwise to leave at least four feet of space, and if neither is possible to slow to 25 mph or less and pass only when it is safe. A driver who ignores these rules and strikes a cyclist has broken a specific traffic law, which supports the cyclist's negligence claim.
The corridors around Plainfield present these conflicts, from the South Avenue and Front Street arterials that carry cyclists toward neighboring towns to the downtown streets where bikes share signal-dense intersections with cars and turning traffic. A cyclist is entitled to use the roadway, and a driver must account for cyclists just as for other traffic.
Consider a cyclist riding along South Avenue or through the local street grid, struck by a driver who turns across the cyclist's path or passes too closely. The driver may claim the cyclist swerved or appeared suddenly, the familiar attempt to shift blame onto the more vulnerable party.
A cyclist with serious injuries is typically taken to a state-designated trauma center, such as University Hospital in Newark, the Level I trauma center for northern New Jersey, because Union County does not have its own designated trauma center.
Less severely injured riders are often seen at the JFK Muhlenberg Satellite Emergency Department on Randolph Road in Plainfield, which provides emergency care and transfers patients who need to be admitted.
Answering the driver's version depends on the objective evidence: the point of impact, the damage to the bicycle and the vehicle, the roadway evidence, any video from nearby businesses, and independent witnesses who saw the driver turn or pass into the cyclist's path.
Because a cyclist may be seriously injured and unable to collect evidence after a crash, important proof can disappear or change quickly. A prompt investigation on the cyclist’s behalf can help preserve that evidence and provide a more accurate reconstruction of what happened.
Every roadway has its own layout, traffic patterns, and conditions, making the specific evidence from the crash scene critical when fault is disputed.
A cyclist's physical vulnerability impacts both the severity of these crashes and the way they must be investigated. Without the protection of a vehicle, a cyclist struck by a car absorbs the force directly, which is why even a low-speed collision can cause fractures, head injuries, and serious harm.
This vulnerability also means cyclists are frequently the worst-injured party, giving the defense an incentive to shift blame onto the rider. Overcoming that incentive depends on the objective evidence.
A reconstruction showing the driver failed to yield, turned across the cyclist's path, or passed too closely, along with witness accounts confirming the cyclist was riding lawfully, answers the reflexive assumption that the cyclist must have done something wrong.
New Jersey law gives cyclists the right to use the roadway, and a driver must account for cyclists as for any other traffic.
A cyclist generally has the same rights and responsibilities as a driver, including the obligation to obey traffic signals and signs, and a driver who fails to yield to, or passes too closely to, a cyclist who is lawfully using the road can be responsible for a resulting crash. The cyclist's lawful presence is a key fact in the claim.
This right to the road matters because the defense often implies that the cyclist should not have been there or was somehow at fault simply for riding. Establishing that the cyclist had a lawful right to be there directly counters that argument.
A driver's duty to share the road and to watch for cyclists does not depend on the presence of a bike lane, and the failure to account for a lawfully present cyclist is a form of negligence that supports the claim.
A distinct and dangerous category of bicycle crash is the dooring collision, where a driver or passenger opens a car door into the path of a passing cyclist. A person is required not to open a vehicle door into traffic without checking that it is reasonably safe to do so, and a dooring that injures a cyclist generally points to the fault of the person who opened the door.
Dooring crashes are particularly hazardous because a cyclist has little time to react and may be thrown into the travel lane and into the path of other vehicles. They concentrate on streets with on-street parking and bike traffic, like the downtown Plainfield corridors.
A dooring claim turns on identifying who opened the door and showing that they failed to check for approaching cyclists, which is why witness accounts and any available video are important to preserve quickly before they are lost.
Cyclists are unfortunately frequent victims of hit-and-run drivers, and a rider struck by a driver who flees faces the question of how to recover when the at-fault party cannot be identified.
Uninsured motorist coverage can be the answer. A cyclist who has their own auto insurance, even though they were not driving, may be able to turn to their uninsured motorist coverage for a hit-and-run or an uninsured at-fault driver.
This coverage can be the difference between a recovery and none at all when the striking driver is never found or carries no insurance. Promptly reporting the crash to the police is important both to support the search for the driver and to document the claim for uninsured motorist purposes.
If the driver who hit you was working for Uber or Lyft during a ride, New Jersey law bars the company and its driver from using the verbal threshold against you for injuries arising from that ride, and rideshare policies carry higher limits.
If you have no auto policy in your household, other sources of payment may be available. At our firm, we review every option.
A serious bicycle injury affects more than the immediate medical recovery, and a complete claim accounts for how the injury changes a cyclist's life over time.
For many people, cycling is a primary means of commuting, exercise, and independence, and a catastrophic injury can end the ability to ride, with real consequences for a person's livelihood, health, and well-being.
The long-term medical picture also requires attention, since injuries that seem to stabilize can require future surgeries, ongoing therapy, or treatment for complications that emerge later.
The full measure of these long-term consequences, the future care, the lost earning capacity, and the lasting effect on the person's life, is recoverable without a threshold fight, depending on the cyclist’s policy. Documenting this complete trajectory ensures that a seriously injured cyclist is compensated for the full scope of harm, rather than for the initial treatment alone.
Your medical bills are usually paid first through Personal Injury Protection (PIP) on your own or a household member's auto policy, even though you were on a bicycle, and regardless of who caused the crash. Standard PIP covers up to $250,000 in medical expenses unless a lower limit was chosen on the policy.
Crashes involving child cyclists carry considerations that adult cases do not, and they are sadly common given how many children ride.
A young child cannot be held to an adult's standard of care, which affects how comparative fault is analyzed when a child rides unpredictably or into a roadway, and courts recognize that drivers must anticipate the presence of children near schools, parks, and residential streets. A driver's duty to watch for and avoid a child can be decisive.
The injuries to a child struck by a vehicle are often severe, and the two-year filing deadline is generally tolled until the child turns eighteen, preserving the claim during childhood. Because a child's injuries can affect development and carry lifelong consequences, these claims require careful attention to future medical needs.
New Jersey requires cyclists under seventeen to wear a helmet, and questions sometimes arise about how helmet use affects a claim. Whether a cyclist was wearing a helmet has no bearing on who caused the crash; a driver who turned into a cyclist's path or passed too close caused the collision regardless of the cyclist's headgear. The fault for the crash rests with the driver who failed in their duty.
Where a defense tries to argue that the absence of a helmet worsened a particular head injury, that argument is narrow, fact-specific, and must be tied by evidence to the specific harm, and it does not reduce the driver's responsibility for causing the crash.
For an adult cyclist, no helmet is even required. The central question in a bicycle case remains who caused the collision, and the helmet issue, where it arises at all, is a limited one that does not change that analysis.
Electric bikes and scooters raise their own coverage questions. Whether an e-bike rider is treated like a cyclist or like a vehicle occupant for no-fault insurance can depend on the device and on the rider's own policy, so these claims need a case-specific review of both before anyone can say which damages rules apply.
What remains constant is that a person on a bicycle, e-bike, or scooter struck by a negligent driver has a claim against that driver, and the same comparative-fault and coverage principles apply. A rider injured by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver may look to their own uninsured motorist coverage.
The injuries cyclists suffer reflect the lack of protection a bicycle provides, and they tend to be serious. Head injuries, including concussions and more severe traumatic brain injury, are a constant risk, along with spinal injuries, fractures of the arms, wrists, legs, and collarbone, facial injuries, and the road-rash abrasions that can require extensive cleaning and skin treatment. Internal injuries can follow a hard impact with a vehicle or the pavement.
Because these injuries can be severe and their effects last, a bicycle claim must account for the full course of treatment and recovery rather than the initial care alone.
A seriously injured cyclist from the Plainfield area is treated at University Hospital in Newark, the regional Level I trauma center, and may face surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term follow-up. Complete documentation of the medical picture is needed to build a claim.
Fault in a bicycle case is established from the evidence, not asserted, and the proof must overcome the bias that often falls on the more vulnerable rider. The police report, the damage to the bicycle and the vehicle, the point of impact, the positions after the crash, any electronic data, and independent witness accounts together establish how the crash happened and who is responsible.
In a disputed case, this proof answers the driver's version of events. A reconstruction based on the physical evidence can show that the driver turned into the cyclist's path, failed to yield, or passed too close, rebutting the claim that the cyclist swerved or appeared from nowhere.
Because much of this evidence degrades, the bicycle is repaired, the scene is cleared, and video is overwritten, securing it early is what allows the driver's fault to be established rather than merely argued against the assumption that the cyclist was to blame.
After a bicycle crash, the driver's insurer works to limit what it pays, and its tactics usually rely on the assumption that the cyclist was at fault.
A common approach is to argue that the cyclist rode unpredictably, ran a signal, or was not where they should have been, since shifting fault onto the cyclist directly reduces what the insurer must pay under the comparative-negligence rule. The insurer may also dispute the severity of the injuries or extend an early settlement offer before the full extent of the harm is known.
Being aware of this approach is the first defense. The assumption that a cyclist was at fault is answered by the objective evidence, the reconstruction, the physical proof, and the witness accounts that show what actually happened.
An early settlement offer is best evaluated only after the full scope of a serious injury, including its long-term cost, is understood, since accepting it prematurely can foreclose recovery for harm that becomes clear later. Answering the fault argument with evidence and fully valuing the claim are what keep an insurer's strategy from determining the outcome.
A crash between a bicycle and a larger vehicle is especially dangerous, and a cyclist struck by a truck or bus faces both more severe injuries and a more complex set of defendants.
The difference in mass means the cyclist bears the full force of the impact, and the involvement of a commercial vehicle can bring additional rules and potential parties, such as a company that operated the vehicle, into the case.
These crashes also involve significant blind spots around large vehicles, particularly when a truck or bus is turning, and a cyclist in that blind spot can be struck by a driver who genuinely did not see them, though that failure does not excuse the driver's duty to look.
Every responsible party and every applicable policy must be identified early when a larger vehicle is involved, because injuries and costs are correspondingly greater, and a serious injury can exceed the coverage available from any single source.
New Jersey’s laws apply statewide, but every bicycle crash turns on the details of a particular road, intersection, and court. Familiarity with Plainfield’s streets, including South Avenue, Front Street, and the downtown grid, can help clarify how the crash happened and anticipate the defense’s arguments.
Local knowledge also matters when a serious case involves nearby medical providers and the Union Vicinage in Elizabeth. A strong claim combines knowledge of New Jersey law with a close understanding of the facts and circumstances of the specific crash.
The crash location can also determine where a case belongs. A collision in Plainfield may fall under Union County, while a crash in nearby South Plainfield, Piscataway, or Dunellen may fall under Middlesex County. Venue can depend on both where the crash occurred and where the parties reside.
What a cyclist does after a crash can affect both their recovery and their claim. Call the police so the crash and scene are documented, and seek medical care promptly to address injuries and establish their connection to the collision. If possible, take photos of the scene, vehicle, and bicycle, and collect contact information from witnesses before details are lost.
Keep the bicycle and helmet in their post-crash condition, and avoid giving recorded statements or accepting an early settlement from the driver’s insurer without first understanding the claim.
If a public vehicle was involved, a 90-day notice deadline may apply. In most other cases, the two-year statute of limitations applies. Because evidence can disappear quickly and bicycle injuries can be serious, prompt action can help preserve both the evidence and the value of the claim.
A serious bicycle crash often begins a long recovery, and a complete claim follows that road to its end rather than stopping at the emergency room. Severe injuries can require surgery, extended rehabilitation, and months or years of follow-up care, and some can leave permanent limitations that affect the cyclist's ability to work, ride, and live as before.
The full cost of that recovery, including future medical needs and lost earning capacity, belongs in the claim. Accurately valuing a serious bicycle claim means looking beyond the initial bills to the lasting effect on the person's life, so the recovery reflects what the crash actually cost them over time, rather than only the treatment they have already received.
Yes, you may be able to recover pain-and-suffering damages after a bicycle crash in New Jersey, but the answer depends on the insurance coverage and legal rules that apply to your claim. If a household auto policy with the verbal threshold applies, you generally must prove that your injury meets one of the qualifying categories under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a). If the verbal threshold does not apply, you may pursue pain-and-suffering damages for injuries caused by another party’s negligence, subject to other applicable limitations and defenses.
That is a common attempt to shift the fault, and the objective evidence answers it. The physical proof and independent witnesses establish what actually occurred.
You can still recover as long as your share of fault is not more than fifty percent. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Your own uninsured motorist coverage may respond to a hit-and-run, even though you were on a bicycle. Promptly reporting the crash to the police supports both the search and the claim.
Two years from the crash under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. If the injured cyclist is under 18, the two-year period generally does not begin until their 18th birthday.
If a government vehicle or employee was involved, a written notice of claim must be filed with the public entity within 90 days of the crash under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8. A judge may allow a late notice within one year if there were extraordinary circumstances and the public entity is not substantially prejudiced (N.J.S.A. 59:8-9). The lawsuit itself must still be filed within two years.
When a cyclist is killed, the family may bring a wrongful-death claim. In New Jersey, that claim must generally be filed within two years of the date of death.
The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. helps investigates the cause of the crash, preserves important evidence, evaluates available insurance coverage, and builds the claim around the cyclist’s injuries and losses. At our firm, we also address disputed fault and the specific New Jersey laws that may affect the cyclist’s right to recover damages.
The initial consultation is free, so you can discuss what happened and learn how the law may apply to your situation. Evidence can disappear and the applicable two-year deadline continues to run, so it is important to address the claim promptly.
Our firm represents injured cyclists throughout Plainfield and Union County, with staff who speak Spanish, Russian, and other languages used throughout the community. Attorney Sander Budanitsky has represented injured New Jersey clients since 1996 and is admitted to practice in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
Last reviewed: October 2026. This page was reviewed by Sander Budanitsky, licensed in New Jersey since 1996. It is provided for general information and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed New Jersey attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. welcomes calls from potential clients and from attorneys looking to refer or co-counsel a matter. Whether it is an injury claim, a civil dispute, a criminal charge, or an immigration question, the first conversation is free and there is no obligation to hire the firm afterward.
Call the Roselle, New Jersey office at (908) 241-3445 or the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office at (215) 545-2300. You can also send the details through the contact form and someone from the office will get back to you. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
