Motorcycle Injury Compensation

After a motorcycle accident, many people wonder how much a potential claim could be worth. Without knowing the specifics of your case, it is impossible to know how much you will receive in your claim. However, there are common factors that could affect the value of your claim.

Liability and Damages

The value of a case involves liability and damages. Liability is who is at fault for the accident. Your compensation is higher when the other driver is liable. Whereas damages are injuries and other losses suffered from the accident. The more significant the injury, the higher the amount of compensable injury damages.

For example, if you are rear-ended at a red light the other person is clearly negligent. However, if your motorcycle was not hurt, and you didn’t suffer any injuries then there aren’t any compensable damages.

Damage Calculations

After an accident, there are two types of damages (special and pain and suffering). Special damages are the plaintiff’s past, present, and future lost earnings and lost earning capacity, including employment benefits, medical bills, and other financial losses.

It is difficult to calculate pain and suffering. There aren’t any guidelines. Juries award based upon how they feel you should be compensated. A jury cannot look at a chart to figure out how much to award. Because of this, judges generally instruct juries to use their good sense, background, and experience in determining pain and suffering.

Lost Earnings

Part of the calculating how much compensation you could receive is adding lost future earnings. Unfortunately, calculating future lost earning capacity is difficult. There are more values at stake besides the present one. For example, if your salary before the accident was $40,000 a year, but couldn’t work full-time anymore. Then, calculations would need to occur to see how much loss of income you will suffer for the rest of your work life expectancy. A work life expectancy varies upon age, sex and race. This is why it is important to seek counsel from a knowledgeable attorney to help your case.

Get Legal Guidance

If you or a loved one have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you should first seek immediate medical treatment. The Michael Brady Lynch Firm offers free consultations. Getting legal help can put your mind at ease and let you focus on what matters most — getting better.

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