motorcycle accident claimYou were in a motorcycle accident and now you want to find out how much your claim is worth. The truth is there is a lot to consider before eventually putting a dollar value on your motorcycle accident claim. So today, we’ll look at some of the most important factors that will affect the value of your claim but first, let’s look at the type of losses you are likely to incur.

The Type Of Losses You’ve Incurred

There are different categories of damages and you can claim compensation for these types of losses:

  • Mental and physical pain and suffering
  • Damages to property including your motorcycle
  • Future lost wages
  • Past lost wages
  • Future medical expenses
  • Past medical expenses

Pain and Suffering

Putting a dollar amount on pain and suffering is a little bit more complicated. The amount of compensation you will receive will depend on the nature and extent of your injuries.

Most insurance companies are not willing to pay for pain and suffering unless you provide them with medical proof showing the extent of your injuries. This is why we always advise motorcycle accident victims to always seek medical help as soon as possible in order to get a proper assessment of the extent of their injuries.

Damages to property

If you get into an accident, your motorcycle is likely to be damaged and the cost of repairing the damage can be submitted as part of your insurance claim. Your lawyer can also include it as part of your settlement claim.

Your settlement can also reimburse you for the cost of obtaining an alternate mode of transportation if you are forced to obtain one on a temporary basis, as your motorcycle is being repaired.

Lost Wages

It doesn’t matter what the extent of your injuries are. Any injury, no matter how minor can make you miss time from work. Of course, if the injuries are severe, you will end up missing even more time from work.

Even though you might not miss your paycheck because your place of work offers sick leave, using your sick day benefits would not have happened had the accident not happened.

In order for you to prove you lost wages because of the accident, you have to provide proof of missed paychecks or proof that you missed work as part of your motorcycle claim.

Medical expenses

We have probably said this several times but if you have been in a motorcycle accident, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Depending on the extent of your injuries, you might receive treatment in the doctor’s office, the urgent care clinic or the hospital emergency room.

You should submit copies of your medical expenses to your insurance company as part of your motorcycle injury claim. You can also submit future medical expenses as prescribed by the doctor. An example of future medical expenses include treatment cost for physiotherapy.

How To Value Your Motorcycle Accident Case

motorcycle accident injury claim worth

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There are two things you need to consider: damages and liability.

Liability

If you can’t prove liability or you are the one legally responsible for the accident, your case won’t be worth much. If the other person wasn’t negligent, they don’t owe you anything.

Damages

The more serious your injuries are, the higher the amount of compensation you will receive.

Example

If you were rear-ended but didn’t suffer any injuries and your motorcycle wasn’t significantly damaged, you might be able to get a small amount of compensation for your trouble but not something significant. Rear-ending someone is pretty straightforward and it’s easy to prove who was negligent.

But, let’s imagine you were involved in a nasty motorcycle crash due to your own negligence. Let’s say you ran a red light causing you to collide with another car. If the driver was not negligent in any way, then they are not obligated to pay you anything. You might be lucky enough to settle for a small amount but if you can’t prove liability, the insurance company won’t give you much, if anything at all.

Going to Trial Vs. Settling

When calculating a motorcycle injury claim, there are only two types of valuations: trial valuation and settlement valuation.

Trial Valuation

In most cases, the trial value of your case will be much higher than the settlement value.

Settlement Valuation

The settlement value is typically lower than the trial value and most people opt to settle if they think they will lose at trial.

Example

Your personal injury lawyer tells you that if you decide to go to trial, you might be awarded $100, 000 but there’s a 10% chance of winning the case. In such a situation, you should expect to settle for 10% of the expected trial value, that is, $10, 000. The amount of compensation is much lower because you are trying to avoid the risk of losing at trial.

We Can Help You Calculate How Much Your Case Is Worth

No one can tell you how much your case is worth until they investigate all the facts and liability has been established. Kevin P Landry Firm has to review the entire case from start to finish and you can schedule a free initial consultation with us.

Here’s how you can prepare for your initial consultation with us.

The best thing about conducting an investigation into your case is it gives you the chance to plead your case based on your individual circumstances. Insurance companies are in business to make money and paying out as little as possible. So they already have a price tag for motorcycle accidents similar to yours.

They are also likely to stick with this price tag unless you hire a qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer to protect your rights and get you the justice you deserve.

We know how confusing insurance policies can be so we will review your insurance policy to ensure you aren’t left in the dark. We will read and interpret it for you in terms that you can understand.

You can speak to any one of our personal injury lawyers by visiting our offices situated in 18 different locations or calling us at (800)200-7752 to schedule your free initial consultation.