Choosing the right lawyer is important. Look for one who has extensive litigation experience and is not afraid to take your case to trial if necessary.
Attorneys serve as staunch client advocates during negotiations with insurance companies or court proceedings. They help victims recover compensation that addresses both economic and non-economic losses, including medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and psychological distress. Visit Website to learn more.
Often, serious motorcycle accidents result in astronomical medical expenses. These costs include not just the immediate care you need to recover from your injuries but also future treatment and medication that could be needed as a result of your accident. A skilled personal injury attorney will help you understand all of your current and future medical costs so they can be included in your claim.
A lawyer’s job is to maximize the compensation you receive for your injuries. A motorcycle crash attorney can assimilate and leverage all of your concerns to ensure that you get what you need to put your life back together. They will know how to take into account your pain and suffering as well, which can be hard to quantify in a court of law. They will also be aware of the tactics insurance companies use to minimize their payouts, and they will fight them on your behalf to make sure that you are fully compensated for all of your losses.
Your attorney will begin work right away to determine who was responsible for your motorcycle accident and your resulting injuries. This may include recovering evidence from the scene of the accident, interviewing witnesses, or obtaining testimony from medical or accident reconstruction experts. They will handle all communications with insurance companies and help ensure that all paperwork is filed properly. This can reduce the stress of navigating an unfamiliar process and the risk of saying the wrong thing or making a mistake that could damage your case.
Motorcycle accident victims often suffer severe injuries, such as road rash, fractures, concussions, or traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs are known to cause a wide range of problems, including memory loss, impaired judgment, depression and anxiety, trouble thinking clearly, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty remembering details. Depending on the nature of your injuries, you might need to spend weeks or months in the hospital and undergo multiple surgeries. You might also need physical therapy, occupational therapy, or psychotherapy.
Sadly, many motorcycle accident victims are permanently disabled by their injuries. TBIs and spinal cord injuries can lead to paraplegia or quadriplegia, which can severely limit your ability to perform daily activities. You may need a wheelchair or other medical equipment to help you get around, and you might need home modifications so that you can live comfortably while you recover from your injuries.
Lost Wages
A motorcycle accident can change your life dramatically, resulting in high medical bills, lost income from missing work and expensive repairs or replacement of your bike. An experienced personal injury attorney will use their skills to fight for the maximum compensation possible to cover all of your losses. They know the tactics insurance companies use to devalue your claim and will take steps to prevent them from making low-ball offers that don’t come close to covering your costs.
A motorcyclist may qualify for PIP (personal injury protection) coverage to pay for some of their medical expenses and lost wages, but only if they are able to meet the thresholds under the law. For many injured riders, this is simply not enough. An experienced motorcycle injury lawyer can help to navigate the PIP process and will work to secure third-party liability for all of your damages.
The injured victim may also be entitled to recover compensation for past lost income and future loss of earning capacity. This will be calculated based on the amount of money they would have earned had they not been injured and their projected ability to earn in the future. An experienced attorney will often call in vocational experts to assist in these calculations.
In addition to the economic damages of lost income and reduced earning capacity, an injured victim may be entitled to non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. This is typically calculated using the per diem method, where a dollar value is placed on your pain and suffering each day and multiplied by the number of days you have suffered.
Permanent disabilities such as paralysis or limb amputation can drastically increase the value of your settlement by requiring long-term care and other expenses that will be ongoing for decades. An experienced motorcycle accident attorney will be able to estimate the value of these future expenses and will make sure that your settlement adequately covers them.
Pain and Suffering
The physical pain and emotional trauma caused by a motorcycle accident can be significant. Those injured may suffer from broken bones, lacerations, brain injuries, and paralysis. Injuries that are traumatic can cause lasting psychological distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms can include recurrent and intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event, nightmares, flashbacks, and severe anxiety. A motorcycle accident lawyer can help victims receive fair compensation for their losses and damages.
Your lawyer will collect details about your crash, such as scene photos, accident reports, medical records, eyewitness comments, and other evidence. Then, they will build a strong insurance case on your behalf to get you maximum compensation.
A good lawyer will not only understand the legal complexities, but they will prioritize your well-being. They will also have connections with medical experts and support services to help you through the recovery process. They will ensure that insurers don’t take advantage of you. They will counsel you against signing any statements or accepting the first settlement offer.
They will also know how much your injury is worth, based on the severity of your injury and its impact on your life. They will use the law and medical evidence to calculate your total damages, including your lost income, and the value of your future earnings. Your lawyer will begin work on your claim after you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), which means you are fully healed from your injury.
Damages
The severity of many motorcycle accident injuries leads to substantial damages. A lawyer will work with medical and financial experts to determine the full value of your damages, ensuring that you receive compensation for your past and future medical needs, lost earning capacity, and long-term impacts like emotional distress and loss of companionship.
The Manhattan motorcycle injury attorneys at Sakkas, Cahn & Weiss, LLP, understand how insurance companies operate and how to counter their tactics. They build strong cases that compel fair settlements and are ready to take the case to trial when necessary. They also have the knowledge and experience to handle liens from health care providers, which can detract from your total award.
Your attorney will investigate the specific circumstances of your crash and identify all potentially liable parties. This can involve analyzing police reports, reviewing physical evidence from the scene of the accident, tracking down witnesses, and using the testimony of experts such as accident reconstruction specialists.
In addition to documenting your medical bills and other economic losses, your attorney will also use this information to calculate the amount of non-economic damages you are entitled to under the law. These damages include your pain and suffering, which is difficult to quantify. They may also include a loss of enjoyment of life.
A skilled motorcycle injury lawyer will also account for other losses not reflected on your financial records, such as emotional distress and loss of consortium. They will also consider punitive damages to punish the at-fault party and discourage similar behavior in the future.