If you’ve recently suffered a motorcycle accident, it’s essential to know that you can receive compensation for your injuries and damages. Regardless of how severe your injuries were, there’s no reason to fight your case alone.Â
An experienced motorcycle personal injury lawyer can negotiate with your insurance company and represent you in court if necessary. Here are the main types of damages a lawyer can help you seek compensation for.
Physical Injuries
It’s hard to come out of a severe motorcycle accident unscathed. Even if you had protective gear, injuries are common.Â
An attorney can help you get compensation for your medical and hospital bills. Common injuries after a motorcycle accident include:Â
* Road rash
* Chipped or broken teeth
* Concussions and brain trauma (head injuries are the most common motorcycle accident injuries)
* Scrapes and bruises
* Broken or fractured bones
* Eye injuries (if your glasses or helmet visor shattered and glass got into your eye)
* Whiplash
* Sprained ankles
* Exhaust pipe burns
In addition to treatment, you may also need to pay for equipment, such as a wheelchair or lift-assist system, to help you get up the stairs. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may need to keep paying for such equipment for life, or you may only need to rent them temporarily.Â
Emotional Damages
In addition to physical injuries, you may also suffer from emotional injuries, such as PTSD and trauma. Your PTSD might make sleeping difficult at night, forcing you to rely on sleeping pills (per your doctor’s recommendations). The compensation for emotional damages is harder to calculate, but an attorney can help.Â
Pain and Suffering
You might also suffer lifelong or temporary pain and suffering. Scarring is common after motorcycle accidents. Facial scarring, in particular, can severely affect your quality of life, causing distress, interfering with your social life, and decreasing your dating prospects.Â
There are other forms of pain you might experience. For example, you might have back pain for a year due to your injury, making chores like shopping or even walking up your stairs difficult.Â
Property Damages
You might also experience property damage as a result of the ancient. If you have to make repairs on your motorcycle or buy a new one, your lawyer can help you get compensation for them. You might also have to pay extra for Uber or taxis to get to work until your motorcycle is safe to ride again.Â
Lost Wages
Due to your injuries, you may be unable to work for a while. You can seek compensation for your lost wages if you have to take time off and won’t get a salary during that period.Â
Depending on the nature of your work, your loss of employment might be lifelong. For example, if you were a personal trainer, you may no longer be able to go to the gym if you now have a disability. You may have no choice but to seek other work that may pay less.Â
In such cases, a lawyer can get assistance from an economist to help you figure out the lifelong lost wages you can seek compensation for (it can vary based on expected inflation rates).Â
Loss of Consortium
If your spouse was in a motorcycle accident, you could file for loss of consortium damages, which is when you lose access to the benefits of marriage. It can also apply to parental relationships.Â
It refers to losing the ability to benefit from the companionship of your loved one, show them affection, and enjoy sexual intimacy with them (in the case of a spouse).Â
Punitive Damages
Your attorney might also be able to seek punitive damages. Punitive damages do not cover a specific expense but are instead a form of punishment to deter other motorists from driving recklessly on the road. Punitive damages can vary and are not applicable in all cases. They are more likely to apply if the other driver was highly reckless or malicious in their actions.Â
Conclusion
After a motorcycle accident, you need time to relax and recover. Dealing with insurance companies can be stressful, so have a lawyer navigate the claims process for you and help you maximize your compensation.Â
