After a motorcycle injury, the effects of the crash could leave you with mounting medical bills, lost wages at work, and pain and suffering beyond imagination. Whether your injuries are this serious or something more mild, you should not be the one responsible for paying the cost of your injuries if someone else caused the accident.
The damages you faced in a motorcycle crash can often be claimed against the at-fault driver’s insurance or directly against them in a lawsuit. Our attorneys can help you total up all of your damages, search for evidence to help with your case, and file the claim in court.
For a free review of your injury case, contact Howe Law’s Atlanta motorcycle accident attorneys today at (844) 876-4357.
Calculating Damages in a Motorcycle Accident in Norcross, GA
The damages that you faced to your bike are only the start of the damages in your case. The more important damages are the ones related to your injuries, which could total into the tens of thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the severity of your case.
Property Damage
Even though they are not as important as the damages for your physical injuries, the damages for your motorcycle are not negligible. The cost of replacing or repairing your motorcycle is just one of the areas of damages we will be able to claim in your case.
Generally, these damages are worth the total cost to repair the bike, unless that is more than the total value of the bike. In that case, they will usually pay you the remaining value so you can purchase a new motorcycle. This is what as known as a “total” loss or “totaling” a vehicle.
Physical Injuries
The injuries you face leave you with pain and other intangible effects. The injuries cannot be reversed, but you can be compensated for what happened. Our motorcycle accident lawyers often calculate these damages by using a multiplier assigned based on how severe your injuries are. We then multiply the other damages in your case by this value to arrive at the value for pain and suffering.
Emotional Distress
Damages are often available for your mental and emotional harm as well. They are included in the calculation for physical injuries, but more severe emotional distress might be worth adjusting the multiplier or the total damages upward.
Lost Wages
Calculating lost wages is often difficult in cases involving ongoing lost wages. If you cannot work because of your injuries, your damages can encompass the wages you lost and will lose through your prospective retirement age.
Medical Bills
The cost of treating severe injuries is often very high. This is one of the core damages we will claim, and we usually base it off of the total amounts billed to you for treatment. We include all kinds of treatment in these calculations, including physical and mental health therapy.
Other Economic Damages
There may be other costs associated with your injury as well. Any and all economic costs you face because of the accident should be reimbursed by the person who caused the accident.
Evidence Needed in a Motorcycle Accident Case in Norcross, GA
When you claim you were injured, you need proof to back it up. A lot of the evidence you can use in your case will come from the core eyewitness to your crash: you. Your testimony, along with other evidence you can collect at the scene of the accident, will be vital to building your case.
If you had to go to the hospital or you were knocked unconscious during the accident, there are other ways of getting information, as well. The police report created by the officer that responded to your crash will be a vital piece of information, and it covers most of the same evidence you would have been able to collect at the scene of the crash. This includes things like the other driver’s name and contact info, license plate numbers, the location of the crash, and more.
Additional evidence might come in the form of camera footage or pictures taken by witnesses to the accident, people at the scene after the crash, dashcams or helmet cams, or even security cameras near the accident.
We might also call expert witnesses. They are called “witnesses” because they testify in court, but not because they actually saw the accident. Instead, these experts will use specialized technical or scientific evidence to prove things that will help our case. For example, we might need an accident reconstruction expert to prove how a crash happened or medical experts to testify about your projected medical needs.
Filing Your Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit in Norcross, GA
When it comes time to file your accident claim, our lawyers will prepare what is called a “complaint.” This document will explain the detailed facts of what happened to cause your accident as well as the damages you suffered. Most importantly, it will state what the other driver did wrong to cause your accident.
The defense will likely try to getg your case thrown out on the initial filings, but our attorneys will fight to get the case to move on to the next stages where we can exchange evidence and learn more about how strong or weak the defense is.
Many cases also involve an insurance claim, which is usually filed first. If your insurance claim is successful, there may be no need to file a lawsuit. However, most insurance claims result in low-dollar settlements that will not cover your full damages. It then takes negotiation or the pressure of a lawsuit to get a fair settlement.
Call Our Motorcycle Accident Attorneys in Norcross, GA for a Free Case Assessment
Contact Howe Law’s motorcycle accident attorneys at (844) 876-4357 today for a free case evaluation.
