You suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident. You may know that you deserve compensation, but what does a good settlement look like? How do you know if you have received a good settlement offer? Working with a lawyer can offer you a better idea of the compensation you should really expect for motorcycle accident injuries, including a breakdown of your actual expenses related to the accident.
Average Motorcycle Accident Settlements
While average motorcycle accident settlements depend on the extent of the rider’s injuries, Thomas Reuters notes that median motorcycle injury verdicts hover around $73,700. At Andrew Pickett Law, we have helped a client recover a motorcycle accident settlement totaling $350,000. We have also seen motor vehicle crash verdicts ranging from an estimated $200,000 to $575,000 or more, depending on the extent of injuries.
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How do You Know What Your Motorcycle Accident Settlement Is Worth?
If you have questions about the value of your motorcycle accident claim, talking to a lawyer may offer your best chance of determining how much compensation you deserve, including what a reasonable settlement offer from the liable party’s insurance company might look like. Each motorcycle accident claim varies substantially based on the extent of the victim’s injuries, the victim’s financial losses, and the challenges associated with the victim’s recovery.
In order to determine whether you have been offered a good motorcycle accident settlement, take a look at your financial losses due to the accident.
How Much Are Your Medical Bills?
Your medical bills are more than likely one of the greatest financial losses you have faced as a direct result of your motorcycle accident. Serious injuries can mean very high medical bills, including ongoing medical care for some time after the accident. Even broken bones, however, can have a significant financial cost. If you have to have surgery for a broken leg, for example, you may end up paying between $17,000 and $35,000 for treatment.
Keep track of all your medical bills so that you can include them as part of your personal injury claim. You may need to carefully calculate the cost of your medical treatments, so try to keep track of all medical bills as they arrive so that you can more easily establish exactly what you have spent on medical treatment. Include:
- Emergency transport in an ambulance
- Emergency treatment, including treatment in an emergency room or urgent care center
- Hospitalization
- Ongoing medical treatment, including surgeries and procedures intended to treat your injury
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Durable medical equipment
- In-home care
- Long-term care
You may also need to talk to an attorney about the cost of modifications to your home that you required in order to maintain your independence after the accident: widening doorways or installing a wheelchair ramp if you will permanently have to use a wheelchair to get around, for example.
How Much Time Did You Miss Out of Work?
Next to your medical bills, the time you lose at work can pose the next biggest financial challenge after a motorcycle accident. Of course, the time you lose at work may vary depending on the extent of your injuries and your profession or job responsibilities. If you suffered a traumatic brain injury in your accident, but usually work in a manual labor job that requires little focus, you might be able to get back to work soon after the accident.
On the other hand, if your injuries included multiple broken bones, they could stop you from taking care of work, and your employer might request that you remain out of work until you recover. If you work in a very creative profession, broken bones might not stop you from coming back to work, but a concussion or more serious brain injury might prevent you from focusing long-term. Furthermore, your employer may have policies that prevent you from working while injured.
All that lost time at work can add up to substantial missed income. Even if you have sick time or short-term disability time, you may not recover your full income during those hours. A good motorcycle accident claim will take those losses into consideration.
What Suffering Did Your Motorcycle Accident Cause?
A good motorcycle accident claim will not just take into consideration the actual financial losses that went along with the accident. Your injuries impact so much more of your life than just your finances, and you deserve compensation for those areas, too.
- You may have missed out on activities that you planned with friends and family members.
- You may have suffered significant, and often ongoing, physical pain.
- You may have found yourself facing an immense loss of independence.
- Your accident might have caused considerable emotional anguish, from PTSD or flashbacks to increased anxiety or depression.
A good motorcycle accident claim should take those elements of your suffering into consideration. While they may not have financial value, they do have a significant impact on your life, and you do deserve compensation for them.
Did You Receive a Good Settlement Offer?
The initial settlement offer from an insurance company after a motorcycle accident is rarely a truly “good” one. Frequently, auto insurance companies will try to start with a very low settlement offer: one that barely covers a percentage of your medical expenses, much less the other financial losses you have sustained.
Even subsequent offers may not be as high as you had hoped. If you have questions about your motorcycle accident settlement offer, talk to a personal injury attorney. A lawyer can help look over the claim and give you more information about whether it fairly reflects the losses caused by your accident.
Contact a Lawyer to Learn More
If you suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, you need a lawyer to help look over your settlement offer and give you a better idea of whether you have received an offer that fairly considers your financial losses, including your potential future needs. Contact Andrew Pickett Law today for more information about what a fair settlement for your motorcycle accident claim might include.
Need free legal help in Florida?
We specialize in personal injury claims.
