5 Types of Damages in Motorcycle Accidents
By: Sevenish Law
Tags: Motorcycle, Attorney, Motorcycle Accident, Lawyers

There are over eight million motorcycles on America’s roads today, which means that accidents are not uncommon. Riders are more exposed to injury than drivers are since their body does not benefit from much protection from their vehicles.

Being involved in a motorcycle crash can have vast financial repercussions. However, victims can receive different types of damages to cover the financial losses they suffered due to the accident. The five main types of damages are medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, lost wages, and punitive damage.

Motorcycle Accidents Can Be Severe

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that in 2019, the latest year with complete data, a total of 5,014 motorcyclists were killed, and an estimated 84,000 were injured. Around three-fourths of motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle, which explains why many have serious consequences.

One can easily see how a motorcycle weighing anywhere from 300 to 700 pounds would fare in a collision with a more than 3,000-pound passenger vehicle. Motorcyclists, if they survive a crash, may find themselves dealing with the effects of:

Head injuries

Neck and spine injuries

Broken limbs and ribs

Disfiguring injuries

It is crucial to seek immediate medical attention after a crash, even if you feel fine. Being involved in an accident is registered as a traumatic event by your body. Thus you might experience feeling physically and emotionally numb, not noticing some underlying injuries. The sooner you are diagnosed and receive treatment, the sooner you will recover.

Seeking Damages After a Motorcycle Accident

Perhaps you were recently involved in a motorcycle accident, incurred losses that your insurance policy can’t cover, and believe that the other party is responsible for the crash. In this case, you may pursue a personal injury claim against the at-fault party. A motorcycle injury lawyer can offer further legal guidance based on the specifics of your case.

1. Past and Future Medical Expenses

If a passenger vehicle collided with you, chances are that your injuries were severe, requiring surgery and other immediate, extensive treatments. Medical expenses that are compensable include:

Medical tests

Treatment

Medication

Physiotherapy

Hospitalization

In addition, you could seek reimbursement for any future medical expenses, such as the cost of pain medications or rehabilitative care that helps restore your cognitive and motor skills.

2. Property Damage

Your motorcycle, if still salvageable, likely needs repairs, and if you weren’t at fault, you don’t deserve to be saddled with that expense. This also falls under the damages you can seek in a personal injury claim. If the motorcycle was totaled, you could ask for an appropriate amount that would cover the cost of a replacement.

Let’s say that your motorcycle is your primary means of transportation and it had to undergo repairs; you may be eligible for loss of use compensation. This applies mostly in cases where injured drivers can’t get a rental car when their vehicle is in the shop. Otherwise, you are entitled to compensation for the cost of a rental.

3. Pain and Suffering

Besides the physical and material losses in an accident, which the experts can more or less quantify in terms of dollars, there is also the subjective harm that one experiences. Some motorcycle injuries can leave one with:

Lingering physical pain

Mental anguish

Anxiety

Traumatic brain injuries, arguably the most common injuries in motorcycle accidents, are known to cause chronic symptoms. Persistent post-concussive symptoms, as they’re called, can include headaches, seizures, and infections around the brain.

It is not unusual for motorcycle accident victims to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Insomnia and a phobia of being out on the road may result as well.

Besides these, a successful claim could cover the loss of enjoyment of life that one incurs from, for instance, paralysis or the amputation of a limb. A more specific type of loss is called loss of consortium, where injuries affect the relationship between spouses. A claim could also take into account the emotional distress caused by facial scars and other kinds of disfigurement.

4. Lost Wages

Coping with your injuries and the temporary loss of transportation has probably led to you missing work. By filing a claim, you could seek out the wages you would have earned in the interim if the accident had never happened.

That is not all because many accident victims, even after recovery, find that they can’t work at the same capacity as before. Perhaps they lose their current job and are forced to enter another less strenuous field. This is referred to as loss of earning capacity. Professionals can estimate a good dollar amount for the loss based on your previous line of work, the sort of jobs you are limited to now, and how many more years you can be expected to work.

5. Punitive Damages

In some cases, especially road rage incidents, drivers may injure motorcyclists out of malice. Other times, drivers may cause a motorcycle accident due to reckless behavior, such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

When such harmful behavior is evident in an accident, victims have the possibility of suing for punitive damages. These are damages that go beyond compensation, being sought out to punish the defendant. One can seek punitive damages regardless of whether the defendant faces any corresponding criminal charge.

What a Motorcycle Injury Lawyer Can Do

While these are the main types of damages you could pursue in a personal injury lawsuit, not all of them might apply to your case. Moreover, even if they do apply, the amount you are eligible to receive may be curbed because of some fault on your part.

Many motorcycle accidents exhibit some degree of contributory negligence. For example, riding while under the influence or making reckless maneuvers could harm your claim. However, this is highly dependent on how your state handles liability.

These and other factors should convince any motorcycle accident victim not to pursue a claim alone. Consult with a lawyer, and you may get the professional opinion you need to determine if a personal injury claim is worthwhile.