If you have ever suffered personal injuries in a motorcycle accident, but only walked away with damages to your bike, consider yourself lucky. There are many others who get into motorcycle accidents who do not end up so fortunate.
How your pain and suffering is calculated in a motorcycle accident case settlement depends on circumstances. A settlement might be determined based on the extent of damage to the bike, personal injuries to the motorcycle driver, length of hospitalization, possible loss of income, possible loss of limbs, and more.
If you have been in a motorcycle accident and suffered serious personal injuries, you and your motorcycle accident attorney will start to negotiate a claim settlement with the insurance company representing the at-fault defendant. One of the factors in the settlement will likely be the extent of the non-economic damages you have suffered. These non-economic damages include consideration for the pain and suffering you have faced from the accident.
Pain and suffering damages are more common in motorcycle accident cases than typical vehicle cases, as the motorcycle driver usually sustains more injuries on average than a car driver. This is usually due to the lack of protection around a motorcycle driver, and the extent of injuries that can develop from a terrible crash.
Proving Pain and Suffering
Before we even get to a settlement opportunity, however, you have to show that the motorcycle accident caused harm to your health, your ability to earn income, your ability to walk, for example, and other aspects. These are the economic damages in most cases.
Some of this evidence may include medical documentation. In most cases, this paperwork will show emergency ambulance transportation costs, costs of hospital stays, surgery costs, medical treatments, lost wages due to your inability to work following the accident, and more.
For pain and suffering, there may or may not be documentation to provide to plead your case in a motorcycle accident injury case. Some of these pain and suffering costs may not be easily quantified. The emotional pains might include:
- Written or video documentation of your state of being after the accident. For instance, you might share a Facebook video of yourself a few weeks after the accident, in which you share the documentation of your injuries. Your emotional feelings and descriptions of your pain could be used as evidence in a case.
- Written documentation from a mental health doctor, psychiatrist, or similar. Maybe a few months after an accident, you may be very depressed and seeking mental health support. The fees of your psychiatrist can be used as part of the pain and suffering costs.
- Statements and testimony from family members or friends who have seen definite changes in your ability to think, laugh, react, smile or more. These statements can be used to show how your health has been damaged, your mental acuity has been razed, and these would all fall into pain and suffering elements.
Relying on professional advice from your motorcycle accident lawyer is a great route to pursue. We can answer your question as far as how pain and suffering is calculated in a motorcycle accident case? Our legal team will also be able to calculate the aggregate costs of all of your economic and non-economic damages in order to compile the value of your claim.
Negotiating the Settlement
Once you have worked through all of the damages that are of value for the personal injury claim, you can compile a claim to negotiate with the insurance company. There are many factors that contribute to negotiating a successful settlement for damages.
Life-changing injuries are key indicators of pain and suffering and may qualify as noneconomic damages. Some of these physical injuries could be catastrophic, as a result of the accident or injury caused by another person’s carelessness or negligent driving. These injuries could include:
- Amputation of a severely injured arm or leg
- Brain or head trauma
- A loss or severe reduction in your ability to communicate properly
- Spinal cord injuries that may possibly invoke paralysis
- Severe accident burns all over your body, that may need skin grafting measures
- Injuries that may result in losing your vision or hearing
Injuries like these that you suffered from a motorcycle accident make you undergo changes in your lifestyle, your employment capabilities, your relationships with family members, and more. These are the kinds of noneconomic damages that your motorcycle accident lawyer would negotiate on your behalf.
If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident due to the fault of another driver, you should consider pursuing a personal injury claim. Our team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can help you support a claim for noneconomic damages, stemming from a traumatic motorcycle accident. Our team can help you answer the question of how is pain and suffering calculated in a motorcycle accident case? Contact us today at (800) 223-5115 for a free initial consultation.