After a motorcycle accident, the victim could have more severe wounds and be at a higher risk of a fatal injury than drivers. Motorcyclists who experience traffic crashes have an 80% injury or death rate, which is much higher than other motor vehicle operators who get into an accident. When you’re not at fault for the motorcycle accident, you can receive compensation to help cover the cost of medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.
According to lawyers Roberts & Jeandron, you may still be eligible for compensation even if you are partially at fault for your motorcycle accident. Your motorcycle accident attorney can help you calculate how much you should receive in compensation after an initial review of your case. This is mostly based on how badly you were wounded. The following are the most injured body regions in motorcycle accidents.
Lower Legs
Because the legs of motorcyclists are exposed and unprotected, it is not uncommon for them to get badly injured after colliding with a car. Even with protective gear, the high impact of a car crash can badly injure the legs of a motorcyclist. They can experience fractures, broken bones, dislocated joints, and road rash. Once you’ve been wounded, you may have to deal with temporary or permanent immobility while recovering from your injuries.
Thorax
It is possible for the thoracic cavity to be damaged due to trauma. This can be extremely life-threatening because if the thoracic walls collapse, you’ll be unable to breathe. Once your chest is injured, this can cause distressed breathing and shortness of breath, and you may also experience shock or hypotension.
Upper Chest
The ribs can be fractured due to a heavy impact. Broken ribs can be very painful and also cause pneumothorax. For example, the lungs can be punctured due to broken ribs penetrating and injuring the lungs. Broken ribs can also cause a sucking chest wound, which occurs when air gets sucked in because of a collapsed lung. This occurs when air gets into the chest and gets trapped inside the cavity. This trapped air forces the affected lung to flatten, preventing proper breathing.
Face and Neck
Facial injuries include broken noses, eye injuries, shattered jaw bones, dental injuries, and ear injuries. This can affect the ability to see or hear. Because the neck is quite complex, with many crucial blood vessels that supply the brain with blood, neck injuries can be quite fatal. Plus, the trachea or windpipe can also be damaged, leading to breathing problems.
Head
A head injury can be one of the scariest and most life-threatening injuries. A head injury like a concussion can cause various cognitive problems, like memory loss or disorientation. There’s also the risk of receiving an intracranial hematoma. This is when internal bleeding causes the brain to hemorrhage, and in some cases, swell. The skull could also get fractured in a motorcycle accident.
What Compensation Can I Receive For My Injuries?
After being severely injured, you can receive compensation for any expenses that were created due to your wounds. This includes both economic and non-economic damages. The most common forms of damages include the following:
Medical Bills
Your medical expenses will steadily increase as you continue to receive treatment to help you recover from your injuries. Injuries may be so severe that they require surgery, physical therapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, and more. You may need pain medication, imaging scans, laboratory tests, crutches, braces, and more. Follow-up appointments and transportation may also be necessary.
Lost Wages
It is possible that you have to stay home and recover because of your accident-related injuries that cause temporary or partial disability. You can be compensated for all the time that you missed from work. Your hourly wages will be calculated and included in your settlement to include all the income you already lost and the future income you will lose.
Pain And Suffering
You may be experiencing a lot of pain and suffering due to the severity of your wounds. You may experience emotions such as depression, grief, anxiety, embarrassment, guilt, and other negative emotions. Non-economic damages are just as important because they negatively impact your life after a motorcycle accident. Your attorney can hold the other party liable for these damages. These non-economic damages are estimated using a multiplier. Your attorney works with an insurance adjuster to calculate your pain and suffering damages.
What If A Loved One Passed Away?
In a wrongful death, you can receive additional damages that are unique to a fatal motorcycle accident. If your loved one was a motorcycle accident victim, you must be an eligible family member to receive wrongful death damages on their behalf. Compensation can include the burial expenses of your family member, such as the cost of the coffin or urn, the embalming or cremation, and other preparations. Funeral bills and other expenses such as flowers and pamphlets for the funeral can also be included.
Additional damages include loss of consortium, loss of guardianship, loss of mentorship, and other valuable services that the deceased individual provided. If you or others were dependent on the motorcycle accident victim, you could receive loss of earning capacity damages. This is the amount that the deceased family member would have been paid had they continued working throughout the course of their life. Settlement compensation can also include lost benefits and other damages. You can speak to a motorcycle accident lawyer to help you learn about additional damages you can claim in a wrongful death settlement.
Why Do I Need A Motorcycle Accident Attorney?
Motorcycle accident attorneys are professionals who can guide you through the difficult process of filing a settlement. Some people might have the impression that you need to file a lawsuit in order to receive compensation. However, most settlement disputes are resolved out of court. This is because it is more cost-effective and doesn’t take as long as a jury trial. The other party may also prefer to avoid the time and expenses involved in a court case.
Not only do motorcycle accident attorneys investigate your claim to determine what happened, but they also accurately calculate how much compensation you are owed. They are able to collect enough evidence to help verify your claim. To learn more, you should speak to a reliable motorcycle accident attorney today.