Getting around in a car can be difficult in the city. Many people opt to ride motorcycles instead (or certain scooters that might qualify as motorcycles, depending on their features and top speeds). Accidents on motorcycles can be much more severe, causing more serious injuries. Fortunately, there are options to seek compensation after a serious crash on a motorcycle.
Our attorneys can file your claim with the relevant insurance policies and courts to fight to get you the full compensation you deserve for your accident. This can include compensation for injuries themselves as well as financial compensation for lost wages and medical expenses, along with other costs.
For a free evaluation of your potential case, call our motorcycle accident lawyers today at The Carrion Law Firm by dialing (718) 841-0083.
How to Get Compensation for a Motorcycle Accident in The Bronx
In most auto accidents in New York, you have to contend with no-fault laws that restrict your right to sue and provide an alternative system for getting compensation to victims. However, motorcycles are exempt from the no-fault requirements in the state, allowing Bronx motorcycle accident victims to get compensation for their accident directly from the at-fault driver or that driver’s insurance.
Filing Through Insurance
The driver who hit you should be required to have at least $25,000 worth of coverage for injuries to one person, $50,000 for injuries to two or more people, and $10,000 for property damage. This liability insurance is there so you can make a claim against this policy if that driver caused your accident. However, their insurance company might fight you on the claim.
Insurance companies rarely pay out full compensation unless ordered to by a court. As such, the initial offer might cover only the hard, clearly proven damages you can produce bills for, such as medical bills and vehicle repairs. Getting full compensation, however, requires them to pay for lost wages, any other incidental costs you incurred because of the crash, and pain and suffering. If negotiations between our motorcycle accident attorneys and the other driver’s insurance do not result in full compensation, we may be able to take your case to court instead.
Filing a Lawsuit
Instead of relying on the insurance company to pay you the full amount for your damages, we can take the case to court, where a judge can order them to pay you. If the jury believes your case and sees proof of the amount of damages you faced, they can rule in your favor, potentially resulting in more complete compensation than an insurance claim.
However, it does take longer and require more effort to take the case to court. Additionally, most cases ultimately settle before actually reaching a jury verdict, meaning that the case might never actually see trial.
Nonetheless, filing in court is a powerful tool, using all of the formalities and seriousness of the court system to show that your motorcycle injury case is just as serious.
Damages for Injured Motorcycle Riders in The Bronx
Being hurt in a motorcycle accident can result in far more than just the pain of an injury. In many injury cases, victims face medical expenses totaling into the thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. These damages are nearly impossible for many families to take care of without insurance payouts. Moreover, if the victim now has to miss a lot of work while they recover – or if the injury caused a permanent disability that means they cannot work anymore – then damages can be harder to afford compensation for.
Damages can be claimed for medical bills, vehicle repair/replacement costs, household expenses, and other bills and costs you accrue because of the accident. In addition, you can claim compensation for any and all wages and income you missed or will miss because of the accident.
On top of all of these damages come the payments for pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, and other “non-economic” damages. In most injury lawsuits stemming from traffic accidents, you cannot claim these damages unless your injuries are sufficiently serious under certain definitions in New York law. Fortunately, motorcycle riders do not need to meet this standard, and they are able to claim full non-economic damages for a motorcycle accident with injuries of any level of severity.
Calculating Damages for Motorcycle Accidents and Injury Cases in The Bronx
Knowing how much your particular case could be worth is difficult without having an attorney review your case. However, you can begin to calculate damages for a motorcycle accident case by taking some of the following steps:
Gathering Bills
All bills, statements, receipts, and other documentation of expenses related to the accident should be saved and gathered up. All payments made because of the accident should be reimbursed, whether they be for medical bills, motorcycle repairs, or other expenses.
Estimating Lost Wages
If you missed a set period of time and returned to work, you can take your normal wage and multiply it by the time missed at work. If you have an irregular job and missed a high or low period, we might be able to use wages from previous years (adjusted for inflation) as a reference point for how much income you missed out on.
If you have an ongoing disability from the accident – as is common with the severe injuries that can result in motorcycle crashes – then it might be harder to project future damages for lost earnings. You should wait to discuss lost wages with a lawyer.
Estimating Non-Economic Damages
Determining pain and suffering damages is a case-by-case issue. In some cases, suffering is low, while other cases result in immense pain and suffering. All in all, you can usually use a per-day cost and multiply it by the number of days you experienced pain and suffering. Alternatively, you may be able to multiply your other economic damages by a multiplier based on how severe your injuries are. Our lawyers can, again, help with this calculation.
Call Our Bronx Motorcycle Accident and Injury Attorneys Today
Reach out to The Carrion Law Firm’s motorcycle accident attorneys by calling (718) 841-0083 for a free case evaluation.