What Is the Average Payout for a Motorcycle Accident?
Motorcycle accidents often result in severe injuries and significant damage. If the crash occurs due to someone else’s negligence, the injured party may seek compensation.
You may want to know the average payout so you know what to expect in your case. Compensation, however, varies considerably depending on the severity of your injuries, the motorcycle accident attorney’s experience, insurance policy limits, and liable parties.
Let’s take a closer look at the average payout for a motorcycle accident and the factors that affect it.
Liability in Motorcycle Accidents
Fault in a motorcycle accident affects the potential payout. Liability refers to the party’s responsibility to compensate for the injury caused to another party.
Liability in motorcycle accidents isn’t always straightforward. Failing to determine the liable party could slow down your case and lead to unexpected expenses. It could eventually cause you to miss the time limits set by the statute of limitations.
Your personal injury attorney can help investigate and gather evidence to establish the other party’s negligence. This can help you seek compensation for your damages.
Evaluation of Damages
The payout in your motorcycle accident case depends on the damages from your injuries. Your attorney can help you evaluate the damages and come up with a fair compensation amount. These damages may include:
Medical Expenses
Medical costs can constitute the most significant portion of a motorcycle accident claim. Your attorney can help you compile bills, receipts, and other documentation to account for past, present, and future medical expenses related to your injuries.
Lost Income
Compensation for lost income can also form a significant part of a motorcycle accident claim. You can work with your attorney to calculate the income you have lost due to missed work and future earnings you may lose due to your injuries.
For example, if you sustain a traumatic brain injury, it may keep you away for months or even years. If your attorney can prove their negligence, the at-fault party should compensate you for the lost earnings.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering include the physical and emotional distress you experience as a result of the accident. Although more challenging to quantify, your attorney can present evidence to substantiate your pain and suffering claim. This may involve hiring an expert witness who can testify to the extent of your past, current, and future suffering.
Emotional Distress
Emotional distress damages cover the accident’s psychological impact on the victim, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Your attorney can enlist the help of medical professionals to document the emotional toll the accident has taken on your life.
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium refers to the negative impact of the accident on the relationship between the injured party and their spouse or partner. The uninjured spouse typically seeks this type of compensation that may include damages for loss of companionship, affection, and intimacy.
The combination of economic and non-economic damages, along with the severity of the injuries and the level of liability, significantly impact the average payout for a motorcycle accident.
A skilled personal injury attorney can help you accurately assess those damages and build a strong case to maximize compensation.
Severity of Injuries
Unlike car drivers, motorcyclists don’t have a metal layer and various protection equipment protecting them. That’s why motorcycle accidents often result in severe injuries.
Some common injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, fractures, road rash, and internal organ damage.
The severity of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident plays a vital role in determining the potential payout. Serious injuries often lead to higher medical expenses, lost income, and long-term consequences, which can result in higher compensation.
In addition, severe injuries can have lasting impacts on a victim’s life, including permanent disability, long-term medical treatment, and changes in their quality of life. These long-term consequences play a role when the insurance company or the court determines the potential payout in a motorcycle accident case.
A personal injury attorney works closely with medical professionals, vocational experts, and life care planners to accurately assess the long-term costs and damages resulting from your injuries.
Insurance Coverage
In most cases, insurance policies are the primary source of compensation for victims. Individuals can file insurance claims against the at-fault party’s insurance provider or, in some cases, your insurance company (in case of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage or PIP coverage).
Insurance policy limits dictate the maximum amount the insurance company can pay for a claim. If the damages exceed the policy limits, the victim may need to consider filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party.
For example, the minimum insurance coverage in Connecticut is $25,000 per person. Accordingly, if your damages add up to $100,000, you may need to sue the at-fault party for $75,000.
Legal Knowledge and Experience
Hiring a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney is critical in obtaining a fair payout for your motorcycle accident claim. A skilled lawyer can navigate the complexities of your case, gather relevant evidence, and negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf.
Since motorcycle accident claims are rarely straightforward, they require substantial research, investigation, and negotiations. Without an experienced personal injury attorney on your side, it can be nearly impossible to obtain fair compensation.
Recovering a Fair Payout After a Motorcycle Accident
Several factors can affect the average payout for a motorcycle accident, including liability, comparative negligence, damages, the severity of injuries, and insurance limits. This variety of factors makes it challenging to provide a specific average payout applicable to all cases. Each case is unique, and the potential compensation depends on the individual circumstances.
Your attorney can help you evaluate these factors and provide a more accurate estimate of your potential payout based on their experience and knowledge of similar cases. Many qualified personal injury attorneys offer free case evaluations. You can use this opportunity to know how much money to expect.
