Motorcycle accidents are devastating. Unlike cars and trucks equipped with some safety measures, there are limited safety precautions for motorcycles. Therefore, a motorcyclist is prone to full impact in a motorcycle accident. Motorcycle accidents result from collisions with vehicles, hitting an obstacle on the road, or mechanical failures.

If you survive a motorcycle accident, you will likely be left with severe and life-changing injuries. If you are injured in a motorcycle accident resulting from negligence, you want to determine the amount you can receive as compensation for your injuries.

Many factors impact compensation. Before you receive a compensation payout, you must identify the liable parties, prove negligence, and provide evidence of your losses. This process can be complicated, especially when you are nursing your injuries. Having a skilled personal injury lawyer by your side is critical. Your attorney will help you establish the amount you deserve for compensation and ensure a favorable outcome in your lawsuit.

Motorcycle Accident Compensation Payouts

You will be entitled to compensation if you are injured or lose a loved one in a motorcycle accident. There is no standard amount for motorcycle accident lawsuits. Understanding the amount you could receive from your case involved complex calculations and some persuasive skills.

A fair settlement for your motorcycle accident injuries will account for the following damages:

Medical Expenses

Motorcycle accidents cause serious and devastating injuries. Your medical expenses make up a significant part of your motorcycle accident compensation. Some injuries from these accidents are temporary and heal with minimal medication.

However, some injuries may be permanent, and you will incur the cost of treatment for the rest of your life. Your medical expenses begin to accumulate when emergency responders are called to the accident scene and you are taken to the hospital.

Depending on the severity of the accident, you could suffer these injuries from a motorcycle accident:

  • Cuts and scrapes. Although most motorcyclists will wear protective clothing, the impact from the collision and friction with the road surface can tear through the clothes and cause severe lacerations. Although most cuts and scrapes are not life-threatening, they can become infected if left untreated.
  • Broken bones. Another common injury that motorcycle riders suffer after a collision is broken bones. When your body absorbs the impact from the motorcycle accident, you could suffer severe bone breaks. Broken bones take a long time to recover. This means you will spend a long time in the hospital undergoing painful procedures. When the limb bones are too damaged to repair, the doctor may recommend an amputation.
  • Traumatic brain injuries. When riding a motorcycle, you must have a helmet. Although the helmet can protect you from head trauma, you could still suffer a brain injury in serious motorcycle accidents. A head injury can cause facial disfigurement, traumatic brain injury, and death.
  • Spinal cord injuries. The spinal cord is a critical yet delicate part of the body. Injury to the back and spinal cord may be inevitable, especially in accidents where the motorcyclist collides with a heavy vehicle. An injury to the spinal cord can leave you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life and impact other body functions. In most cases, you cannot recover from a spinal cord injury. Therefore, you must deal with the injury for a lifetime.

The liable party in your motorcycle accident will be responsible for paying the medical bills. Unfortunately, most defendants are not quick to accept fault for their actions. You must cover the medical expenses before you receive a settlement. The medical bills can be paid using your medical insurance coverage.

If you lack insurance coverage, you can negotiate a payment plan with the hospital where you received treatment following your motorcycle accident. After receiving the compensation payout, you can pay back the reinsurance provider.

Alternatively, you can consult a doctor who provides services on a lien. A physician who works on the lien is paid from the lawsuit proceeds. If you use a doctor working on a lien, you may be responsible for the balance of medical expenses if you receive a low settlement. In your motorcycle accident compensation payout, you will be reimbursed for the following:

  • Ambulance fees.
  • Consultation fees.
  • Surgery costs.
  • Laboratory fees.
  • Prescription medication bills.
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation.
  • Mental health counseling.
  • Ongoing medical treatment and consultations.

Before you are compensated for medical expenses, the insurance company of the liable party and the court will want a copy of your medical report. This will help indicate the type and extent of injuries you suffered.

You can increase your chances of recovering compensation for your medical expenses by seeking immediate medical care after your accident. Even when you do not experience an apparent injury, it is essential to receive an assessment. Some injuries, like internal bleeding, are easier to discover unless you receive a checkup. Additionally, you should make sure that all your treatments are recorded.

After your accident, you can take photographs of the injuries and keep them as evidence in your case. Sometimes, you may be required to submit medical records dating back five years. This helps prove that the injuries you seek compensation for are related to your motorcycle accident.

If you file a claim with the insurance company, you can negotiate the medical bill settlement depending on the extent of your injuries and the strength of your lawsuit.

Lost Wages

The injuries resulting from a motorcycle accident can leave you unable to return to work for weeks or months following the accident. If you do not go to work, you can lose the following forms of income:

  • Monthly salary.
  • Overtime pay.
  • Bonuses.
  • Commissions.
  • Self-employment income.

When you file a claim against the negligent parties in your accident, you expect to recover compensation for your lost wages. After the collision, you have up to two years to seek compensation for these damages. Whether you settle your claim out of court or file a lawsuit, you must prove what you lost from the missed work days. You can establish lost wages in these ways:

  • A letter from Your Employer

You can obtain a lost wages letter from your employer. This is possible for individuals with regular employment. The lost wages letter contains the following information:

  1. Nature of your employment.
  2. The amount you receive as payment for each work hour.
  3. The amount of time you have missed from work.
  4. Vacation and sick days you have used for the injury.

  • Pay Stubs and Tax Returns

If you cannot obtain the letter, you can use past tax returns to prove the amount you would have earned while you nursed your injuries. If you are self-employed, the tax returns for your previous years could help prove the amount you lost. For individuals with a high income, the testimony of a forensic economist may be critical.

  • Unemployment Insurance Benefits

You could be compensated for unemployment benefits if you were unemployed during your motorcycle accident. However, you must be physically incapable of working or actively looking for employment.

Lost Earning Capacity

You lose your future earning capacity when the injuries from a motorcycle accident impact your ability to return to work or find meaningful employment. Compensation for lost earning capacity is a common benefit for victims of severe injuries. However, your injury does not need to be permanent. You can recover this compensation if your injury has not been recovered when you receive your settlement.

Unlike lost wages, where the loss has already occurred, proving the loss of earning capacity can be challenging. You can prove the loss of your future earning capacity through testimony from the following individuals:

  • Your employer. An employer could testify about your performance and work history before the accident.
  • Your physician. The doctor you visited after the accident can testify to how your injury could affect your ability to work and the expected level of recovery from the injury.
  • An expert economist. Economists help establish salary trends in your field of work and determine what you were expected to earn without the injury.
  • Friends and family. Individuals who knew you before the motorcycle accident can testify about your career goals and interests and how the injuries have made it impossible for you to achieve them.

Factors that impact the calculation of your lost earning capacity include:

  • How long your injury is expected to last. Your doctor can indicate the duration of your injury in the medical report. If your injury is permanent, you can recover more from your motorcycle accident lawsuit.
  • Your age. A younger person who suffers an injury in a motorcycle accident will receive more compensation than their older counterparts. This is because the younger victim loses more years of work.
  • Your health. If you were healthy before the accident, you could receive a larger settlement than someone with an underlying illness.
  • Your past earnings. The amount you could earn in the future can be easily determined by the amount you earned before the accident.
  • Your career goals. If you were in line for a promotion or planned for future career improvement, you would be entitled to more compensation.

Pain and Suffering

Victims of motorcycle accidents experience severe physical pain and emotional suffering. The injuries from such an accident can cause physical pain; sometimes, you must undergo painful procedures to recover. Even if you do not suffer a severe injury from the collision, it can leave you with emotional scars and trauma.

While you cannot equate pain and suffering to a dollar value, you may be entitled to compensation for these damages in your motorcycle accident lawsuit. There are no fixed standards to calculate your pain in California.

The following factors can help determine what you can recover for pain and suffering in your final settlement:

  • The seriousness of the injuries you suffered. Although you can still be compensated when you do not have a physical injury, evidence of serious injuries could increase the chances of compensation.
  • The extent of negligence demonstrated by the defendant. Many causes of motorcycle accidents suffice as negligence in California. You may recover more compensation if the defendant caused your accident due to drunk driving. This is because drunk driving is a criminal act and depicts extreme disregard for the safety of others.
  • General emotional and physical suffering experienced by individuals with a similar injury. The court can consider how other people who have suffered a similar injury are coping with life to determine what they can recover from pain and suffering.
  • Impact of the injury on your professional life. You could suffer more emotional trauma if you cannot work and earn a living due to motorcycle accident injuries. Therefore, the injuries' impact on your professional life may be critical in determining your compensation.
  • Expected recovery. Some injuries from a motorcycle accident recover within several weeks with mild treatment. However, when the accident is severe, the injuries may last a lifetime. Your expected recovery journey can help the court decide how much you will receive for pain and suffering.

Loss of Consortium

California law defines loss of consortium as the loss of companionship, love, and enjoyment of sexual relations. If your spouse or domestic partner suffers a severe and permanent injury from a motorcycle accident, you can be compensated for the loss of consortium. Loss of consortium will be part of your overall accident settlement if you can prove that:

  • You are in a lawful marriage. You must provide legal evidence of marriage to the injured party to be eligible for these benefits. Your claim will be invalid if your spouse is injured before you are married or registered.
  • Your spouse suffered a wrongful injury. You will prevail in your claim for loss of consortium if you can prove that another person’s actions resulted in the injury. Most motorcycle accidents stem from the negligence or recklessness of a road user, road construction authorities, or motorcycle part manufacturers. By establishing all the elements of negligence. You can receive a compensation settlement.
  • You suffered a loss of consortium. Proving that the injury to your loved one resulted in your loss of companionship and love is challenging. This aspect of your claim may require you to reveal intimate details of your relationship with the injured party. Therefore, you must seek legal guidance.

Like pain, loss of consortium cannot be quantified. Therefore, the court determines the amount you recover for this damage.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Losing enjoyment of life refers to the lasting consequences of motorcycle accident injuries and how they affect your ability to lead a normal life. A physical injury or emotional trauma could impact your ability to enjoy life and engage in activities you did before the accident.

Injuries like amputations, spinal cord injuries, and brain injuries could leave you dependent on other people and unable to enjoy different life opportunities.

There is no specific formula to calculate the loss of enjoyment in life. However, the court may consider the following factors when determining your compensation settlement:

  • Your age at the time of injury. A young person has more to lose when they suffer a permanent injury.
  • The severity of the injuries. With more severe and permanent injuries, your ability to enjoy life will be limited. This means you stand to recover more compensation.
  • Future consequences of your injury. If there is no likelihood that you will recover from the injury, the court may award more compensation.

Wrongful Death Damages

Sometimes, motorcycle accidents can result in death. Some victims die at the accident scene from the impact, while others succumb to their injuries. Losing a loved one due to negligence can affect your emotional and financial life.

This means you incur burial and funeral expenses. If your loved one spent time in the hospital before their death, you will be left with hefty medical bills. Although money cannot replace the deceased loved one, you can file a lawsuit and recover compensation for the losses resulting from the death.

The compensation you recover from your wrongful death can help offset some of the bills. Compensation for wrongful death in a motorcycle accident is awarded to the deceased's spouse, child, or parents. The evidence you present on the expenses you incurred will help the court determine the right settlement.

Find a Reliable San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Although motorcycle accidents are not as common as auto accidents, these collisions are catastrophic. Since most motorcycle accidents result from road users' or manufacturers' negligence, you can file a claim and recover compensation.

The thought of the amount you stand to recover from your motorcycle accident claim bothers many victims of these accidents. However, there is no specific compensation payout for a motorcycle accident.

The amount you can recover will depend on different factors, including the extent of your injuries and the number of liable parties against whom you file a claim. You can make a motorcycle accident claim to the liable party's insurance company or file a lawsuit in court.

Seeking compensation for your motorcycle accident injuries can be a complex process. Therefore, having a skilled lawyer by your side is crucial. If you are battling a motorcycle accident claim in San Diego, CA, you will benefit from our top-notch legal guidance at the San Diego Personal Injury Law Firm. Call us today at 619-478-4059 to discuss your case.