You’ve been hurt in a motorcycle accident. Before you can recover damages for your injuries, however, you are going to have to establish two things. The first is who caused your accident and, thus, who should pay for your damages—and the second is the value of those damages.
Who Will Pay for Your Motorcycle Accident Injuries?
A careful investigation may be required to determine who was legally at fault for your accident. It could, for example, be:
- Another driver.
- Another driver’s employer.
- The manufacturer of your bike or a part of your bike.
In some cases, you may be partly to blame for the crash. In Wisconsin, you may still be able to recover damages if you were less than 51% responsible for the crash; however, the amount of your recovery will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you.
What Are Your Damages?
Once you have established who should pay for your damages, you will need to convince an insurance company, judge, or jury of the value of your damages. Your damages may include compensation for past, current and future:
- Medical expenses. This includes all of your health related costs including but not limited to hospital stays, surgeries, doctors’ visits, medications, rehabilitation therapies, and assistive devices.
- Out-of-pocket costs. Out-of-pocket costs may include things such as damage to your motorcycle, transportation costs while your bike was being fixed or you were unable to drive, and childcare costs if you couldn’t care for your kids.
- Lost income. This includes all of your income if you can’t work, or part of your income if you can no longer make the same amount of money that you did before your injury. Employees, independent contractors, and self-employed people may all recover any income they lost, or will lose, because of their injuries.
- Physical pain and emotional suffering. These may be among your most significant losses after a motorcycle crash, and you may receive financial compensation for them.
You will need to provide convincing evidence about the value of your damages. This may include copies of bills, pay stubs, medical records, expert testimony, and other documents or testimony.
You will also benefit from having an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer working for your fair recovery. Our Wisconsin bike accident lawyers are not only experienced motorcycle accident attorneys, but we are also avid riders. We know what evidence to present, how to present it, and how to negotiate with insurance adjusters. But more than that, we know what your recovery means to you and we aren’t afraid to fight for you. Please start a free live chat with us now to learn more.