How Much is My Motorcycle Accident Case Worth in North Carolina

If you were recently involved in a motorcycle accident as a motorcyclist or passenger, you might be entitled to compensation for your injuries. In North Carolina, motorcycle accident victims can pursue monetary damages from the at-fault party or parties for their injuries. The party at fault for your motorcycle accident and resulting injuries is liable to you for your injuries. It is essential that you work with an experienced motorcycle accident attorney to get the most financial compensation possible out of your accident claim.

You may wonder how much your North Carolina motorcycle accident case is worth. Several different factors will determine that value. If you have experienced a serious or catastrophic injury, your claim could be worth a significant amount of money in civil court. A judge, jury, or insurance company may look at these injuries and measure them based on how they impacted your day-to-day life. Suffering a scarring road rash, traumatic brain injury, broken bones, or spinal cord injury could make you more likely to obtain a large sum of money.

Your medical expenses now and in the future will be higher, and your pain and suffering. The compensation award you receive from an insurance settlement or judgment could cover all your related expenses for the rest of your life, which could be millions of dollars. In short, if your injuries qualify as catastrophic, you may be entitled to significant compensation. Remember, personal injury plaintiffs are entitled to both economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages are available in motorcycle accident cases. These types of damages are economic, or special, damages that are easily quantifiable. Economic damages include your current and future medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, out-of-pocket expenses, legal fees, and the cost of motorcycle repairs. Any money you have spent on your motorcycle accident could be included in your economic damages claim. The more serious your accident and injuries, the more your economic damages are typically worth.

At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, our attorneys have an extensive network of financial experts who can help us determine the full value of your economic damages. In most cases, the more serious your injuries, the more economic damages you will be able to claim. We help you calculate your economic damages by adding up all of your accident-related bills.

Then we will add your foreseeable economic cost for expenses such as all of the costs for your continuing medical treatment, disability expenses, living healthcare, home or vehicle accommodations, and loss of financial earnings due to your inability to return to work. Projecting your future economic losses is important because once you obtain a settlement, you will not have the ability to obtain more compensation in the future. Your settlement must cover all of the expenses you will incur in the future.

Intangible losses make up the other part of motorcycle accident settlement or judgment awards. not all motorcycle accident plaintiffs are eligible for non-economic damages. However, for most people who have been seriously injured, compensation for intangible damages will be included. intangible damages are the personal losses you have suffered during and after the motorcycle accident. They are general losses that most victims of catastrophic accidents would reasonably experience, such as:

• Scarring, loss of limb, or disfigurement
• Physical pain and disabilities
• Lost self-esteem our self-worth
• Diminished enjoyment of life
• Lost quality of life
• Emotional suffering or anguish
• Psychological trauma
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

There are two different ways to calculate the value of your intangible losses. The first way is called the per diem method, which calculates a daily value for non-economic losses. Typically judges calculate these awards as a similar daily amount to a person's daily gross wages for the number of days that a physician estimates the medical condition will last. The other method is called the multiplier method, which takes your economic damage award and multiplies it by a number proportional to your individual degree of suffering. Catastrophic injuries will receive higher multipliers and thus higher rewards.

If your family member was involved in a motorcycle accident and passed away due to their injuries, your family has a right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In a wrongful death lawsuit, the plaintiff can seek damages for grief, mental anguish, and loss of consortium. Loss of consortium covers a wide range of losses, such as the family member’s household services, spousal love, parental guidance, companionship, care, and more.

If you or your loved one has been seriously injured in a North Carolina motorcycle accident, contact the experienced attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC today to schedule your free initial consultation.