Whitfield County Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Motorcycle accidents result in serious injuries and death for thousands of Americans annually. Even the most cautious motorcyclists are still at risk because accidents are commonly the result of a vehicle driver’s carelessness, recklessness, or negligence while driving.
The small size and low profile of many motorcycles can be difficult for some drivers to see, which means that motorists must be focused on the road at all times to ensure the safety of bikers. Motorists may lose for reasons that are completely unrelated to other vehicles on the highway but all of them can have a negative impact on themselves and other drivers.
If you suffered an injury while riding a motorcycle due to someone else’s negligence, an experienced attorney may be able to help prove that the motor vehicle driver was at fault. Contact a Whitfield County motorcycle accident lawyer today.
Potential Damages
A damage award—often referred to as just “damages”—is the compensation that an individual can recover from the party that is responsible for their accident. It can include financial compensation for both economic and non-economic losses.
Economic losses are financial losses with a clearly established dollar value. These may include medical bills, lost wages, and the cost to repair or replace a damaged motorcycle.
Non-economic losses are not as easily quantified and may include loss of the ability to enjoy life and pain and suffering, among other more subjective losses. These factors require a different valuation than simply adding the total of medical bills or calculating salary and the number of days missed from work. This means the amount of non-economic damages available in a civil suit can vary significantly based on a person’s previous activity level, post-accident changes in the relationship with family or friends, and the amount of pain the injury caused.
Special Circumstances
Loss of future earnings constitutes a hybrid of economic and non-economic losses because it requires anticipating the person’s prior future earning capacity while factoring in expected raises, promotions, and inflation. Accurately evaluating these factors often requires the assistance of an experienced Whitfield County motorcycle accident lawyer.
There are also damage award caps in Tennessee that set the maximum amount an injured person can recover in personal injury cases. The maximum award for non-economic damages is $1,000,000 if the individual suffered a severe injury, such as paralysis or limb amputation. In all other personal injury cases, the non-economic damage award maximum is $750,000.
Whitfield County Accident Fault Standard
Like the rest of Tennessee, Whitfield County uses a modified comparative negligence standard in motorcycle accident cases. Under this standard, people injured from motorcycle injuries are not barred from recovering damages if they share some responsibility for the accident that led to the injury. However, the individual’s degree of liability for the accident cannot exceed 50 percent fault.
Under the modified comparative negligence standard, an injured person’s damage award is reduced by the percentage of fault that is attributable to them. While this standard is used specifically in cases that are decided by a judge or jury, it is often a negotiating point if the case is settled without going to trial too.
Talk to a Whitfield County Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident, it may be in your best interest to contact a knowledgeable Whitfield County motorcycle accident lawyer as soon as possible. Not doing so could impact whether or not the insurance company takes your claim seriously, your settlement options, and your overall opportunities for recovery.
