Motorcycle accidents can be far more serious than other types of auto accident claims. Accidents involving motorcycles often result in very serious injuries, or quite commonly even wrongful death cases. Where serious bodily injury has occurred, the potential for a prolonged legal battle and high-dollar settlements force insurance companies in North Carolina to pursue limitations and restrictions under NC’s contributory negligence law. Under the contributory negligence law, a person shown to have contributed even as little as 1% to the accident may lose the right to recover compensation for personal injury or property damage (motor vehicle).
Evaluating the Motorcycle Accident
Reconstructing a motorcycle accident can be a much more complicated process than with a typical auto collision, as what actually transpired can be difficult to determine. All accidents are officially investigated by the police department, but time constraints and pressures on accident reconstruction agents often result in an inconclusive or incomplete picture of what exactly happened at the scene. This might present an opportunity for the insurance company’s legal team to attribute some degree of blame to the motorcycle rider, where in reality, they might have no blame for the accident whatsoever.
An experienced motorcycle accident attorney can conduct a detailed investigation into the accident and locate any witnesses who might be able to clarify how the accident happened, and in particular, if the motorcyclist did or did not contribute to causation. [All You Need To Know About Your Motorcycle Accident Claim]
Pursuing General Damages
Motorcycle accident claims commonly involve medical bills, lost wages when the victim cannot work due to injuries, and property damage to the vehicle itself. However, the element of a claim with the highest cost implication is typically the expense associated with ongoing medical treatment to aid in recovery from the injury. It is often the case that the full extent of ongoing medical treatments is unknown at the time of case settlement, so it’s important to have a legal representative who can, from experienced gained from similar cases, go some way to predict the need for ongoing medical treatment and ensure the settlement has full provision for these future costs. Where the case cannot be settled out of court, an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can present the full extent of your injuries and the need for ongoing treatment to a jury, who will determine the final outcome.
Proving Wrongful Death
Motorcycle accidents are commonly synonymous with fatalities. Not only can it be difficult to prove that no fault for the accident is attributable to the motorcyclist, (under North Carolina’s contributory negligence law), proving such in a wrongful death case can be even more difficult. Certain factors must exist for gross negligence to be proven, and an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer understands how to craft a case for punitive damages when an accident has occurred due to the reckless actions of a respondent’s negligent party.
Contact Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
The attorney that is chosen to represent a motorcycle accident claim can make the difference between being properly compensated or not being compensated at all. Insurance companies will use any detail possible to deny an accident claim in North Carolina due to the contributory negligence law that allows claim denial for even 1% of personal fault by the claimant. This can also affect passengers as well as operators. Anyone in North Carolina who has a pending accident injury claim should contact our office as soon as possible and let us conduct a full evaluation of your case. Injured victims may have only one opportunity for financial justice. Call today and let us put our experience to work for you in your motorcycle accident case, your initial consultation is free of charge and without obligation to retain one of our motorcycle accident attorneys.
CALL 1-800-ACCIDENT
