One of the first things most people want to know after an Irvine motorcycle accident is, “How much is my claim worth?” Of course, this is a natural question, but it is one that may be difficult to answer, especially at the very beginning of your case. Here is why.
When you are injured in an Irvine motorcycle accident, you will incur several types of expenses. First, your motorcycle will probably need repairs, and an estimate must be gathered from a qualified repair shop, including parts, labor, and perhaps paint and body work. Next, you will probably have some form of medical bills. It is a well-known reality that when a car and a motorcycle collide, the motorcycle tends to fare worse in the collision. It is unusual to see a motorcycle rider walk away from an impact with absolutely no medical bills. A third type of payment which may need to be collected is lost time from work due to injuries and trauma. With all of these figures to be collected, it may take a little time for an Irvine motorcycle accident attorney to come up with a firm figure for damages. After all, the last thing you want to do is underestimate how much your medical bills will be, or how much time off from work you will need.
The next figure which must be calculated in your pain and suffering. This is where a good Irvine motorcycle accident lawyer begins to earn his or her fee. The calculation of “abstract” costs such as pain and suffering or punitive damages is a very difficult task and requires skill and experience. For example, if the at-fault driver was criminally negligent or purposely hit the motorcycle rider, a personal injury attorney will approach the subject of damages quite differently than if the driver had mitigating circumstances, such as failed brakes. It takes a professional personal injury lawyer to understand all the nuances of calculating damages in these various cases.
Finally, your Irvine motorcycle accident attorney will discuss with you a figure which is “ballpark.” This means that the attorney has considered the facts and come up with a range of figures within which he or she feels settlement will probably fall. These figures are not “set in stone,” but represent the attorney’s best guess as to what the defendants and their insurers will offer.
One other factor that affects the amount you will collect in your Irvine motorcycle accident claim is the circumstances of the accident and who was “at fault.” Your attorney will need all the facts about the accident to advise you well on how much your claim is truly worth. If you were engaging in negligent behavior at the time of the accident, such as drinking and riding, then it is likely that the settlement figures will be affected by these facts. Going to trial is always a gamble, so in a case like this, your attorney would probably be right in advising you to settle, even for a slightly lower figure. On the other hand, if the accident was completely the other person’s fault, then you can probably expect a higher settlement figure. Most Irvine motorcycle accidents of this type never go to trial, as the insurers are well aware that juries could award plaintiffs in such a case a very large judgment.
