Any accident involving a motorcycle is likely to result in serious injury or even death, since these vehicles offer virtually no protection for riders. Personal injury attorneys who have experience with motorcycle accidents can help injured victims seek justice for the harms they suffered.
Whether you have experienced significant pain and suffering, disfigurement, crushing medical bills, property damage, or a host of other damages, one of our South Fulton motorcycle accident lawyers can help you recover the compensation you deserve.
How Much Can You Sue for in a South Fulton Motorcycle Accident Claim?
The value of your claim depends on the extent of harm you have suffered in your South Fulton motorcycle accident. Fortunately, though, there are no caps on damages in Georgia, so you can recover the full amount that your case is worth. In general, there are two kinds of harms for which you can seek compensation.
Examples of Economic Damages
All the ways that your motorcycle wreck impacted you on a financial level are known as “economic damages.” They can include items like:
- Medical bills
- Ongoing costs for therapy and rehabilitation
- Lost wages due to missed work
- Property repair or replacement expenses
Examples of Non-Economic Damages
However, not all the effects of your injury will be financial. It’s likely that a serious injury will result in more subjective damages like pain, mental anguish, reduced enjoyment in life, etc. These are called non-economic damages, and you can still seek compensation for them.
Other forms of non-economic harm include:
- Loss of consortium with your partner
- Emotional toll of becoming disfigured
- Inability to engage in a beloved activity due to injury
How Attorneys Help Clients With South Fulton Motorcycle Crash Cases
A lawyer with experience in South Fulton motorcycle accident claims can support you in a variety of ways. In general, it’s always better to have skilled representation on your side than to approach a lawsuit or settlement negotiation on your own.
Attorneys will often start the case by collecting and preserving as much evidence of the accident as possible. These items of evidence can include:
- The official crash report
- Eyewitness testimony
- Surveillance or traffic camera videos of the accident itself
- Testimony from accident reconstruction experts
- Medical records showing your injury
- Notification from employers regarding missed wages
This is a necessary first step in order to strengthen your case for compensation. With more evidence, a motorcycle accident attorney in South Fulton can be more confident in getting you the compensation you need.
Identifying the Right At-Fault Party or Parties
Not all motorcycle wrecks in South Fulton are cut-and-dry, open-and-shut cases. In some situations, you might be able to seek compensation from other parties than just the driver of the opposing vehicle. An attorney can help you identify who is responsible for your damages.
For example, you could pursue compensation from a trucking company if the other vehicle in your accident was a big-rig. The cause of your accident could also be a malfunctioning or improperly manufactured part, making the manufacturer at least partially responsible.
In rare circumstances, it may be possible to use Georgia’s so-called “dram shop law” to sue an alcoholic beverage establishment. This can be done if you and your South Fulton motorcycle accident attorney can prove that they served the driver alcohol while the driver was already obviously intoxicated or underage.
Settlement Negotiation
Another area in which attorneys can help you in a motorcycle accident case is the negotiation process. Often, you will be up against opposing legal counsel, insurance companies, and others seeking to minimize the amount of compensation you receive.
It is far less likely that you will be taken advantage of by these groups if you have your own attorney on your side to protect your interests.
Limiting Your Percentage of Fault
Through all the steps of a motorcycle wreck claim in South Fulton, your attorney will seek to lower the percentage of fault attributed to you for an accident. The reason for this is twofold, per Georgia Code §51-12-33.
- Eligibility: You can only get compensation if you are less than 51% responsible for your accident.
- Amount of compensation: The compensation you receive is reduced by the percentage of blame attributed to you.
In other words, you can’t be the main cause of your injuries if you want to get compensation from the opposing party. For example, you would be unable to recover any compensation if you were 80% at fault for the wreck.
If you were 20% at fault, though, you could still seek compensation from the opposing party in your crash. However, the compensation you ultimately receive will be reduced by 20% as well.
Get a FREE Consultation With South Fulton Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Today
If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle wreck, one of our South Fulton motorcycle accident attorneys can provide you with a FREE consultation on the ways we can help in your case. It’s important to file your claim as soon as possible as you only have two years before the statute of limitations expires.
To speak with one of our attorneys, fill out the form to the right or let us know how we can reach you via our contact page.
