Although it might seem like bike accidents and car accidents are very different there are many ways that they are similar. Once of these ways is the compensation that you will receive at the end of a case. As with car accident cases, the type of compensation that you can receive depends on the particulars of your case. This includes the severity of your injuries and where fault is placed. There are a few different ways you can receive compensation.
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Economic Damages
- Medical Expenses: Under the umbrella of economic damages are your medical expenses. After you have gone to the emergency room, seen your primary care physician, and gone through reparative care, your medical bills might be very high. Especially after a bike accident, which can cause extremely serious injuries. Documentation is important to prove your injuries, and your attorneys team can help you collect all of them effectively.
- Lost Wages: If you were in an accident, and your injuries caused you to miss work, you could see compensation. This could mean you have a doctor note releasing you from work, you missed for treatment appointments, or you lost out on job opportunities resulting in lower pay. If you injuries prevent you from returning to work in the future, you can also get compensation for future loss.
- Property Damage: After a bike accident, your bike is most likely totalled or in need of repairs. You can be compensated for the repairs or for the cost of your bike to replace it. You can also get compensation for your helmet, phone, or clothing that gets damaged as well.
- Other Costs: If your injuries require you to get household help cleaning, hire rides to medical care, or other costs, you can receive compensation.
2. Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and Suffering: After an accident, you can ask for compensation to cover the pain and suffering you experienced. This is affected by the severity of injuries, time spent recovering, and impact on your life.
- Emotional Anguish: This damage comes from the anxiety, PTSD, depression, and fear of riding you can experience after an accident.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: An accident can mean that you are not able to participate or enjoy your usual hobbies or daily activities, like exercise. This can cause a significant decrease in your happiness and time spent with family.
- Loss of Consortium: Injuries can have a significant impact on your relationship with a spouse. Not only stress on your situation, but a loss of companionship and/or intimacy. In some cases, divorce or separation has resulted from the stress and issues built up. You can claim this in your case.
- Disfigurement: If you received a permanent disfigurement from the accident, like a scar, visible injuries, or permanent dysfunction of your body, this can be compensated as well. Even if the scar is a result of a surgery, you can claim this.
3. Punitive Damages
Though this is not common, it can be very lucrative in a case. To have punitive damages in your case, you need to be able to show the driver was at fault for egregious or reckless behavior. This can be drunk driving, excessively speeding, or other blatant traffic violations.
4. Wrongful Death Damages
If a family member passes away in a car accident, the family can seek out recovery. This can cover funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship.
There are a few factors that can affect your compensation, which include injury severity, fault and liability, evidence, insurance coverage, and state laws.
The attorneys at Flickinger Boulton Robson Weeks want you to get the fairest compensation that you deserve after a bike accident, especially if you have experienced serious injuries.
Flickinger • Boulton • Robson • Weeks Can Help
Bike accidents can leave cyclists with lasting injuries, medical bills, and other trauma. If you’ve been seriously injured in a bicycle accident, call the personal injury experts at Flickinger • Boulton • Robson • Weeks right away.
We are located in Northern Utah and have represented clients for over 25 years. We’re experts at what we do, so you can trust us to take care of your personal injury case. Contact us today to set up a free case evaluation to see how our services can help you.
