Estimating Orlando Motorcycle Crash Damages and Losses

Motorcycle accidents are expensive. Even a low-speed collision can send someone to the hospital in an ambulance and force them to the brink of bankruptcy. At JustCallMoe, our team of dedicated Orlando motorcycle accident lawyers has helped many victims navigate the insurance claims process. You deserve fair compensation for all damages and losses. Let’s get started. We can review your case in a free, no-risk consultation and, if hired, fight to get the maximum settlement for your injuries.

Estimating Orlando motorcycle crash damages and losses is complex. Below, we review the key damages our clients request and what evidence is useful to support a claim.

Motorcycle Repairs

Any crash can damage your motorcycle. If you are not to blame for the collision, then the at-fault defendant should pay to fix your bike. You can request that it be put in the condition it existed in right before the crash.

Can you get a new bike? Probably not—unless it was new when someone struck you or forced you off the road. But we can request a fair amount to repair it or, if it was totaled, buy a comparable motorcycle.

Proof of damages: Share any repair estimate or bills with your lawyer.

Medical Expenses

A motorcycle accident can cause expensive, painful injuries. Medical expenses incurred after an Orlando motorcycle accident include:

• Ambulance transportation to the hospital;
• Diagnostic tests (X-rays, MRIs, blood work, and so forth);
• Prescription medications;
• Doctor’s visits;
• Specialist visits;
• Surgery and hospital overnight stays;
• Physical therapy;
• Behavioral therapy;
• Occupational therapy.

The amount of care you need will depend on your injuries. Someone who suffered a minor sprain will receive less than someone who is sent to the Intensive Care Unit with life-threatening injuries.

Regardless of the severity of your injuries, you should request compensation to pay for all medical care.

Proof of damages: Medical bills, insurance statements, receipts for prescriptions, and any other medical treatment.

Ongoing or Long-Term Medical Care

Some motorcycle accidents are so serious that motorcyclists will need ongoing medical care. They might never get back to normal, no matter how hard they struggle.

Financial losses after a motorcycle accident in Orlando may include reasonably certain future medical care:

• Future surgeries or doctor’s visits;
• At-home help;
• Ongoing physical therapy;
• Future prescription medication.

Proof of damages: Future losses are complicated to prove. Share medical records with your lawyer.

We might also interview your medical providers to gain better insight into your prognosis. We can also work with expert witnesses to help calculate the cost of future care.

Lost Wages and Reduced Earning Capacity

Serious injuries leave people in so much pain they can’t leave the house. For many, they cannot get back to work until their injuries improve. Financial losses after a motorcycle accident in Orlando may include lost income or wages.

We can request compensation for income loss, even if you are an independent contractor or work “gig” jobs. If you have ongoing disabilities, we can request reduced earning capacity. For example, someone who is paralyzed from the waist down probably cannot return to her job as a police officer.

Instead, she might have to take lower-paying work because of her disabilities. We can request compensation for all past, present, and future lost income.

Proof of damages. Share any proof of income, including W-2 forms, pay stubs, business records, bank records, and employment contracts.

Pain and Suffering

An accident victim can also receive compensation for bodily pain and suffering. These “non-economic” damages are harder to prove than the ones listed above, which have a market value.

Suppose you suffer a concussion, whiplash, and a broken leg. You can easily calculate your medical expenses: just take out your bills and add up the cost of medical treatment. But how much compensation can make up for the pain and disability you experience? That is a more subjective assessment.

At JustCallMoe, our team relies on our deep experience in personal injury law. We can research how much people with similar motorcycle accident injuries have received. That information provides a starting point for valuing your injuries.

Proving pain and suffering is hard. You can expect the other side to discount your pain and claim you are exaggerating.

Share a list of any pain medication you take, as well as a journal you have kept documenting your bodily suffering.

Emotional Distress and Mental Anguish

Motorcycle accidents also cause intense mental anguish or distress:

• Flashbacks and post-traumatic stress disorder;
• Depression;
• Irritability;
• Anxiety.

Just as you can receive compensation for bodily pain, you should receive something for mental anguish as well.

Some lawyers consider mental distress damages as part of “pain and suffering,” but we like to break them out separately. As with pain and suffering, however, mental damages are subjective. We’ll need to review what other injured victims have received for their injuries and request a fair amount.

Proof of damages: Share with your lawyer whether you take antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication or whether a doctor has diagnosed you with PTSD. We can also speak to family, friends, and medical professionals to document the severity of your distress.

Comparative Negligence (What Will Reduce Your Damages)

In Florida, a victim’s own negligence will reduce their compensation. For example, you might have been weaving in and out of traffic when a negligent driver struck you. Your negligence will likely result in a reduced settlement to account for your culpability in partially causing the accident.

Florida has changed its comparative negligence law recently. (Florida Statutes § 768.81.) However, as a general matter, your damages are reduced by your share of fault. If you are 40% to blame, you’ll get 40% less. Depending on your accident, you might even receive $0 if you are more at fault for an accident than the defendant.

Curious about How Much Your Claim is Worth? Call Us!

An Orlando motorcycle accident attorney is available to discuss your accident and how it has impacted your life. Schedule a free consultation with our firm to begin your case.