How Much Is My Kansas Motorcycle Accident Claim Worth?
Each motorcycle accident case is unique. There is not an average settlement value for motorcycle injuries in Kansas. You are entitled to fair compensation for your injuries, emotional distress, and monetary losses when another person causes your motorcycle crash. However, insurance companies make it difficult to recover fair compensation for damages.
Our Kansas City motorcycle accident attorney at the Law Office of Kevin J. McManus helps motorcyclists recover the money they deserve for motorcycle injuries. Through years of experience handling accident claims, our legal team has developed extensive knowledge and resources that can benefit you as you seek compensation for damages caused by a motorcycle accident.
If you or a loved one were injured in a Kansas motorcycle accident, call 816-203-0143 to schedule a free consultation with our experienced Kansas City motorcycle accident attorney.
Damages Recovered for Motorcycle Injuries in Kansas
Kansas motorcycle accident victims can recover compensation for non-economic damages and economic damages. Examples of damages recovered in a motorcycle accident case include:
- Lost wages, benefits, and future earning potential
- Nursing care and personal care
- Medical expenses and bills
- Pain and suffering caused by physical injuries, mental anguish, and emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life and reduced quality of life
- Disfigurement, impairments, scarring, and disability
The value of your damages depends on the facts of your case. Our legal team works diligently to maximize the value of your damages for motorcycle injuries in Kansas. We begin by evaluating your injuries and how they impact the value of your case.
Common Types of Injuries Caused by Kansas Motorcycle Accidents
A motorcycle accident can cause severe and catastrophic injuries. Wearing protective clothing, gloves, boots, and a motorcycle helmet can reduce the severity of motorcycle injuries. However, these protective measures do not prevent all motorcycle injuries.
Common motorcycle injuries include:
- Road rash (lacerations and abrasions)
- Head and traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Whiplash and neck injuries
- Fractures and broken bones
- Injuries to internal organs
- Herniated discs, spinal fractures, and ruptured discs
- Burn injuries
- Loss of limbs and amputations
- Soft tissue injuries and nerve damage
One of the significant factors that affect the value of a motorcycle accident claim in Kansas is the severity of your injuries. Catastrophic injuries and permanent disabilities increase the value of motorcycle accident damages. However, other factors can impact how much your motorcycle injury claim is worth.
Other Factors That Affect the Value of a Kansas Motorcycle Accident Claim
In addition to the severity of your injuries, other factors that could increase or lower the value of your injury claim include:
Financial Damages
Financial damages include the cost of medical treatment, nursing care, personal care, lost income, and out-of-pocket expenses. Generally, your financial damages increase with the severity of your injuries. More severe injuries mean higher monetary losses.
Careful documentation of financial damages is required to recover full compensation for all losses. You must have proof of each monetary loss or expense. Also, you may need to justify the cost as reasonable and necessary to recover compensation.
Strength of Evidence
You have the burden of proving fault, causation, and damages to recover compensation for motorcycle injuries. Most motorcycle accident claims are based on negligence. Negligence is the failure to act with the same or similar level of care that a reasonable person would have used in the situation.
You must have evidence proving:
- The other person owed you a duty of care
- That person breached the duty of care
- The breach of care was the proximate and direct cause of your injuries
- You sustained damages because of the breach of duty
If the insurance company believes that your evidence is not strong enough to prove each of the above legal elements, it offers a much lower settlement amount because it believes its chances of winning in court are high enough not to agree to a higher settlement amount.
Shared Liability
The comparative negligence law in Kansas allows the court to reduce compensation by the victim’s percentage of fault for the cause of the accident.
Therefore, if you share liability for causing the motorcycle accident, you may not receive the total value of your damages. If a jury finds that you are more than 50 percent at fault for the motorcycle crash, you are barred from recovering any money for your claim.
Insurance companies use comparative negligence to lower the value of motorcycle accident claims. Our experienced Kansas City motorcycle accident attorney helps you battle unfair and unjust allegations of comparative negligence.
Availability of Insurance
Kansas requires drivers to carry a minimum of $25,000 in car insurance for bodily injury per person ($50,000 per accident). Therefore, the most the insurance company owes you for your motorcycle injuries in Kansas is $25,000, if the driver carries minimum car insurance coverage. You can sue the driver for a personal judgment, but you might never collect on the judgment.
Our attorney can help you pursue an underinsured motorist claim through your insurance provider. If you carry underinsured motorist coverage, your insurance provider should compensate you for damages not covered by the at-fault driver, up to your policy limit.
How Can Our Kansas City Motorcycle Accident Attorney Help?
Fighting the insurance company for fair compensation for motorcycle accident injuries in Kansas can be challenging. Our personal injury attorney can help in many ways, including:
- Gathering evidence to prove fault by investigating the motorcycle accident
- Identifying all parties liable for your damages
- File insurance claims and negotiate settlement agreements
- Document damages and calculate the value of the claim
- Maximize the factors that increase the value of your motorcycle accident claim while minimizing factors that hurt your claim
- Protect you from unfair insurance practices
- Argue the case in court if necessary
Hiring our Kansas City motorcycle accident attorney gives you the resources and legal counsel you need to fight for the settlement you deserve for a motorcycle accident case. Unfortunately, the insurance company has many more resources than you do to fight a claim. Hiring our lawyer evens the playing field by putting resources on your side that can help you win your case.
Contact Our Kansas City Motorcycle Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation
At the Law Office of Kevin J. McManus, we work to get you the money you deserve for motorcycle accident injuries. We believe motorcyclists deserve to be treated fairly and with respect.
Contact our office for your free consultation by calling 816-203-0143 or completing our online contact form. Learn more about the value of your injury claim from our experienced personal injury attorney in Kansas City, KS.
Related Links: Do I Need a Kansas City Motorcycle Accident Attorney? What to do After a Motorcycle Accident in Kansas City Who’s At Fault for Causing a Motorcycle Accident in MO or KS? |