Peabody, MA Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
After an accident, your first call should be to 911. It is vital to get your injuries treated and get a police report of the accident to help with your potential insurance claim and injury case. However, your next call should be to an attorney.
When you get an attorney to help with your case, you can rest assured knowing that there is an experienced professional on your side who has your best interests in mind. Insurance companies often try to settle cases quickly and cheaply and avoid paying what they owe you, but an attorney representing you has a legal and ethical obligation to work to seek justice and get you the compensation you deserve.
For help after a crash, call the motorcycle accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan today at (617) 925-6407.
Common Injuries for Motorcycle Accident Victims in Peabody, MA
Motorcycle accident victims can face a wide range of injuries, many of which are incredibly serious. On a bike, you are exposed to all sorts of potential injuries as there is no car or shell around you to protect you, with the exception of a helmet and whatever additional padding you elect to wear.
As such, all of the following are common injuries motorcycle riders could face:
Road Rash/Abrasions
Sliding across a road surface with your bare skin or regular clothing can create serious abrasion injuries, often called “road rash.” When you come off your bike at highway speeds, it can take literal inches of skin off your body.
Paralysis
Serious injuries to the head, neck, back, and spine can cause paralysis. Victims of serious spinal injuries can find themselves facing partial or total paralysis below the point of injury. This can change your entire life and require adaptive entryways, doorways, and other features in your home to help you get around in a wheelchair – all of which are expensive damages.
Brain Injuries
Helmets do a lot to help prevent brain injuries, but they are not perfect. Serious brain injuries or penetrative injuries can leave you with lifelong disabilities and potentially require nursing home care or long-term hospitalization in serious cases.
Broken Bones
Nearly every bone in your body is vulnerable to breaking in a motorcycle accident. Victims often face broken arms and legs, but also broken ribs, collar bones, hips, and vertebrae. Many broken bone injuries can require surgery to set and reinforce the bones, especially in older adults.
Concussions
Although concussions are not as serious as other brain injuries, they can still be very serious. With a concussion, you could be left out of work for at least a few days while you recover, and you may need to take additional time away from activities, especially athletics and motorcycle riding.
Cuts and Lacerations
Serious cuts and lacerations can be simple enough to repair, but they can lead to massive blood loss and require treatment at a hospital.
Amputation Injuries
Traumatic amputation can occur in a motorcycle accident, especially if your leg is pinned between your bike and the ground or another vehicle. In many cases, injuries to the limbs are so severe that surgical amputation is necessary to save healthy tissue. This usually results in a permanent disability, as the limb cannot be saved or reattached in many of these cases.
Compensation Available for Injured Motorcycle Riders in Peabody, MA
After a serious injury, you could be left with extensive medical bills, substantial missed time at work, and incredibly high pain and suffering. Getting all of these damages compensated can be a challenge, and it often takes the help and experience of an injury lawyer to get you the damages you need.
Medical Bills
Medical bills are often paid by insurance in auto accidents in Massachusetts, but getting those damages paid in full can be difficult. In most auto accidents, your personal injury protection (PIP) would cover you. However, this coverage usually does not extend to motorcycle accidents.
Instead, the at-fault driver should be the one to cover your expenses, whether through insurance or a lawsuit. Getting these payments often requires going to court if their insurance company is unwilling to accept the high price of your medical care or refuses to accept that their driver was at fault.
Lost Wages
Again, PIP would normally cover some lost wages, but these benefits are unavailable for motorcycle riders. Instead, you will again have to rely on the at-fault driver’s insurance or a lawsuit against them.
Calculating lost wages can be complex. Lost wages for a set period of time are simple enough to calculate, but if you will have ongoing lost wages, the calculations are a lot more complex. If you will no longer be able to work at all because of your serious injuries, then we will need to project how much more time you would have worked in the absence of your injury as well as how much your pay would have gone up, taking into account any raises or promotions you might have received. Ultimately, these calculations can be performed by a financial expert.
If you did return to work but had modified job tasks or a reduced load with lower wages, we can compare your old and new wages and claim the difference as damages.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages are only available if you meet certain thresholds, but these thresholds are often met in motorcycle accidents because of the seriousness of the injuries. The term “pain and suffering” is a quite broad term meant to cover all “general damages” or “non-economic” damages. These are the damages that flow generally from an injury and represent non-monetary damages, such as emotional distress and physical pain.
Calculating how much these damages are worth is a very fact-sensitive ordeal. The general severity of your injury is a good guideline and is often used to calculate the baseline pain and suffering damages, but damages can be adjusted upward to account for more severe harm, such as lost abilities, changes to your quality of life, and ongoing pain.
Contact Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers Today
If you were injured in a crash, reach out to the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s motorcycle accident attorneys today at (617) 925-6407.
