Along with compensation for motorcycle medical expenses, and what motorcycle lawyers get for property damage as a result of your accident, you may be entitled to a monetary reimbursement for any pain and suffering as a result of your Pennsylvania motorcycle accident.
Call Lee at 888-292-5352 for a free consultation.
Pain and suffering is the compensation (money) for the physical (pain) and emotional stress (suffering) caused from your injuries.
Lee D. Gaber, Esq., is Pennsylvania’s top motorcycle lawyer, handling more claims than any other motorcycle injury lawyer in PA, and winning large pain and suffering compensation amounts in Pennsylvania motorcycle accident claims.
Some damages (another term for monetary award) that can be sought by a motorcycle lawyer in Pennsylvania under the pain and suffering heading would be:
- scarring from your injury
- severe aches and pains resulting from an injuries
- limitations on usual activities (temporary / permanent)
- shortening of life expectancy due to injuries
- depression after a cycle incident
- and more
Pennsylvania Motorcycle Accident Claims
An attorney filing a motorcycle accident claim will seek compensation for actual money that is lost as a result, as well as money for the pain and suffering that is always associated with any personal injury.
In a lawsuit, pain and suffering is part of the “general damages” section of the claim.
Alternatively, it is an element of “compensatory” non-economic damages which allows for mental anguish and/or physical pain recovery that is endured by the victim as a result of the personal injury.
The settlement depends on factors such as the severity of the injury, length of recovery time, type of medical treatment required, and the potential for long term negative consequences.
An example of this emotional trauma would be a visible scar on the victims face that can lead to emotionally painful feelings of embarrassment and insecurity on a continual basis.
Amount of Monetary Damages
The amount of monetary damages a motorcycle lawyer in Pennsylvania can get for your suffering also depends on the amount the lawyer claimed in your motorcycle accident lawsuit.
Even though a motorcycle injury lawyer may claim a large amount for pain and suffering in PA, the jury or the insurance adjuster will be willing to award money to the degree they are convinced you deserve it.
That is where your motorcycle lawyer is very valuable.
The personality of the injury victim, the witnesses and perceived effect of the personal injuries on the victim’s life will play a powerful role in the damage award – if damages are awarded at all.
The power and personality of motorcycle accident attorneys may also come into consideration regarding the amount of monetary damages that are awarded in motorcycle accident claims.
A motorcycle accident law firm will seek a maximum monetary amount for pain and suffering. Jury awards for pain and suffering vary depending upon the level of injury, ore even socioeconomic and political factors motivating them at the time in the particular jurisdiction of the suit.
For example a brain injury, one of the most common injuries in a motorcycle accident can have lifelong aftereffects. This type of injury may garner much more in damages than a skeletal injury.
The law generally restricts where we are allowed to file suit in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania. The jury pool can differ from county to county, which can affect how willing the jury is to award high pain and suffering awards. Therefore a settlement is preferable to rolling the dice with a jury.
Because as clients ride their motorcycles, they see many other bikes on the road and it leads them to believe that if they do end up facing a jury trial, the pool of potential jurors will be filled with other motorcycle riders.
That is rarely the case.
In many of the jury trials I have been involved with over the years, you would be surprised that a majority of the people sitting on the panel have never been on a motorcycle, nor do they have any desire to ride one, and therefore we generally end up with a jury panel of between 8-12 people, most of which don’t have much sympathy for an injured biker.
In Pennsylvania places like Montgomery County, Chester County, Delaware County, Lehigh County, Northampton County and Bucks County, if you go for a ride, you will see motorcycles on almost every street, which may lead you to believe that if a jury trial becomes necessary, those are the “peers” you are going to see waiting to be selected to sit on your jury.
However, the reality is that most of the individuals that get selected to serve on the jury have never operated a motorcycle and carry with them the negative feelings about those who enjoy riding.
Although Pennsylvania is fifth in the number of registered motorcycles with almost 900,000 bikes licensed and registered, when you compare that number to the number of residents that are over 18 and are eligible to sit on a jury panel, you quickly come to realize that most of the potential jurors do not ride a motorcycle.
If you factor that in, along with the state of our overall economy, you are going to find that most juries are not looking to award large amounts of money to an individual who is complaining about neck or back pain unless there are substantial residual injuries from surgery or loss of the ability to work.
The bottom line is, “The Best” motorcycle accident cases settle out of court and unfortunately cases where there is a question as to liability and/or the severity of the injuries are the ones that end up in front of a jury.
Discussion of your motorcycle accident case on the internet
Once you are involved in an accident, nothing about that accident should ever be discussed on the internet.
Defense attorneys are asking the courts to give them access to clients’ Facebook pages more and more frequently, and those attorneys often employ people to scour the internet for information about you and your social media or websites that may help them.
Not only can this potentially lead to some embarrassing moments, but it could also be used to discredit whatever claims you may be making as a result of your Pennsylvania motorcycle accident.
Posting any details about your accident or recovery progress on internet blogs, websites, chat groups and the like can hand them valuable information that they can use to make a case for less damages to be paid out to you.
This is the new reality of what we as Pennsylvania motorcycle lawyers are faced with in helping your to recover money for your pain and suffering.
All Pennsylvania Motorcycle Accident Claims Are Reviewed For Free
The first consultation is always free, and actually, there is never a fee charged unless we successfully resolve your motorcycle accident claims.
By contacting a lawyer who focuses his practice on motorcycle accidents you will immediately get answers to all of your questions and will be able to make sure that all of your rights are being protected from day one.