If you or a loved one is suffering from injuries from a motorcycle accident, you may be dealing with severe physical pain, emotional trauma, disability, insomnia, and mounting medical bills. You may even be grieving a loss of life.
You do not have to endure the aftermath of a motorcycle accident alone. A Virginia motorcycle accident lawyer at the Parrish Law Firm, PLLC serving Gainesville, can inform you about your rights and options. Let our legal team lift some of this heavy weight from your chest so that you can breathe a sigh of relief and focus on recovery.
From Whom Can I Recover Compensation for My Motorcycle Accident?
You can pursue compensation from any person or company whose negligence caused the accident. In some cases, the facts limit a determination of fault to the operator of another motor vehicle. In other cases, multiple parties could be at fault.
A municipality could be responsible if negligent road maintenance created an unreasonably dangerous road condition. Negligently designed or manufactured motorcycle components or personal protective equipment could also be at fault.
Virginia allows a motorcycle accident victim to recover damages from multiple parties. It is important to explain your case to a motorcycle accident lawyer who knows what questions to ask to protect your interests and fight for your rights.
What Damages Are Available After a Motorcycle Accident?
Motorcycle accident injuries vary from one case to the next. In general, the following are the types of damages the Parrish Law Firm, PLLC has helped our clients recover:
Special Damages
- Reimbursement for medical bills (e.g., hospitalization, surgery, emergency transport, costs for traveling to appointments)
- Pain management expenses
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Mobility aids, home modifications, and/or medical equipment
- Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or vocational therapy
- Counseling services
- Household maintenance (if routinely done by the victim but now impossible)
- Childcare (if accident necessitated this expense)
- Lost wages or self-employment profit
- Future earning capacity losses, including retirement earnings
General Damages
- “Pain and suffering” and inconvenience
- Impact of amputation, scars, limps, or disfigurement on quality of life
- Loss of certain family relationships
How much you can recover for your accident depends on your unique circumstances. Jim Parrish and his team work with financial and vocational experts to determine the costs of the accident and how it has affected you.
How Long Will It Take To Get A Settlement?
No one can predict the amount of time it will take to resolve your case. The settlement negotiation process can take weeks or months and, in some cases, years. When you trust our law firm to handle your case, we negotiate for you.
If the insurance company refuses to settle or the negotiation process is extensive, we will file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf. We take this extra step to ensure your case can go to court if needed.
In Gainesville, you generally have:
- Two years from the date of the accident to file your personal injury lawsuit, per Code § 8.01-243
- Two years from the date of a loved one’s demise to file your wrongful death lawsuit, per Code § 8.01-244
Failure to comply with Virginia’s statute of limitations could prevent you from getting any compensation at all. When we represent you, we ensure the filing of your lawsuit within the allotted time.
Gainesville Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Near Me 571-229-1800
How Do I Prove Another Road User Caused My Accident?
In all injury cases, you have the burden of proving that the other party caused the accident. Because of the uncertainties involved in determining the direct cause of an accident, our legal team may employ the expertise of an accident reconstructionist. This type of testimony could be persuasive to an insurance company or a jury to help ensure that the blame falls on the right party or parties.
Other expertise that an insurance company or jury may need to see or hear is that of a medical professional. Medical professionals are sometimes a vital part of a legal team.
Doctors and specialists can help prove “within a reasonable degree of medical probability” (those are the “magic” words required by Court rules) that certain injuries resulted from an accident. They can also provide a prognosis concerning those injuries.
If another person or company’s acts or omissions directly caused the injuries, the burden remains on the victim to prove the extent of all injuries and the consequences of those injuries.
Proving liability is a hurdle that people sometimes forget. It takes a conscientious eye to anticipate arguments and defenses that an insurance company is likely to make.
Jim Parrish knows what defenses the insurance company is likely to use as he used to represent them. He now uses that information to help the other side — vulnerable, injured victims.
How Do I Prove The Cost of My Injuries?
Our law firm takes care of evidence collection for you. That includes compiling your medical records and bills. This process can take time because we ensure we have records and bills from every physician and facility where you received treatment related to your accident. Doing so ensures your compensation request is accurate.
Injury-related evidence we collect for you includes:
- Emergency room
- Hospitalization
- Therapy and rehab
- Assistive devices
- Prescription records
We also obtain a copy of your written prognosis. It allows us to anticipate the cost of medical care your injuries will require after your case has been resolved. We take this step to ensure your request for compensation is accurate and comprehensive and that you are not forced to pay out-of-pocket expenses later.
Our team will collect other evidence that supports your case,- including your motorcycle accident report and witness statements. We obtain employment and financial records that prove the monetary value of your income loss and canvass the accident scene and surrounding area for photos and videos that captured details of the collision.
Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Not Wearing a Helmet?
Yes. However, not wearing a helmet can complicate your claim.
Virginia law requires motorcycle operators and passengers to wear helmets, as well as goggles or safety glasses if the motorcycle does not have a windshield or safety glass.
While the law requires helmet use, it also establishes that not wearing a helmet is not an example of negligence per se. This means that not wearing a helmet does not prevent you from filing a claim for compensation.
However, not wearing a helmet can affect what you can recover compensation for. If wearing a helmet could have helped prevent a certain injury, you might be unable to recover compensation for that injury.
Consider the following: you suffered broken ribs, road rash on your arm, and a traumatic brain injury in your motorcycle accident. You would be able to recover 100 percent compensation for the broken ribs and the road rash; however, you might have serious problems recovering for the costs of your brain injury because wearing a helmet could have prevented it. Of course, that is something with which an experienced lawyer, like Jim Parrish, can help.
See Why Personal Injury Clients Choose and Recommend Our Law Firm
When previous personal injury clients talk about the legal service and support they received from our firm, they leave reviews like the following:
- Maritza: I needed help to settle a claim with an insurance company. Mr. Parrish took my case immediately and started working on it to make sure I got what was fair. He was able to obtain 10 times more [than] what I could have obtained on my own…Thank you!
- Daniel: Jim Parrish‘s knowledge of the law, depth of experience, and a natural skill for assessing a situation and devising a strategy for success are impressive. He and his staff kept me well informed…I strongly recommend this attorney and Parrish Law Firm, PLLC.
Our team works hard to provide a communicative, responsive client service experience. Read additional recommendations and watch video reviews on our client testimonials page.
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Get Answers to Important Questions During a Free Consultation
Talking to a motorcycle accident lawyer right away can spare you from making mistakes in your case. You can gather important information such as:
- Is your case vulnerable in any way?
- Is there evidence you should be preserving and, if so, how?
- What should you say to the insurance companies? What should you not say?
Call our case review team to speak with a Parrish Law Firm, PLLC representative today.
Call or Text 571-229-1800 or Complete a Free Case Evaluation form
