If you have been injured in a California motorcycle accident that was not your fault, you may be trying to figure out what your motorcycle accident case is worth. You may have asked friends or family and gotten a number of different opinions as to how to determine the value. According to California motorcycle accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, many people are under the impression that there is a “formula” for determining what your accident case if worth. The truth is that there is no magic formula. Each case is different and brings with it different facts and factors that go into determining the ultimate value of the case. California law allows injured plaintiffs to receive compensation for both economic and non-economic injuries. The economic injuries are things that have a quantitative value and include things such as medical bills, property damage to your bike and time lost from work. These damages are relatively easy to calculate and generally are not the source of much debate in your motorcycle accident case. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are much more subjective and difficult to put an exact value on.
In California, non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability, disfigurement, humiliation, loss of use, mental anguish, loss of love, support and companionship and loss of consortium when applicable. As you can see, there are many components to the non-economic side of a motorcycle accident case. Determining the value of your non-economic injuries will depend on many factors. The extent and severity of your physical injuries will play a part in determining your non-economic damages. There is generally a direct relationship between the two – but not always. Your age, general health, occupation and many other individual characteristics will also be used to determine the value of the non-economic damages. If, for instance, you received a broken ankle in your accident that was expected to return to 98% capacity you might not have suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the injury. BUT, if you were an athlete and that brake will prevent you from ever competing again your emotional distress may be severe. This illustrates the reason why there is not an exact formula for determining the value of your motorcycle accident case. The law is intended to compensate you for all the injuries you received and therefore requires an individual evaluation of each case to determine what those injuries are. Only after your own individual characteristics and circumstances are evaluated along with the physical injuries that you suffered can a realistic determination be made about what the value of your motorcycle accident case really is.
If you have been the victim in a California motorcycle accident and would like a more detailed and personal evaluation of your case to determine what the value may be, then please contact the motorcycle accident law firm of Ledger & Associates for a free evaluation. They can be reached by calling their toll-free number at 1-800-300-0001 or you can visit them online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
