How Much Is My Bicycle Accident Claim Worth?

How much could my bicycle accident claim be worth?

The value of your bicycle accident claim is the total of your damages. Your damages include financial losses and compensation for physical anguish. Your damages account for the financial losses resulting from the accident, and additional amounts compensate you for the intangible losses that come with being the victim of a bicycle accident.

Types of damages in a bicycle accident claim

Here are the types of compensation you may request in a bicycle accident claim:

• Hospital bills
• Ambulance transport bills
• Medical equipment like bandages, crutches, transportation aides
• Prescription medications
• Follow-up medical care
• Nursing care
• Lost earnings/loss of work
• Property damages
• Mental injuries like flashbacks, depression, and anxiety
• Loss of use of limbs or bodily functions
• Inability to enjoy activities that you used to enjoy like bicycle riding
• Scarring or permanent disability
• Physical pain

How to calculate the value of your bicycle accident claim

Determining the value of your economic damages in a bicycle accident claim is quite straightforward. Add up your financial losses. These are all of the bills you have from the accident and all of the other ways you lose out on earning money because of the accident.

Your pain and suffering damages are more complicated. The severity of your injuries, the time it takes to recover physically, and permanent scarring all play a role in the value of your pain and suffering damages. Your attorney can help you value this category of damages in your bicycle accident claim.

Collecting your bicycle accident injury compensation

Even though you may carefully calculate all of the compensation you deserve, valuing your bicycle accident claim is more complicated. In a perfect world, you should recover the total amount of your damages. However, some practical difficulties may complicate the value of your claim:

Comparative fault

Even if you may have done something to contribute to the accident, you can often still recover some of your losses. However, your share of fault for the accident reduces the amount you recover. It’s up to the person who tries the case to ultimately apportion responsibility between the parties. If fault might be a question in the case, you can still receive a fair settlement through negotiations. It’s important to have evidence of the other party’s fault to make persuasive arguments during negotiations.

Disputes about the facts of the case

Just like questions of shared fault, disputes about the facts of the case may also play a role in determining the case’s value. If there are questions about how the accident occurred, the extent of your medical injuries, the recovery time for your injuries, or other disputes, these questions can impact the final amount of your settlement.

However, it’s important not to allow the other side to cast unfair doubt on your case. If you have strong evidence, your attorney for bicycle accidents can help you respond to unreasonable claims by the other side. Your attorney can help you understand when the facts are in dispute and when you simply need to present evidence to strengthen your case.

Legal questions that might complicate the case

In addition to factual questions that might complicate the case, legal questions can also impact the value of the claim. For example, if there is legal uncertainty about the admissibility of a critical witness statement, the uncertainty may affect the ultimate settlement of your claim. Your attorney can help determine how legal issues impact the case value.

Resources of the responsible party

The party responsible for your bicycle accident must pay your claim. That means they must have the resources to compensate you. If your damages total $50,000, but the responsible party only has $30,000 in assets, you may not recover more than $30,000. However, it’s important not to assume you don’t have a case if the other side has limited resources. There may be different ways to go about collecting the fair value of your claim.

For example, Nevada law requires all motorists to carry accident liability insurance. Even if the insurance policy is the driver’s only asset, it’s still an excellent place for a bicycle accident victim to seek compensation. The driver’s insurance policy may pay out to the policy limits. A motorist insurance policy may help you gather the compensation you deserve.

There may be additional places to look to collect compensation. If the driver is working for an employer at the time of the accident, the employer may have additional resources, including an insurance policy or the funds to pay a claim directly. When an accident occurs because of a manufacturing defect, the car manufacturer or even the bicycle manufacturer may be liable for the crash. A product manufacturer is likely to have the resources to pay your claim in full.

All of this is to say that the responsible party’s ability to pay your claim is an integral part of valuing your bicycle accident claim. However, it’s important not to assume that the other party doesn’t have the resources to compensate you. Your attorney can help you investigate sources to collect compensation.

Contact our experienced Las Vegas bicycle accident attorneys

Do you want to know the value of your bicycle accident claim? Our skilled Las Vegas accident attorneys can help. Let our team evaluate your claim and give you an honest idea of the value of your claim. Each day, we help bicycle accident victims fight for the compensation they deserve. Call Adam S. Kutner, Injury Attorneys, today to discuss your case.