• Broken bones
• Nerve damage
• Road rash
• Spinal cord injury
• Traumatic brain injury

Under California law, an injured motorcyclist can file a claim against the other driver’s insurance company to seek compensation for their harms and losses (known as economic and non-economic damages in the legal world). The harms and losses that form the basis for financial recovery in a personal injury claim include medical expenses such as visits to the emergency room, visits to your primary care physician, surgery, long-term care, and prescription medications.

In addition to medical expenses, you can seek reimbursement for lost wages. Many motorcycle accident victims are forced to take time off of work to attend rehabilitative treatments and other appointments. Those lost wages are recoverable, including if you had to use vacation time or your accrued sick days. If your injuries were so severe that you cannot return to your prior employment, you could pursue future wages, especially if you are diagnosed as disabled.

In addition to lost wages, you can pursue damages for your pain and suffering (these are the non-economic damages referred to earlier). Non-economic damages do not fit neatly into an invoice or spreadsheet. They include the stress and anxiety resulting from the collision and any significant decrease in the overall quality of your life. For example, if you missed your son’s baseball game to see the doctor or couldn’t walk your daughter down the aisle because your leg was broken.

Sometimes, your Fair Oaks motorcycle accident lawyer may also seek punitive damages. This is a financial award to an injured party that is not intended to make them whole or reimburse them for a loss. Instead, a jury’s award for punitive damages is meant to punish the at-fault driver for reckless and egregious conduct.

A jury in Los Angeles awarded an injured motorcyclist (and a former UCLA football player) $35 million for his injuries, according to ABC 7 News. The verdict was entered against Caltrans for creating a dangerous intersection that caused the accident. The motorcyclist suffered life-changing injuries. For example, he lost his leg and other extensive bodily injuries requiring thirteen correct surgeries. He will need a lifetime of medical care due to the accident.

The injured motorcyclist alleged that, in 2005, Caltrans ordered the painting of double-double yellow lines at a Redondo Beach intersection to prevent early left turns because of line-of-sight problems on the road. However, those lines were never painted. Despite evidence of multiple left-turning accidents at the same intersection, Caltrans failed to take action.

The motorcyclist sued Caltrans, a state agency, alleging that it knew the dangers of this intersection and failed to take reasonable steps to address it. The case went to a jury trial that lasted six weeks. Ultimately, the jury sided in favor of the motorcyclist.

Watch the video below to learn more about motorcycle accidents.

If you were hurt in a crash as a motorcyclist and have questions on your potential personal injury claim, schedule a free consultation with one of our Fair Oaks motorcycle accident attorneys at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400. Our lawyers are available anytime to provide free, friendly advice.

See our Verdicts and Settlements page.

^{Editor’s Note: updated [cha 7.13.23] Image by Jim Walker from Pixabay sb bw [cs 1171]}

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