If you or a loved one has experienced a motorcycle accident near the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, you may qualify for a settlement package to compensate you for injuries, lost work, and emotional damage.
While the physical recovery from an accident is inevitable, victims should not be financially responsible for the monetary and emotional aftermath of another person’s negligence.
Dickman Law handles personal injury cases based in Missouri and the surrounding areas. A Lake of the Ozarks motorcycle accident lawyer can fights relentlessly to ensure that you’ll receive maximum compensation.
What to Do if You Are in a Motorcycle Accident
Following a personal injury as the result of a motorcycle accident, take the following steps to protect yourself and get the maximum payout for your bike accident claim:
- Get to a safe place: If you can, move to the side of the road to stay out of the way of approaching traffic.
- Gather evidence at the scene: This can include photographs, contact information for eyewitnesses, or anything that the negligent driver says to you.
- Seek medical attention right away: Even if you think your injuries are minor, seek medical attention. Adrenaline from shock often masks pain, and some injuries are only detectable through medical evaluations and tests.
- Find a motorcycle accident attorney: After one consultation, you will know the value of your claim. A lawyer will collect and analyze all the evidence and hold those responsible for your injuries accountable.
- Maintain a journal or visit a therapist: You should keep track of how your injuries affect you. This will come in handy when your motorcycle injury lawyer is calculating your non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.
For a free legal consultation with a motorcycle accidents lawyer serving Lake of the Ozarks, call 573-744-4878
How Much a Motorcycle Accident Is Worth in Lake of the Ozarks
There is no cap on the amount of money that a motorcycle accident victim can receive for their injuries. In a motorcycle accident case in Missouri, you will typically be awarded two types of damages: economic and non-economic. In some cases, you may be able to recover punitive damages.
Economic Losses
Economic damage compensates you for how your economic losses have affected you. The more severe your injuries, the more difficult it is to quantify your economic damages early on. But you will recover a larger settlement with the assistance of your Lake of the Ozarks motorcycle accident lawyer.
Economic losses include the following:
- Damage to property, such as your motorcycle
- Medical costs, such as:
- Visits to the emergency room and/or the cost of an ambulance ride
- Appointments for follow-up
- Rehabilitation of the body
- Medications
- Wheelchairs and other specialized equipment
- Modifications to the home or vehicle
- Nursing care at home
- Wages lost
Non-Economic Losses
Non-economic damages compensate you for the physical and emotional consequences of your injuries, both now and in the future. According to RSMo § 538.205(9), non-economic damages includes:
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Mental anguish
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of capacity to enjoy life
- Loss of consortium
No one can truly understand the impact of your injury, but a motorcycle accident lawyer in Lake of the Ozarks can fight for you to get a compensation package that handles the financial turmoil caused by the accident. They will strategize to put a jury or insurance company in your shoes and understand how you’ve been affected.
Punitive Damages
These are intended to punish extremely careless behavior. For example, when a drunk driver is sued on your behalf, your lawyer may seek punitive damages to make them think twice about driving while intoxicated again.
While these cases are uncommon, your motorcycle crash lawyer will fight to ensure that dangerous drivers who cause auto accidents in Lake of the Ozarks are made aware of how reckless their actions were.
Lake of the Ozarks Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Near Me 573-744-4878
Six Motorcycle Injuries That Qualify You for Compensation
Compared to cars, motorcycles are less stable and less obvious to oncoming traffic. Without the protection of being in an enclosed vehicle, motorcycle riders are 28 times more likely to die in a traffic collision than passenger vehicle occupants and four times more likely to be injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The increased risk of injury also comes with an increased chance of getting a higher payout from a motorcycle accident injury claim. Common injuries that qualify for compensation include:
- Ttraumatic brain injury (TBI): In a study of 104,472 motorcyclists injured in traffic crashes, 15% of helmeted riders and 21% of helmetless riders suffered TBI. Traumatic brain injury was responsible for 54% of the riders who passed away in this group.
- Injuries to the spinal cord: Paralysis can result from a spinal cord injury brought on by a collision. This type of catastrophic injury has the potential to leave you permanently disabled.
- Lower extremity trauma: According to an NHTSA study of lower extremity injuries in motorcycle crashes, these injuries occur more frequently than any other type of injury.
- Internal bleeding: Internal organ damage and bleeding can be caused by blunt-force trauma (a hard blow that does not break the skin) or penetration trauma (when something sharp, such as broken glass or debris, penetrates the skin in an accident).
- Fractures: Crashes happen quickly, and the rider’s leg may be caught beneath the bike when it falls. When riders catch themselves to break a fall, their wrists and arms can be fractured.
- Road rash: When a rider collides with the road surface during a crash, severe skin abrasions known as “road rash” occur. The severity of this type of injury can range from mild to severe, requiring immediate medical attention and making you vulnerable to serious infections and permanent scarring.
Click to contact our Lake of the Ozarks Personal Injury Lawyers today
When Is a Motorcycle Accident Attorney Necessary?
It is best to get in touch with a Lake of the Ozarks motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible if you are hurt in a motorcycle accident. Your lawyer will assess and investigate your case separately from the car insurance company to ensure that no evidence is overlooked.
Insurance companies frequently use deception to make victims question what their motorcycle accident claim is worth. Dickman Law will keep you updated every step of the way and will not stop working until you receive the full financial recovery you deserve.
Hiring a motorcycle accident attorney benefits you because they can:
- Examine every detail of your accident
- Collect important evidence, such as police reports and medical bills
- Collaborate with an expert network to determine who is to blame
- Establish negligence
- Collaborate with medical and economic experts to accurately assess your damages
- Negotiate your compensation package
- Provide you with highly rated legal representation in Missouri
- Take your case to court if a reasonable settlement isn’t reached
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Legal Deadline for Motorcycle Accident Injury Claims
If you were hurt or your bike was damaged in a motorcycle accident, there is a five-year statute of limitations for filing most auto accident injury lawsuits in the Missouri civil court system.
Under Missouri’s claimant-friendly “pure comparative fault” rule, financial recovery is permitted when the claimant was partially (or even mostly) to blame for the car accident.
Explore Your Legal Options With a Lake of the Ozarks Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
For thousands of clients, Dickman Law has recovered millions in settlements and verdicts. Prospective clients can request a free case evaluation with no obligation. A lawyer is ready to lead an investigation to get you the maxium compensation that you are entitled to.
In the event of a motorcycle wreck, contact us. A Lake of the Ozarks motorcycle accident lawyer will collaborate with the firm’s network of medical and economic experts to determine how much money you lost due to the accident, including adjusting for inflation.
Call or text 573-744-4878 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form