Nobody can rewrite the past to prevent a motorcycle accident from happening in the first place. What California personal injury law can do is compensate you for your injury. You will likely need the services of a seasoned Sherman Oaks motorcycle accident lawyer at JUSTICENTER Personal Injury Lawyers, so contact us at 833-852-3600.
Although anger alone won’t win a motorcycle accident claim for you, righteous rage is a good place to start because it can motivate you. Motivation is what you acarre going to need while you are struggling to stay afloat during a devastating personal injury. Even after nearly a quarter-century of practice, we are still moved by what our clients are going through in Sherman Oaks, CA.
Leave the hard part to us while you focus on regaining your health after a motorcycle accident in Sherman Oaks, California. Contact our law office for a free consultation.
How JUSTICENTER Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You Win Your Sherman Oaks Motorcycle Accident Claim
We’ve been assisting clients just like you for a long time now. Our Sherman Oaks personal injury lawyers have accumulated decades of experience while winning millions of dollars for injured clients. The vast majority of our clients end up settling their claims out of court. If we cannot reach a fair settlement agreement, we are willing and able to take the case to court.
JUSTICENTER Personal Injury Lawyers can help you in the following ways after a motorcycle accident:
- Gathering evidence: Collecting and organizing relevant evidence such as police reports, photographs, and witness statements
- Expert witnesses: Locating and hiring accident reconstruction experts, medical experts, vocational rehabilitation experts, and other specialists who can provide testimony to support your claims
- Determining liability: Proving the fault of other parties by conducting a thorough investigation of the accident
- Assessing damages: Accurately calculating economic and non-economic damages to ensure that you receive compensation for all of your losses
- Negotiating with insurance adjusters: Handling negotiations with insurance companies to avoid inadequate settlements
- Drafting and filing court documents: Drafting and filing all required legal documents–complaints, settlement agreements, etc
- Litigation: Representing you at trial if necessary
- Advising you on whether to accept a settlement offer: Ultimately, however, you have the final say on whether to accept a settlement offer.
We offer our clients a variety of services after an accident. Contact our Sherman Oaks motorcycle accident lawyer to learn more about your legal options.
The Burden of Proof in Motorcycle Accident Cases
You don’t have to prove the defendant “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” anywhere except in criminal court. In a civil claim, you must prove the defendant “liable by a preponderance of the evidence.” “Preponderance of the evidence” means approximately “more likely than not.” Since it is much easier to win a civil claim than to convict a defendant of a criminal offense, you could win a civil claim even if the defendant is acquitted (of DUI, for example) in criminal court.
Proving Negligence After a Motorcycle Accident
Most personal injury claims, especially those involving traffic accidents, are based on negligence.
To win a negligence claim against a careless motorist, you must prove the following four elements:
- Duty of care: The at-fault driver owed you a duty of care. Each driver has the duty to drive carefully.
- Breach of duty of care: The at-fault driver failed to meet the demands of their duty of care. They might have broken a traffic law, for example.
- Damages: You suffered an injury or loss.
- Causation: The at-fault motorist’s negligence was the cause of your injuries. It must also be true that your injuries were foreseeable in light of the negligence committed by the at-fault driver.
If you can prove all four of these elements, the defendant may be liable and required to pay you damages.
Possible Defenses in a Motorcycle Accident in Sherman Oaks, CA
There are many possible defenses to a motorcycle accident claim. Under California law, you have until two years after an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss the deadline for the statute of limitations, the defendant can demand that the court dismiss your claim.
Under California’s doctrine of comparative fault, you can forfeit compensation to the extent that you were the cause of your own injuries. In a motorcycle accident for example, you might have contributed to the cause of the accident by running a red light. If it is found that you were 15% at fault, for example, you will lose 15% of your damages. If you were 99% at fault, you will lose 99% of your damages.
If you failed to wear your helmet a court might refuse to award you any damages for any head injuries that you suffered since you could have avoided them by wearing a helmet.
What Damages Are Available in a Sherman Oaks Motorcycle Accident?
California recognizes three types of damages—economic damages, non-economic damages, and exemplary damages. Economic and non-economic damages are designed to compensate you, while the purpose of exemplary damages is to punish the defendant.
Compensatory Damages
California almost always awards victorious plaintiffs the following two types of damages:
- Economic damages. These include medical expenses, lost earnings, and incidental expenses arising from your injury, such as child care during your recovery period.
- Non-economic damages. These include psychological harm such as physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Non-economic damages can amount to far more than economic damages.
Punitive Damages
A California court may award punitive damages against a driver if you can prove by a “preponderance of the evidence” that the driver is guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice. In the context of a motorcycle accident, for example, even a DUI accident might not be enough to justify punitive damages.
To win punitive damages, you might need a “road rage” incident in which the defendant intentionally ran you off the road. Some courts are more reluctant than others to award punitive damages.
The California personal injury compensation system really is a jungle of sorts. It is based on unrelenting competition between two adversaries, which are normally an accident victim and an insurance company, whose interests are absolutely adverse to each other.
Wrongful Death Claims After a Sherman Oaks Motorcycle Accident
If a motorcycle accident victim dies from their injuries, the California wrongful death act allows certain parties, including the victim’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, or children, to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death damages may be different from personal injury damages. Courts divide damages among rightful claimants.
Contact a Sherman Oaks Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
At JUSTICENTER Personal Injury Lawyers, we don’t charge by the hour; we charge by results. Our fee is set to a pre-agreed percentage of the amount you win. And since any percentage of zero is still zero, your legal fee will be zero unless we win your claim.
Since we charge no upfront fees, you don’t need any money to retain us. It’s the quality of your Sherman Oaks, California motorcycle accident claim that matters to us.
Call us at 833-852-3600 to schedule a free initial case consultation with our Sherman Oaks motorcycle accident attorney.
