La Porte County Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Motorcycle accidents cause life-threatening and life-changing injuries, resulting in medical expenses that cause a great financial burden.
Motorcyclists who are injured in an accident caused by another should immediately contact a La Porte County motorcycle accident lawyer to begin legal action. A qualified personal injury attorney can advocate for you.
Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Motorcycle riders are exposed and can be thrown in a crash causing head trauma, brain injury, and spinal cord injuries as well as broken bones and lacerations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 80 percent of motorcycle crashes result in injury.
Indiana Laws Regarding Negligence
Personal injury law is how motorcycle accidents are handled, and at the center of personal injury is negligence, the failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.
Indiana adopted the modified comparative negligence standard. It reduces the amount of damages claimed by the percent of fault a person has in causing an accident. If the injured person is 50 percent or more at fault, then no damages may be recovered.
Five Elements Needed to Prove Negligence
A claim for negligence requires proof of five elements by a preponderance of the evidence. The first element is duty of care. A person has a legal responsibility to behave in a way that a reasonable person would behave in a similar circumstance to prevent harm or property damage to another person or an entity.
The second element is breach of duty which is an act that is in violation of the duty of care. The third element would be causation in fact, referring to the breach that caused the accident. The fourth element: proximate cause which supposed to show that a particular and foreseeable result occurred due to the breach. Lastly, there are damages, which shows that actual financial loss resulted as a result of the breach. A La Porte County motorcycle accident lawyer can help an individual prove the elements needed to recover damages.
Possible Damages
La Porte County motorcycle accident law allows certain damages in an attempt to make the injured party financially whole again. Common damages available for motorcycle accidents are:
- Medical care, hospitalization, x-rays, and other necessary medical care
- Therapeutic treatments and necessary equipment
- Loss of current and future income
- Disability resulting from head trauma and spinal cord damage
- Disfigurement
- Loss of companionship
- Punitive, to punish if the negligence resulted from a horrendous act
- Property damage
To prove the amount of damages claimed, a La Porte motorcycle accident lawyer can collect all injury-related medical documents and calculate future expenses.
How a La Porte County Motorcycle Accident Attorney Can Help
A La Porte County motorcycle accident lawyer can aggressively pursue the physical evidence from the accident scene and build the best claim possible under the circumstances.
In preparation for a lawsuit, the motorcycle accident lawyer may use the law’s discovery process. Through the discovery process the attorney may question all parties and witnesses under oath to develop testimony used at trial.
The attorney will prepare for trial but personal injury lawsuits usually settle out of court. Then, the insurance company’s lawyers will try to reduce the amount of damages. However, a La Porte County motorcycle accident lawyer can work to achieve a fair amount that meets the accident expenses. If you contact us today, you can trust that we will work hard for you.