Yes, you can get pain and suffering for a motorcycle accident in Georgia if you sustained a physical injury. The person you pursue for financial damages must be legally responsible for your injuries. Sometimes, more than one party causes or contributes to a crash. In that situation, you might be able to seek compensation from more than one negligent party.

The Elements of Liability in a Motorcycle Wreck

If you got hurt in a collision with more than one other vehicle, we will have to sort out who was at fault. We cannot sue every driver involved in the crash. We will need to talk to you and investigate the circumstances before we can determine whose conduct caused the accident.

We have to walk through these steps when we evaluate liability and prove all of these factors to have a claim against someone for your losses:

  • Duty of care. The person who caused the wreck must have owed you a duty of care. Everyone who operates a motor vehicle on the public roads owes the general public a duty to drive with caution and obey the traffic laws. This obligation includes giving one’s full attention to the road ahead.
  • Breach of the duty. When someone fails to live up to a legal standard of care, he is negligent. For example, a driver was reading text messages while driving through town. Choosing to be distracted by his cell phone and divert his attention away from the street was negligent.
  • Causation. The careless conduct must be the thing that caused the crash such as distracted driving. The car slammed into a motorcycle that had stopped at a red light. If the car driver had been paying attention instead of reading text messages, he would have noticed the motorcycle in time to avoid a collision. The negligence caused the accident.
  • Quantifiable losses. You must have sustained a physical injury that has measurable damage, like medical bills or lost wages, to satisfy this element. Once you establish the physical harm, you can go after intangible losses as well, like pain and suffering.

Sometimes more than one person makes a mistake that causes or contributes to an accident. We would have to prove all of these factors for each defendant to hold them responsible for your injuries.

How Multiple Parties Can Cause a Motorcycle Crash

Let’s say that the driver of a car was traveling too fast for the weather and road conditions on a rainy Georgia day. By the time he realized that the traffic signal had changed, he did not have time to stop before entering the intersection. When he tried to slow down, his brakes failed, and he crashed into a motorcycle.

If the car had just had a brake job, and the mechanic performed it incompetently, the motorcycle rider might have claims against both the car driver and brake shop.

Damages from a Motorcycle Accident

Every case is unique, so we cannot say how much compensation you might go after for your personal injury and other losses due to a motorcycle crash. Rest assured, we perform a thorough investigation of every motorcycle injury claim we handle so that you can get pain and suffering for a motorcycle accident in Georgia.

Here are some examples of the types of damages we have won for our accident clients:

Medical Expenses

This can include things like the ambulance, emergency room, diagnostic testing, doctors, surgery, hospital, prescription drugs, and physical therapy.

Medically Necessary Equipment

This can include items like wheelchairs, crutches, prosthetic limbs, adapted vehicles, and home modifications.

Long-Term Care

This is often necessary for catastrophic injuries like spinal cord damage or a traumatic brain injury that leaves the person in need of daily assistance with things like medical treatments or personal tasks of ordinary living.

Lost Wages

If you missed paychecks because of the accident and your injuries, you can claim these damages. This category can include salary, wages, self-employment, and other types of income.

Diminished Earning Potential

If your injuries mean that you cannot work as many hours as before or that you have to take a lower-paying job, you can claim these damages.

Pain and Suffering Such as Emotional Distress

This refers to the physical discomfort and mental anguish of getting hurt. Merely paying your medical bills does not compensate you for these items.

Other Intangible Damages

Depending on the nature and severity of your injuries, you might experience other losses, like disfigurement, loss of the enjoyment of life, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After we establish that you sustained a physical injury, we can pursue your intangible damages.

The facts of your situation will determine which damages we can pursue on your behalf.

Get the Help You Deserve for Your Motorcycle Accident Injuries

At S. Burke Law, we help people who suffer harm due to the carelessness of others. We fight hard to get our clients all the compensation they deserve, so that they can rebuild their lives. We treat our clients like family. Our clients receive personal, responsive legal services.

Call us today at (404) 842-7838 for a free consultation.