Florida bike accidents can result in very serious injuries that require long periods of medical treatment, physical therapy and missed time from work. If you have sustained injuries in a bike accident, you may be able to recover monetary compensation – not only for your medical costs and lost wages, but also for your pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, and lost quality of life. Here’s our guide to the most common damages in a bike accident claim.
Medical Damages from Bike Accidents
Medical damages are a type of economic damage. This is because they can be calculated in dollars and cents, simply by looking at the injured person’s medical bills. A bike accident victim in Florida may be able to recover monetary compensation for the costs of all medical visits, physical therapy, and medical procedures, which are causally related to the bike accident and the injuries sustained therein. This is true even if health insurance paid for some or all of the bike accident victim’s medical treatment and bills.
Lost Wages Due to Bike Accidents
Like medical damages, lost wages are a type of economic damage. Bike accident victims may be able to recover lost wage compensation for the time they missed from work following their accident. This includes time missed from work for attending medical appointments and physical therapy sessions. To calculate lost wage damages, you would ordinarily take the employee’s hourly wage and multiply this amount by the number of hours or days missed from work. When workers are independent contractors, as opposed to employees, lost wage calculations can become more difficult. In this instance, an experienced attorney may be able to help you develop the formula for calculating the bike accident victim’s lost wages.
Damages For Pain And Suffering After a Bike Accident
Injuries that are sustained in a bike accident can be serious and debilitating. Accident victims must sometimes undergo serious and painful medical procedures, treatments, and physical therapy. The trauma of pain and suffering that accompanies a physical injury is compensable in the form of monetary damages. Unlike medical bills and lost wages, pain and suffering damages cannot be calculated using an exact formula.
Proving Pain And Suffering Damages from an Accident
Because there is no surefire method of calculating pain and suffering damages, the amount can sometimes be difficult to determine in bike accident cases. In some instances, a medical expert may be called in to testify about how long your symptoms are expected to last and whether or not you will require any future medical procedures.
Loss Of Earning Capacity After a Bike Accident
Sometimes those in bike accidents may sustain injuries that permanently impair their cognitive or physical abilities. Permanent cognitive limitations can stem from traumatic brain injuries, including severe concussions. Permanent physical limitations can result from broken bones, paralysis, or spinal cord injuries, to name a few. These permanent injuries and impairments can occur when bike accident victims fall from their bikes and strike their heads and bodies directly on the ground. Many times, these permanent injuries can significantly impact a person’s ability to work at the same job – or to work at all – and these job changes can have serious financial ramifications, which are fully compensable under the law.
If you need help filing a bike accident claim, reach out to a bicycle accident lawyer. Marsalisi Law offers free consultations. Our team has the experience you need to beat the insurance company.
