Even though electronic bikes have a motor component, they are still bicycles. They deserve to be treated as such on the road. E-bike injuries can be traumatic, expensive, and even life-changing. If you were recently in an e-bicycle accident or otherwise injured by an e-bike, you have legal rights. One of these rights is to file an injury claim against the at-fault party’s insurance company. The purpose of any injury claim is to receive compensation for injuries and damages. However, how much compensation you should receive is often contested by those who stand to gain for not giving you full and fair compensation.
Accounting for Damages
Calculating your injury claim begins with an assessment of your damages. Your damages are the financial representation of the ways that you were hurt or suffered losses or inconveniences. Damages can vary from one claim to the next. Typically e-bike accident claims have economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages represent your financial losses or obligations created by the e-bike accident. They can include:
- Current and future lost wages and income for missed time at work due to medical appointments or recovering from your injury.
- Current and future medical expenses including ambulance, emergency room, doctor visits, prescriptions, physical therapy, and medical equipment
- Legal and attorney fees
To calculate your economic damages, you need to be sure they are all accounted for. Then, simply add them up to arrive at the sum of your economic damages.
Non-economic damages are quite different in that they don’t have a predetermined or easily calculated value. They can include:
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Emotional distress
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of a bodily function or a body part
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
In general, non-economic damages are calculated by using a multiplier. The multiplier is generally between 1.5 and five. If you suffered soft tissue or other relatively minor injuries, a lower multiplier would be used for your case. On the other hand, the highest multiplier will be used if you suffered catastrophic injuries that are life-altering, such as a paralyzing spinal cord injury (SCI) or a traumatic brain injury (TBI). If you suffered injuries that weren’t catastrophic but required surgery, time off of work, or temporary lifestyle adjustments, your multiplier would probably be mid-range.
For example, suppose your economic damages came to a total of $50,000. You broke your elbow and required surgery as well as eight weeks off work. A multiplier of 2.5 is used. In that case, your claim would be worth $125,000.
Other Contributing Factors
Most claims aren’t quite as straightforward as just calculating damages. The value of a claim can depend on other factors such as:
- If you had any liability in the accident
- The other parties liable for your injuries
- The available insurance policies involved
- Your location and recent settlements and court awards for similar cases in your area
- If and how your injuries may impact the rest of your life
Discuss Your Injury Claim with an E-Bike Attorney Today
You likely have many questions about an injury claim if you were recently hurt in an e-bike accident. Protect your legal rights and find out how much your claim could be worth by discussing your potential claim with a seasoned Orange County e-bike injury attorney today.
