After a motorcycle accident, victims often wonder how they will pay all the expenses related to their injuries. While personal injury lawsuits are designed to help injured plaintiffs get compensation for their damages and injuries after crashes, many cases settle, leaving victims to wonder how much a “good” settlement is worth.
A good settlement will look different for every case, as victims’ losses vary. For example, while an offer of $50,000 might be great for someone who suffered minor physical injuries and had to replace a totaled bike, the same sum might be insufficient for someone who faced long-term hospitalization, extensive injuries, and expensive treatments. Determining whether a settlement is “good” requires looking at your own needs and the details of your case, which our lawyers can prioritize. We will itemize all economic damages, quantify intangible harms, and take your case to court if settlement negotiations are stalling or if we believe you could get punitive damages or a greater recovery in general by going to trial.
For a free case evaluation from our Maryland motorcycle accident lawyers, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291.
What Will a Good Settlement Be in Your Maryland Motorcycle Injury Case?
Good settlements are subjective and depend on motorcycle accident victims’ specific losses. Any amount that fails to cover your actual damages and leaves you on the hook for medical expenses or lost wages might be unfair and not worth accepting.
An ideal settlement should not require many or any concessions on your behalf, as our attorneys may leverage strong evidence during negotiations, convincing the opposing side to settle out of court for a large amount rather than going to trial.
Before filing your case, our lawyers will calculate its value so that we can include accurate requests for relief in the complaint. This will guide settlement negotiations or jury awards, and we can present evidence of your bills and expenses to prove you incurred them.
Many victims are most concerned with recovering their medical damages in settlements, and for good reason. One trip to the emergency room could cost thousands of dollars, with medical expenses only increasing as victims continue to get care from physicians and specialists. A good settlement should cover the cost of all current and future hospital expenses, and we can get medical experts to give supporting statements confirming upcoming rehabilitative treatments.
If you should accept a settlement offer depends on whether it adequately covers your expenses and if you could fare better at trial, which our lawyers can gauge throughout your case.
If you have strong evidence on your side and a high likelihood of success at trial, you stand in a better bargaining position, and we may use that position to get a bigger settlement on your behalf without going to court.
Regardless, our Dundalk motorcycle accident lawyers can review your case and help you get the best settlement possible while also explaining your potential recovery at trial if your lawsuit were to go to court.
Calculating Your Maryland Motorcycle Accident Injury Claim’s Value Before Settlement Negotiations
When deciding if a settlement offer is a good one, we will consider your total damages, including any injuries or losses you experienced because of your motorcycle accident. Economic damages are meant to put plaintiffs back in the position they were in before the accident, at least financially. Non-economic damages are losses that do not come with a stated value and whose worth is open to interpretation. To determine if a settlement offer is good enough for your case, you need to understand the total value of your losses, both tangible and intangible. Furthermore, if our lawyers find evidence of gross negligence, going to court might lead to punitive damages, which aren’t available in settlements.
Economic Damages
Good settlements should cover your economic damages, so our lawyers will start by calculating these losses. Economic damages come with an explicit price or value, such as hospital or motorcycle repair bills. Lost income from missing work while you recovered from your accident may also be covered, and our attorneys can estimate these damages based on proof of income.
People often fail to realize how extensive their economic damages are. While most people know to include the cost of a hospital visit after an accident in their relief requests, they might overlook costs for medication, physical therapy, and equipment like wheelchairs and crutches, which are also compensable. Even smaller expenses could add up, and our lawyers will seek compensation for all of them in a settlement or, if necessary, a jury award.
According to Md. Code, Cts. Jud. Proc. Art., § 11-109, economic damages include both current and future expenses. This means you can get compensation for the expenses you have already incurred and those you anticipate in the future, like upcoming medical treatments from specialists.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are also part of your overall compensatory damages and cover losses that do not come with a price tag. According to § 11-108(a)(2)(i), non-economic damages can include pain, suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of consortium, and other intangible harms.
These losses all cause some degree of mental anguish or physical pain, but they do not come with real monetary costs. Determining the value of non-economic damages requires analyzing how they have impacted your life, which our lawyers can do, along with mental health experts, whose statements we may leverage during settlement negotiations.
The greater the impact a motorcycle accident has had on your life, the more money your case might be worth. If you suffered serious non-economic damages, your settlement should be greater. Whether your case goes to court or settles, non-economic damages are capped at $950,000, and our Baltimore motorcycle accident lawyers can help you maximize your recovery based on the non-economic harms you suffered.
Punitive Damages
In Maryland, plaintiffs are not entitled to punitive damages. Punitive damages are those that go beyond mere compensation and seek to punish the defendant for their bad behavior or actual malice.
Since punitive damages are separate from compensatory damages, we must specifically request them when filing your lawsuit. To get punitive damages, your case has to go to court and we must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice rather than mere negligence. Actual malice could be an intent to cause harm, and we can gauge if punitive damages are on the table when initially reviewing the defendant’s conduct.
You won’t get punitive damages if your case settles out of court. Even courts are reluctant to award punitive damages unless the defendant’s behavior is particularly awful. However, if you have strong evidence of malice by the defendant, we may be able to negotiate for a greater settlement. To avoid a potentially high punitive damages award, a defendant may be more willing to offer a generous settlement offer, and our Annapolis motorcycle accident lawyers may be able to use that to your advantage during your case.
Punitive damages can be very high when juries award them. Not only that but Maryland places no cap on punitive damages, enabling some victims to walk away from lawsuits with much more than compensatory damages.
How Long Does it Take to Get a Good Settlement Offer After a Maryland Motorcycle Accident?
What makes a good settlement offer will depend largely on your damages and what you believe your case is worth. Like any other negotiation, you will argue for a larger sum, and the defendant will make a much lower offer. Our lawyers can continue negotiating and asserting your damages until we reach an agreement or take your case to court so you don’t have to wait longer than necessary for compensation.
Accepting a settlement sometimes means getting less compensation than what you originally asked for when you filed the lawsuit. However, some victims who need compensation quickly might accept lowball settlements right away so that they can start covering their medical expenses and other damages. Getting a fair settlement takes time, and the initial offers defendants send are typically unfair. Through leveraging our evidence and arguments, our lawyers may be able to reach a suitable agreement sooner, or identify if it is time to go to trial rather than wasting time negotiating with a stubborn defendant.
Settlement offers may even come during a trial. The defense might send offers before trials conclude, and our lawyers can evaluate these based on our calculations of your total losses before advising you to accept or decline.
If our lawyers sense that the opposing side is intentionally stalling settlement talks and has no intention to engage in good-faith negotiations, we can change directions and move forward with a trial so that your recovery is not unnecessarily delayed following a motorcycle accident in Maryland.
Once you file your lawsuit, there is no limit on how long settlement negotiations might take. In addition to preparing your case and overseeing settlement discussions or a trial, our lawyers will make sure to file your lawsuit on time and within the three-year statute of limitations in Maryland.
Call Our Maryland Motorcycle Accident Attorneys for Help with Your Case Today
Call the Maryland motorcycle accident attorneys of Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 for a free case assessment.