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A bicycle ride through Portland can be a fun and enjoyable experience—as long as motorists follow the rules. Unfortunately, some drivers fail to drive carefully or abide by Oregon’s traffic laws, causing serious collisions with cyclists.
If you are injured in a Portland bicycle accident, you may be eligible for financial compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit. By reporting your bicycle accident and pursuing legal action, you can recover a settlement to pay for two types of losses: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Many bicycle accident victims experience significant financial hardship after their collisions. Growing medical bills, weeks of lost income, property repairs, and other expenses can have a severe impact on a person’s finances.
If you are injured in a bicycle accident, you can hold the at-fault party liable for your economic damages, or the tangible, financial losses that you experienced. Examples of economic damages include the following.
Proving economic damages is relatively simple. For most expenses, you can supply evidence such as bills, invoices, medical records, appraisals, and pay stubs. For future expenses, a Portland bicycle accident lawyer can enlist the help of expert witnesses, like medical professionals, who can evaluate your case and calculate your long-term damages.
In addition to financial hardship, many Portland bicycle accident victims experience significant physical pain and emotional trauma due to their collisions. If you are injured in a bicycle accident, you can also recover compensation for the non-economic damages that you experienced, also known as pain and suffering.
Examples of non-economic damages in bicycle accident claims include the following.
Because non-economic damages are intangible and difficult to quantify, it can be challenging to calculate these losses without assistance. However, an attorney will leverage common formulas to accurately estimate this portion of your award. Under Oregon law, you can only recover up to $500,000 in non-economic damages.
If you plan on pursuing a bicycle accident claim, you may wonder how much your final award will be. However, many factors influence the value of a bicycle accident settlement. Generally, people who sustain very serious injuries usually recover higher settlements than those who experience relatively minor damage.
For example, if you suffered severe brain damage in the accident, you would likely require extensive, long-term medical care. You may be unable to work following your injury, and you would experience significant pain and suffering. Your final settlement will include all of these medical costs, lost wages, and non-economic damages.
Navigating a bicycle accident claim can be challenging, especially when it comes to estimating your damages. The optimal way to calculate your settlement is to speak with a Portland bicycle accident lawyer.
An attorney will have the skills and experience necessary to identify all potential avenues to compensation and estimate your final award. You can then use this information to evaluate any settlement offers that you receive, avoiding insufficient compensation.
As soon as possible following your accident, contact an accident lawyer in Portland to discuss your case and strategize your next steps. See here for more Portland bicycle accident FAQs.
If you were injured in an accident in Portland, OR, please contact our Portland personal injury lawyers at Tillmann Law Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today.
Tillmann Law Personal Injury Lawyers
101 SW Main St. #1905
Portland, OR, 97204
(503) 272-8986
Open 24/7
