What Should You Recover after a Motorcycle Accident in Myrtle Beach?
A personal injury or wrongful death claim in a motorcycle accident relies on compensation available through insurance coverage. Therefore, the amount of money recovered in a lawsuit will be limited by coverage in insurance policies that may be applicable to the claim.
A defendant’s personal assets typically are not part of compensation, or “damages,” in a lawsuit. People are not ruined by lawsuits because insurance pays. A defendant who does not have insurance probably does not have assets that would yield enough compensation to seek in a lawsuit.
In addition to calculating your costs and losses from your accident, the motorcycle accident attorneys of the Law Firm of Regina B. Ward, LLC would work to identify all insurance coverage applicable to your claim.
South Carolina law requires motorists to hold minimum liability insurance coverage that provides:
- $25,000 per person for bodily injury (medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering)
- $50,000 for all persons injured (i.e., the maximum the policy will pay in total for bodily injury)
- $25,000 for property damage (your motorcycle, equipment, buildings, walls, fences, etc.)
In some accidents, responsible third parties may be sued for compensation, which may come from business liability insurance, for example.
In addition to the manufacturer of faulty motorcycle parts or a negligent local government, as discussed above, the employer of a driver on the job when he or she causes an accident might be held accountable. In South Carolina, a store, bar or restaurant that serves a drunk driver may be held liable for an accident their customer causes later.
A claim would also demand compensation from insurance policies the accident victim holds. For example, motorcyclists and other motorists in South Carolina are required to by uninsured motorist coverage (UM) that at least matches liability coverage minimums (25/50/25). UM insurance is meant to pay if an uninsured or hit-and-run driver causes an accident.
A motorcyclist might also hold such optional insurance as collision coverage and/or comprehensive coverage.
Compensation from one or more insurance policies may be sought to pay any or all of the numerous kinds of costs and losses a plaintiff may seek in a personal injury or wrongful death claim in South Carolina.
A claim may seek economic damages, or compensation for costs and losses calculated from bills, receipts and projected expenses, and noneconomic damages for additional losses that cannot readily be quantified in terms of money.
In general, a motorcycle accident claim would seek payment for:
- Medical costs, including all treatment, rehabilitation and custodial care (personal assistance in cases of disability).
- Property damage, to your motorcycle and/or other personal property
- Lost income, including lost wages and/or diminished earning capacity
- Burial costs (for a wrongful death)
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium (spousal companionship)
- Additional losses directly associated with your accident and injuries