If you are involved in a motorcycle accident in Washington, DC and are interested in filing a claim the following is what you should know according to a DC motorcycle accident lawyer. This includes how long you have to file and what caps exist for damages. Reach out to learn about filing a motorcycle accident case in DC.
You will likely be filing your case in DC if any of the following applies:
Even if you live or work outside the District your case will likely be heard in DC if it gets to the point of litigation. Initially, after filing you will likely just dealing with the insurance company by notifying them of a claim and trying to resolve the case informally without litigation. If that is not ultimately successful and it’s decided that the best route is to file suit, then the likely place for that suit to be filed would be in the D.C. courts.
The damages available are past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, physical impairment, disfigurement, scarring, inconvenience, and any other economic or non-economic damages that have resulted from the negligence of the other party.
DC is one jurisdiction that does not have a cap on any sort of damages that would be involved in a motorcycle claim. Some jurisdictions have caps on non-economic damages, which are the pain and suffering aspect including physical pain, mental anguish, inconvenience, and physical impairment and disfigurement. DC is not one of those jurisdictions that has a cap.
Generally, there is a three-year statute of limitations, which means that the claim has to either be settled or suit has to be filed within three years of the date of the accident, or else the claim will be barred. On the other hand, if there’s a fatality involved, DC has a two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death cases. So the statute of limitations depends upon if the accident results in death. For someone who’s been injured, typically three years from the date of the accident. If it has resulted in a fatality, then the statute of limitations is usually two years from the date of death.
It really is best for the injured party to contact an attorney immediately, and that is because the situation warrants legal advice. The insurance companies are out to protect themselves and their driver, and they’re also going to have other investigative people on the scene and investigating the claim.
The other at-fault party has the insurance company’s representation, which means their adjusters, their attorneys, and their company representatives. The injured victim should not be left to their own devices but should get immediate legal advice as to how best to navigate all of the issues and how best to deal with the insurance company. People do not realize it, but there is no financial burden to contacting or hiring an attorney for this kind of case because they are based on contingency fees. That means the attorney only gets paid if and when there is a successful recovery in the case. There’s no out of pocket expense to the injured victim in hiring an attorney, the attorney only gets paid if and when there is a recovery at the end of the case.
There’s really no reason not to hire an attorney. Not many people have gone through the process of a motorcycle accident claim before, and if they have, they understand the complexity and difficulty of trying to navigate it without an attorney. There’s just no reason in the world not to hire an experienced attorney to advise and represent the individual because the experienced attorney is going to know how to maximize the injured victim’s recovery.
