Although accident victims can file a motorcycle accident lawsuit, many cases settle outside of court.
A settlement occurs when an accident victim accepts an offer of compensation from an insurer and agrees not to pursue any additional claims in exchange for the payment. Many factors affect the amount of a settlement including:
- The extent of the accident damage
- The severity of any injuries
- The policy limits of the responsible driver’s insurance
- Whether fault in the crash was clear
- Whether the parties involved in the accident shared responsibility for the crash or one driver was completely to blame
In cases where both drivers were partly responsible, some states bar victims from pursuing a claim at all. These states have contributory negligence rules that prevent victims from obtaining compensation if they were even 1% responsible for a crash.
Other states have comparative negligence rules that allow accident victims to recover partial compensation even if they share fault. Depending on local rules, victims could pursue a claim if they’re up to 50% or 51% responsible for a crash in modified comparative negligence states. Or they could pursue a claim even if they were mostly responsible for the crash in pure comparative negligence states.
When comparative negligence applies, a victim’s damages are reduced based on their own level of responsibility. A driver who was 10% responsible for the crash could, for example, receive compensation covering 90% of losses.
