Even if a motorcycle rider wears appropriate safety gear, follows traffic laws, and acts responsibly on the road, they may still be at risk of sustaining life-threatening or fatal injuries in a crash caused by another person’s negligence. If you recently lost someone you love under circumstances like this, you know better than anyone how this accident can be devastating and infuriating in equal measure, as well as financially debilitating.
Seeking civil recovery after a fatal motorcycle accident in Iberville Parish cannot completely erase the damage done to your family, but it could still be key to protecting your financial and personal interests in the aftermath of this tragedy. If you do decide to pursue legal action, you have help available from the compassionate motorcycle accident attorneys at Tomeny | Best, who know through past experience how to handle cases like yours effectively.
Establishing Fault for a Fatal Motorcycle Wreck
While a fatal motorcycle crash will always do immense damage to the deceased rider and to everyone who loved them, civil courts do not take the relative severity of an accident into account when assigning civil liability for its consequences. As with any fatal motorcycle accident, it will fall to the person who is bringing the claim, which in this scenario would be one of the deceased person’s immediate family members, to prove that the losses they have sustained were caused directly by the reckless or careless actions of the named defendant.
Depending on the circumstances, legal negligence leading to a fatal motorcycle injury in Iberville Parish could look like a violation of traffic law, a more broadly illegal act like drunk driving, or simply losing focus behind the wheel at exactly the wrong moment. Support from experienced legal counsel could be key to establishing how a particular fatal motorcycle wreck happened and to making sure the people who played a role in causing it are held financially liable for the crash’s effects.
How State Law Governs Wrongful Death Motorcycle Crash Claims
It is possible to recover for both objective financial losses and subjective personal ones—or, as use the legal terms for them, special damages and general damages—stemming from the loss of a loved one through a fatal motorcycle collision in Iberville Parish. A comprehensive claim can include but is not strictly limited to losses like:
- Emotional anguish
- Lost household services and assistance
- Lost love, companionship, and guidance
- Lost future financial support the decedent would have provided
- Costs of funeral, burial/cremation, and/or estate administration services
- Medical expenses paid on behalf of the decedent by immediate family members
A deceased person’s surviving spouse and/or children can always seek compensation through a wrongful death claim, but if there is no surviving spouse or children, other family members who can pursue a wrongful death claim after a fatal motorcycle crash include—in order of priority under state law—the decedent’s parent(s), the decedent’s sibling(s), and the decedent’s grandparent(s).
An Iberville Parish Attorney Could Help You After a Fatal Motorcycle Accident
Losing a loved one before their time is never easy to handle, and the idea of adding civil litigation to your plate right now may understandably feel less than appealing. You should know that you have help available from compassionate legal professionals who have helped families like yours through situations like this in the past, and who can make sure you are compensated as fairly as the law practically allows for the losses your family member’s death will cause you.
Fatal motorcycle accidents in Iberville Parish are not the kind of claim you should try to handle on your own. Call today to learn how a capable attorney from Tomeny | Best could assist you during a free consultation.
