According to the Motorcycle Legal Foundation motorcycle accidents have an 80% injury or mortality rate, compared to car accidents which have 20%. Lower extremity injuries are the most common type of motorcycle accident injury with others including spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), whiplash and internal bleeding.

If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident,  you may be entitled to compensation from the party at fault for all losses stemming from your accident. An experienced law firm such as Morgantown Motorcycle Accident Lawyers can offer you a free case evaluation, advising you of your rights and your chances of success. This article will set out some of the legal aspects of bringing a personal injury lawsuit to give you greater clarity around your claim.

What Must Be Proved?
To be successful in a personal injury case, you must be able to prove the other party’s negligence was the reason for your accident and subsequent injuries. This means that the burden of proof is on you. In order to prove negligence the following elements must be established:

• Duty of Care: The other party must have owed you a duty of care. For example, drivers have a duty of care to other motorists for driving safely and avoiding injuring them while on the road.
• Breach of Duty: The other party must have breached their duty of care. This can be shown, for example, if their actions were reckless or put other road users at risk.
• Causation: It must be proven that the other party’s actions actually caused your injuries.
• Damages: You must have suffered quantifiable damages as a result of your accident for which you can be compensated financially. For example, medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, disability and lost income.

Successfully establishing the elements above will strengthen your motorcycle accident injury claim.

Duty to Mitigate
The duty to mitigate requires you to take reasonable steps to reduce the damages, injury, or cost you incurred as a result of your accident and prevent them from getting worse. This principle is based on fairness and ensures injured parties cannot recover losses that are unreasonable or unnecessary. For example, seeking medical attention in a timely manner can ensure your injuries were not made worse by your delay.

Failing to mitigate your losses could reduce the amount of compensation you can recover. For example, a court may rule that the injured party was partly responsible for their injuries due to their failure to seek medical attention in time. In this case, they will apportion a percentage of the fault to them and reduce the defendant’s liability accordingly.

It is important to be aware that the other party may accept they were negligent and at fault, yet could still raise failure to mitigate as a defense in order to reduce their liability and, therefore, the amount of compensation they owe you. In such a situation, the burden of proof will be on them to establish your failure to prevent or lower your losses. By taking reasonable steps to mitigate your damages you can counter or avoid any such defense.

The advice in this article can help you prepare your case and take the necessary steps to ensure a fair and successful outcome.