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Due to the lack of protection that motorcycles provide, their riders are much more vulnerable in crashes than occupants of other vehicles. When a motorcycle accident leads to fatalities, the consequences can be devastating for those left behind. While no amount of money can make up for the death of a loved one, survivors may have a wrongful death claim. In addition to helping with the financial losses related to the death, these claims can help people get a sense of justice.
When fatal motorcycle accidents in Chicago are the result of another person’s reckless or negligent behavior, then it can give rise to a wrongful death claim. The other party’s behavior does not need to be malicious or even reckless to support this claim.
A wrongful death claim requires proving several vital elements—a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and harm. The at-fault party must have owed a duty of care to the biker. This is one of the easiest elements to prove since all drivers on the road owe a duty of care to drive carefully and observe the law.
The other party has to have breached the duty of care. Evidence that the other party violated the law can show that they breached their duty of care but survivors do not have to prove that the other party broke the law. A breach of the duty of care can just mean that the driver failed to act like a reasonable driver under the same circumstance, which is negligence. Recklessness and intentional misconduct can also demonstrate a breach. Since failure to see a biker is one of the leading causes of motorcycle accidents, it is essential to understand that this failure is a breach of that duty.
For a wrongful death case, the breach has to lead to the victim’s death, though it does not have to be the only cause of the death. For survivors of a person who died in a Chicago fatal motorcycle accident, those damages can include financial losses like lost income and funeral expenses and emotional losses like loss of companionship.
In a claim involving the death of a loved one, the victim’s personality and the role that they played in people’s lives are critical. The more involved and important they were in someone’s life, the more likely the survivors will get a substantial recovery. Some of the damages in a wrongful death claim include:
In other words, the damages look at two different components of the loss. The first component is economic. How much money has the victim’s death cost the money, either through expenses or through financial losses? The survivors should be entitled to compensation for those losses. The second component is non-economic. What type of emotional distress did survivors experience as a result of that loss, and what type of compensation would make those survivors whole?
Making those calculations can be challenging. To come up with the compensation for a fatal motorcycle accident in Chicago includes considering factors like the victim’s age, health, earning capacity, and their relationships with the survivors.
The aftermath of a loved one’s death can be a traumatic and challenging time. In a wrongful death scenario, time is not a luxury survivors have. You need to learn about your potential remedies and begin gathering evidence so you can preserve your right to bring a claim. Schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer to learn more about your rights and responsibilities after fatal motorcycle accidents in Chicago.