While they aren’t as common as motorcycles or unpowered bicycles, plenty of people ride electric motor scooters and mopeds all over the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For the most part, people riding these smaller machines also have the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else operating any other kind of vehicle on public roads. Unfortunately, they can get seriously hurt in accidents too, especially if they’re acting responsibly while someone else around them isn’t.
If you’ve been seriously injured in a VESPA/motor scooter accident in Bethlehem, you have a deceptively short amount of time to build and then file a civil claim to seek financial compensation for the harm you’ve unfairly suffered. Help from a seasoned motorcycle accident attorney can be vital not just to getting the most money possible from your unique claim but often to getting paid anything at all.
When Can You File Suit over a Motor Scooter Accident?
One very important thing to understand about VESPA collisions in Bethlehem is that they, like pedestrian and motorcycle crashes, aren’t subject to the limited tort rules put in place by Pennsylvania’s no-fault approach to auto accident lawsuits. While people with limited tort car insurance coverage are not always allowed to file civil suit after a crash, none of those restrictions apply to motor scooters and moped operators who get hurt while riding due to someone else’s negligence.
That said, you’ll still need to be able to prove fault for your wreck through a preponderance of evidence—in other words, show through all available evidence that it’s more likely than not someone else caused your injuries directly through their own reckless or careless actions. Otherwise, the insurance company will likely refuse to cover your claim, and a civil court likely won’t side with you either.
Recovering for All Losses
Through a successful lawsuit or settlement demand over a motor scooter crash in Bethlehem, you can demand money for both economic and non-economic consequences of your accident. These damages include both objective financial losses that you can prove with things like bills and receipts and subjective personal losses that you have to assign a value to based on your own unique experiences. Specific compensable damages that often play a role in cases like this include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Loss of life’s pleasures
- Emotional anguish and psychological trauma
- Medical bills not already covered by insurance, including expected costs of future care
- Property damage
- Lost work wages, benefits, and long-term earning capacity
Even if your wreck has left you permanently disabled, you generally have two years at most under Pennsylvania law to actually file suit over it. Anyone who fails to act before this statute of limitations expires will almost never have any chance of getting civil compensation for that particular incident.
Talk to a Bethlehem Attorney About a VESPA/Motor Scooter Accident Claim
Motor scooters may not travel as fast as motorcycles, but they can still be dangerous if you’re not careful while operating one—especially if someone behind the wheel of a multi-ton car or truck isn’t careful while driving near you. Fortunately, a wreck can often be the basis for a civil claim, which could get you paid for every form of harm you’ve suffered due to someone else’s misconduct.
VESPA/motor scooter accidents in Bethlehem are much easier to handle proactively and effectively with help from winning legal representation. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to learn more.
