Greenville Fatal Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

At The Melonakos Law Firm, we understand how painful it is to lose a loved one in a motorcycle crash, especially when someone else’s carelessness is to blame. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping surviving families pursue the justice and compensation they deserve.

While you focus on healing and mourning your loved one, we can get to work on your case by:

• Thoroughly investigating the crash to recover evidence of the other driver’s fault
• Identifying liable parties and evaluating avenues for recovering compensation
• Working with experts to determine your family’s ongoing and future financial losses
• Crafting arguments to pursue maximum compensation for your emotional harm and loss
• Vigorously pursuing the financial recovery your family deserves, whether through a settlement or by taking your case to trial, if necessary

Have you recently lost a loved one to a fatal motorcycle accident in Greenville, South Carolina? If so, contact The Melonakos Law Firm for a free initial case evaluation. You could be entitled to compensation for your losses and a measure of justice for the deceased. A Greenville fatal motorcycle accident attorney with our firm can help you demand it.

Why Motorcycle Crashes Are Different from Other Wrongful Death Suits

Wrongful death claims arising from motorcycle crashes are often more challenging than other wrongful death claims. First, insurers and at-fault drivers may rely on unfair and inaccurate stereotypes to avoid blame for crashes and will attempt to portray motorcyclists as reckless or thrill-seeking. Their goal is to argue that the motorcyclist was somehow to blame for their own fatal injuries.

Liable parties may have insufficient insurance coverage. Fatal motorcycle accidents involve considerable expenses that may overwhelm available policies. Survivors may need to pursue lawsuits against at-fault parties to seek maximum compensation.

Don’t make the mistake of trying to pursue your claim yourself. Instead, get help from a lawyer with considerable experience handling and winning these complex cases.

Common Causes and Types of Fatal Motorcycle Wrecks in Greenville

While fatal motorcycle crashes in Greenville have many different causes, the most common involve careless or reckless behavior on the part of other motorists, such as:

• Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
• Tailgating or following too closely
• Passing a motorcycle without moving over to an adjacent lane
• Reckless driving, including excessive speeding or swerving between traffic lanes
• Running red lights or stop signs
• Failing to yield the right-of-way, particularly when turning left into the path of an oncoming motorcycle
• Failing to signal and check mirrors and blind spots before turning or changing lanes
• Distracted driving
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Drowsy driving

South Carolina Laws for Motorcycle Accident Wrongful Death Cases

Under South Carolina’s wrongful death laws, only the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate can file a wrongful death claim. However, the executor or administrator pursues the claim for the benefit of the deceased’s surviving spouse and children. If the decedent left no surviving spouse or children, then their surviving parent or parents can recover in the wrongful death claim. If the rider also had no surviving parents, the decedent’s heirs can recover in the wrongful death claim.

Surviving family members eligible to receive compensation from a wrongful death claim will divide the financial recovery into the same shares they would have received from the decedent’s estate.

Under South Carolina’s statute of limitations on wrongful death claims, an administrator or executor must file a wrongful death lawsuit within three years of the decedent’s passing. Otherwise, the decedent’s family may lose the right to pursue compensation from those responsible for their loved one’s death.

Types of Damages in Motorcycle Wrongful Death Claims

In South Carolina, motorcycle wrongful death claims can provide families with compensation for a wide range of losses, including:

• Funeral and burial expenses
• Medical expenses incurred to treat the decedent’s fatal accident injuries
• Loss of the decedent’s financial support and benefits that they would have provided if they survived the accident
• Loss of the decedent’s knowledge, experience, and guidance
• Loss of the decedent’s care, companionship, and protection
• Emotional pain and suffering experienced by surviving family members

In cases where a driver or another party caused a motorcycle accident due to reckless or intentional conduct, a jury may award a decedent’s family exemplary damages. Also called punitive damages, these do not compensate the family for any financial or personal losses they suffered due to their loved one’s passing. Instead, they punish the at-fault parties for egregious conduct and deter others from engaging in similar behavior.

Why Hire Our Greenville Fatal Motorcycle Accident Lawyers

For over a decade, families in Greenville have turned to the legal team at The Melonakos Law Firm for help pursuing wrongful death claims because:

• We offer compassionate counsel during trying times in our clients’ lives. Greenville motorcycle accident attorney Mike Melonakos and the team at The Melonakos Law Firm care about every family we represent. Mike handpicked and trained his team so that everyone upholds the same values of compassion, respect, and hard work.
• We provide personalized attention to each of our clients. At our firm, you will never feel like just another case number. You will work directly with your lawyer and get assistance from our dedicated support team. We limit the number of cases we handle so we can devote the time, energy, and resources each of our clients deserves.
• Mike has extensive experience in accident cases and has taken over 20 cases to jury trials and another 30-plus to bench trials. As a former insurance defense lawyer, Mike knows how insurers fight accident claims and uses this insight to develop effective legal solutions for his clients.
• We offer our services at no upfront cost. We know times are tough right now, especially if you relied on your loved one’s income. That’s why we’ll get to work on your case for free and will only charge a fee if we win.

If you’ve lost a loved one in a motorcycle accident in Greenville, get the legal help your family needs to demand justice from those responsible. Contact The Melonakos Law Firm now to get started with a free, no-obligation consultation with a Greenville motorcycle accident lawyer.