If you were injured in an accident where someone else is at fault, you are entitled to receive several types of damages that go beyond your immediate medical bills. Here is what you should know about these 3 forms of compensation.
Pain and Suffering
One of the largest forms of compensation in a personal injury case is pain and suffering. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to calculate pain and suffering. It's not like you can look up your injury on a chart and see how much it is worth, which is why lawyers often look at previous verdicts of similar injuries. If you can see what a jury awarded another person for a similar injury, you can use that to justify how much you are asking for. It also gets complicated when you look at the various state laws regarding pain and suffering. For example, your local laws may be tough regarding pain and suffering, with it requiring a permanent injury to receive the compensation you are seeking.
Economic Damages
There are many types of economic damages that you can suffer as a result of a personal injury. Many people do not realize that their lost wages can be recovered in a personal injury case. If you took time off of work to heal from your injury, those are lost wages that you can get back. If you need to take time off to visit a doctor, those are considered lost wages as well. When determining what you ask for in a settlement, you must factor all past and future lost wages. If it is a permanent injury, this means calculating lost wages many years into the future.
You can also get back all of your out-of-pocket medical costs. One thing to keep in mind is that if you have $50,000 worth of medical bills, but you only paid $6,000 out of pocket with your health insurance, you would still sue the other party for the full amount of your medical bills. You would then reimburse your health insurance provider for the remainder of the balance that they ended up paying. If not, there are ways for them to go after you to get back the money you received in the settlement.
Travel Expenses
Another type of damage people don't realize they can claim are travel expenses. Your ambulance ride, mileage on your vehicle, parking costs, and anything else related to getting to and from medical-related appointments can be included in your injury lawsuit. If you would not have otherwise paid for it, you can request compensation for it.
You can find more information from a personal injury law firm in your area.
Share19 May 2020
Did you know that many personal injury and car accident cases do not even end up being heard in front of a judge or jury? That's because most defendants would rather settle out of court so that they do not have to go through the expense and annoyance of a lengthy court battle. Personal injury attorneys need to be prepared for this. In addition to being ready to defend their clients in court, they need to be skilled negotiators. As you can see, this is a job that requires many diverse skills! Learn more about those skills, and about personal injury attorneys in general, right here on this site.