Injury Compensation: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
What Is an Injury Settlement?
An settlement for an injury is an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant to settle the case outside of court. It is a good way to get an amount of money quickly.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify in dollar amounts. This includes things like pain and discomfort.
Medical expenses
Depending on the severity an injury, medical costs could be a significant portion of the settlement. These may include doctor's visits as well as medications, surgery and other procedures. These expenses are often not covered by insurance and may be expensive. In a lot of instances, there are other expenses that are that are associated with the injury like home health treatment and adaptive devices, transportation to medical appointments, and many more.
Medical bills are usually paid by your private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or PIP. If you are awarded a settlement that has medical bills that are not paid the money from the settlement will be used to pay these. Your attorney can work to negotiate with the billing companies and attempt to reduce the balances.
Your lawyer can also decide the appropriate amount to pay for any other losses that are not medically related. This includes the loss of future earnings along with pain and suffering and other damages that are not economic. To make a claim your attorney must to present evidence and expert testimony regarding these additional damages.
Lost wages
In addition to a reimbursement for medical expenses, injured victims may be entitled to compensation for lost wages. The amount of damages is determined based on the period that the person was unable to work because of their injuries. A seasoned personal injury lawyer can assist their clients in recovering lost wages as compensation in a personal injury case.
It is possible to have to miss a significant amount work if you sustain a severe brain injury, a spinal cord injury, or both. This means you'll have to prove that the time you missed was directly connected to your accident. In proving the loss of wages, you need to include any and all sources of income. This includes regular wages, overtime, bonuses and commissions. You could also include vacation days or sick days.
If your doctor has determined that you are able to return to work with a few restrictions The employer must adhere to these restrictions. This could mean rearranging your job or supplying you with equipment that is helpful.
A personal injury lawyer who is knowledgeable can assist you in gathering the evidence needed to prove your claim for lost wages. They can also assist in a case where the person who is injured is self-employed or receives a salary that fluctuates. In these situations, an insurance company will need to examine the earnings of the past and the future of the injured party and provide an accurate estimate of the loss of future wages. This will require a complete statement from the plaintiff’s accountant or financial expert.
Economic damages
When people think about personal injury, the first thing they think about is the loss of money due to medical expenses and lost wage. There are other costs that are hard to quantify in dollars. These are called non-economic damages. These damages are based on the intangible consequences of an injury to a person, like suffering, pain, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Economic damages are simple for juries and courts to calculate since they can be substantiated by invoices and pay stubs. However, non-economic damages are much more difficult to calculate and can be dependent on subjective factors such as pain and suffering and the emotional trauma caused by the injury.
The suffering and pain could include any mental, physical or emotional distress caused by the accident. It could also include a person's inability to participate to their usual social or hobbies. A jury will examine the consequences of the injury to the victim's life.
Other non-economic damages include disfigurement, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment life. For instance an individual may suffer from disfigurement due to an accident that permanently alters their appearance. Although this isn't an expense, it can be very painful to live with scratches and other injuries that will last forever.
Compensations for pain and suffering
Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damages for the emotional and physical pain you've experienced as a result of an accident. Contrary to medical bills and auto repair costs, and lost wages and other more subjective damages that must be determined by jurors. Every juror will have a different opinions on the amount of pain and suffering compensation is appropriate for your particular case.
injury attorney sugar land is one method to assist jurors in understanding the severity of an injury. Your lawyer can gather written records from your doctor that detail the extent and severity of your injuries. Additionally, he can gather images and video footage. The testimony of family and friends can be persuasive. These testimonies can help build empathy among jurors, and reveal how your injury has impacted your hobbies and activities with your family.
The length of your injuries may also affect the amount of your pain and suffering settlement. Pain and suffering awards are generally higher for serious and disabling injuries than injuries that heal quicker.
Injuries can cause a lot of emotional trauma and stress and a successful injury claim should reflect the severity of the injury. Your personal injury attorney will help you build an effective case, and work towards a reasonable amount of compensation for your injuries. If you have questions regarding a possible settlement for your injuries make a call to Adam S. Kutner & Associates for a free consultation.