After you have been seriously injured your first thoughts are generally about recovery. However, you will also be thinking about the financial implications of your injury. How are you going to pay your medical bills? What about the time you have to take off of work? You may rightly be very angry at the individual or company that caused your pain and suffering. What can you do to prevent them from causing other injuries like yours in the future?
If you and a personal injury attorney have determined that you qualify for compensation due to someone else’s negligence there are several steps you can take to determine what is a fair and reasonable compensation for your injury. The legal system outlines three major types of damages that may be awarded in personal injury lawsuits. By calculating these damages you will come up with a dollar amount that you will request or the individual, company, or from their insurance.
Special Damages
Special damages are the easiest type to understand and quantify. These are the actual costs that occurred due to the injury. They may include medical bills, lost wages, and vehicle repairs. If you have required the assistance of a friend or family member be sure to include the time that they have spent helping you through your injury. Keeping excellent records of your bills and other expenses should make this step the quickest to calculate.
General Damages
General damages are much more difficult to place an exact dollar amount upon. These include things like pain and suffering that you should be compensated for, but an exact amount for this pain and injuries is difficult to determine. Your lawyer will use decades of cases like yours to help determine this type of damage. Records including over the counter and prescription medications taken and mental health related expenses can strengthen your case for general damages.
Punitive Damages
If you have been injured intentionally by an individual or company, you will want to prevent them from hurting other people in the future. In these cases, punitive damages are assessed as a deterrent for future dangerous actions. In many cases, punitive damages are not assessed because the injury was caused through carelessness and not because there was intentional harm caused. Punitive damages can be a powerful incentive to force a company to change the way they conduct their business. Many factors are involved in determining an appropriate amount of punitive damages. These include the size and financial standing of the company and the type of actions that resulted in injuries.
In conclusion, by working closely with an expert personal injury attorney you will be able to receive fair compensation for your injuries. This compensation will allow you to focus on your recovery and relieve the stress involved in serious injuries.
If you would like to know how to go about making your Personal Injury claim, please check out our Making a Personal Injury Claim page