When you are injured in an accident or experience a personal injury, it is important that you make sure you get the help you need. Sometimes that means pursuing a legal case to receive compensation for the damages you suffered because of your personal injury. Sometimes people think that they can only ask for one or two kinds of damages, but in reality, there is a large range of damages to evaluate. A personal injury lawyer can help you understand what kinds of damages apply to your case and get the compensation you deserve.
Medical Costs
Even though most people know that you can get reimbursed for your medical costs after an accident through a court case, it is still worth mentioning. Medical expenses are considered part of the actual damages you can receive after being injured. Your personal injury attorney can help you navigate the process and to calculate how much to ask for in medical damages. After an injury, carefully track your medical expenses so you can ask for the right amount in damages to cover those medical costs. Medical costs can include doctor bills, x-rays, other imaging services, and even physical therapy.
Lost Income
If your accident or injury causes you to miss work for any period of time, you can also seek damages in the form of lost income. To figure out the amount of wages you can claim as damages, you just have to track how many days of work you missed and how much money you make each day. By multiplying those numbers together, you can determine the total amount of wages that you lost due to your injury. If your work hours aren’t consistent, you may be asked to figure out an average of how much you generally work and use that number as an estimate of your damages. Your injury lawyer will help you to figure out your total amount of lost income.
Lost Property
Property loss damages occur when any of your property has been damaged or destroyed because of your accident or injury. The value of the property can be used to determine how much your injury attorney can ask for in damages due to lost property. It’s important to keep careful records of your property so that you can use those records to prove that you had the property and the amount it would take to replace it. With those numbers, you can represent your loss accurately. To get help calculating lost property damages, reach out to a personal injury law firm.
Emotional Distress
Most personal injuries involve some amount of psychological trauma. It’s important to remember that you can also seek compensation for the psychological injuries you face. Emotional distress can manifest in a variety of ways, so you should be aware of your emotional state after your injury and track how it impacted you. For some people, the stress of an injury causes serious anxiety, decreases their ability to sleep, and even causes depression. Seeking compensation for your emotional distress is an important part of making sure you get what you deserve from your personal injury settlements.
Loss of Enjoyment
Loss of enjoyment can be a secondary effect of your injury or accident. Some people feel unsure about seeking these kinds of damages, but your personal injury law firm should be able to help you to see the impact the injury has had on your life in general and your ability to enjoy that life. When your ability to enjoy life is lost, it is much more difficult to function as you continue to do your daily tasks like work, school, and even being with your family and friends.
Loss of Consortium
One of the most difficult types of damages to understand is the loss of consortium damages. These damages are actually paid when an injury makes it difficult for the spouse or partner of an injured person to continue the relationship in the same way as before. These kinds of damages are more difficult to quantify, but they are still important to include in your personal injury suit. As part of your personal injury claims, you should make sure that you are thinking about how the injury impacted your relationships.
Punitive Damages
The last kind of damages you want to be familiar with are punitive damages. These damages are intended to punish the other party in your case. Punitive damages are generally awarded if the court and the judge feel that the other party committed a serious breach that contributed to the harm you are experiencing. Understanding punitive damages can help you to see a fuller scope of personal injury law and decide how to move forward with your claim.
Dealing with the process of putting in a bodily injury claim can be complicated and frustrating. However, an accident injury lawyer can help you figure out the best course of action and get the results you deserve. Take time to find a great lawyer to help you navigate the process and find a good course of action.
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