You need to understand the different categories of compensation losses when valuing a claim. This is especially important if you are ever involved in a bad car accident or other major personal injury accident. The personal injury lawyer you hire will inform you of the following in terms of valuing a personal injury case.

It all boils down to ‘damages’

The extent and type of damages you have sustained as a result of your accident will largely determine how much your personal injury case is worth. Damages include the total monetary cost of the physical, mental, and financial hardships which you have faced as a result of your accident. The responsible party (defendant) and his or her insurance company will reimburse you for all of your damages in the form of a settlement.

You and the defense will generally enter into a negotiated settlement (very few cases actually go to court). If you do manage to have your case go to court, a judge and jury will determine your total and final settlement. There are many different types of damages that you can be awarded in a personal injury case.

Compensatory damages

Your personal injury lawyer in Fontana will tell you that most personal injury awards fall in the compensatory category. These types of awards are designed to restore you to the situation you were in physically, mentally, and financially before you went through your accident. Some components of compensatory damages are easy to calculate. These include property damage and medical expenses. Others, however are harder to determine. These include pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment.

Your personal injury lawyer knows that these are the following categories for compensatory damages:

● Medical treatment – you’ll receive money to cover your current and future medical expenses
● Lost income/wages – you’ll get money to cover your current lost wages and any future loss of wages you may incur.
● Property damages – you’ll get money to buy a replacement car if your car was totaled in a car accident. What’s more, is that you’ll get enough money to replace the make and model of your previous car.
● Emotional distress – this includes emotional and mental distress. You will get money if for example, you suffer from PTSD or depression because of your accident.
● Pain and suffering – you’ll be compensated if you end up suffering from a permanently herniated disc because of the accident.
● Loss of enjoyment – you’ll receive compensation for any activities or hobbies you used to enjoy which you can no longer enjoy because of your personal injury accident.
● Loss of consortium – this will compensate you if you are no longer able to enjoy intimate relations with your significant other.

Punitive damages in personal injury cases

You will be awarded punitive damages if the defendant acted in a manner that was extremely careless, dangerous, or both. The point of punitive damages is to punish the defendant and discourage/deter him or her from acting in the same or in a similar way in the future. Judges and personal injury lawyers in Norwalk think that financial ‘fines’ are the best way to make defendants ‘think twice’ about engaging in a particular action or behavior.

How your (the plaintiff) actions affect the final settlement

Your lawyer will tell you that the way in which you act can substantially and negatively affect your final settlement. He or she will explain the reasons why are due to:

● Comparative negligence – if you are even 1% at fault for the accident, your final settlement will be reduced accordingly.
● Contributory negligence – your settlement amount will be $0 if you are deemed to be even 1% at fault for the accident is some states.
● You fail to take proper action – a good example of this would be not seeing the doctor right away. Your final award would be substantially scaled back because of your failure to take proper action to heal immediately.

Figuring out personal injury compensation is not rocket science. If you hire a good personal injury lawyer and know the information discussed in this article, you will find that figuring out personal injury compensation is not rocket science.