The following a brief overview of the types of damages considered in a personal injury or auto accident case, and depending on the answers to these and other factors, an experienced injury lawyer can help you evaluate the appropriate values to the lawsuit or claim:
Medical Bills: The general reference to medical bills includes but is not limited to any and all medical treatment and medical procedures and case for an injury. These can include hospital care that you required, emergency care; doctor appointments, chiropractor visits; physical therapist; crutches, braces, or bandages, prescriptions should all be considered for payment by the insurance company.
Length of Treatment and Types of Treatment: The total amount of medical expenses is a very important figure because it is often used as a benchmark for determining your total damages, and the amount and type of medical damages can impact other types of damages, such as pain and suffering, lost wages and emotional distress. But what is also important is whether the treatment is merely chiropractic or did the individual also need, pain management injections, surgery or long term care.
Future Medical Care: If the individuals future medical care, then future medical expenses should be part of the recovery. Your doctor(s) and any other medical specialists you are seeing for treatment can provide their advice and opinions about how much ongoing care you will need and how much that will cost for future care, if any.
Emotional Distress/Pain and Suffering: Emotional distress and pain and suffering can be one of the devastating consequences of a car accident. It is possible that a car wreck victim can have adverse effects from anxiety, fear, or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Disfigurement can lead to other types of emotional distress, such as shock, humiliation or embarrassment. Mental anguish resulting from a car accident should not be discounted simply because they are not physical injuries, and you should speak to an attorney if you are suffering from emotional distress as a result of an accident.
Lost Income/Lost Earning Ability: If your injury is such that you were unable to work in the past or you will be unable to work in the future then you may have lost time from work, or if the injury is permanent, you may not be able to return to your previous line of employment. Income that you have lost due to your injury is an expense that you should include in your claim.
Other Factors: Other factors can include who was at fault, where they texting and driving, what county did the accident occur, how much property damage was incurred to each vehicle, the other drivers driver’s history, whether the other driver was drinking alcohol or under the influence of a drug, any delays in medical treatment, the competence and reputation of the treating doctors, the level of experience of the attorneys, the track record of the attorneys with former clients, history f the victim, prior claims of the client, prior injuries, prior medical condition. Best thing to do is call and go over your case with one of our Lawyers – we will talk to you for free. No obligation. No Charge for the consultation.