How Are Damages Assessed in Personal Injury Cases?
If someone else’s negligence has led to you being injured, you may be pursuing legal recourse to recover the money you feel you are owed. When you are involved in a personal injury case, you likely have questions about the damages you may receive if your case is successful and what those are. Read on for answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding personal injury case compensation.
How Much Is My Case Worth?
Our American legal system designed the concept of damages to make the plaintiff whole again following a personal injury and help them recover the life they enjoyed before the injury occurred. If your legal team is able to mediate and settle your case without having to go to trial, the compensation will be determined then and mutually agreed upon. If, however, the case goes to trial, the judge or jury will be responsible for enumerating the proper damages based on what the trial evidence indicated.
As to the damages themselves, each personal injury case is unique, and as such, it would be unrealistic to predict a specific dollar amount a plaintiff could be awarded. Personal injury cases require in-depth investigations into injuries, resulting bills, loss of wages, future impacted expenses or the emotional and psychological effects of being injured. Your knowledgeable Meldon Law attorney can advise you based on their extensive personal injury case experience, but determining the monies you could be awarded will be a process.
What Kind of Damages Would I Be Entitled To?
If your legal team is successful in winning your personal injury suit, the awarded compensation falls into 2 damages categories: compensatory and punitive.
Compensatory
Compensatory damages are made up of those that seek to restore actual, qualifiable financial losses the plaintiff suffered as a result of their injury.
Special Damages
The fixed monies that a court may award you based on medical bills, loss of income, or property repair are known as special damages.
General Damages
General damages are non-monetary losses — those that do not involve quantifiable amounts, such as pain and suffering, an inability to do the same tasks you once did, or the death of a family member.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are those focused on punishing the guilty party for egregious negligence and are intended to serve as a deterrent for the defendant repeating the behavior in the future.
How Is Compensation Calculated?
There are many factors that go into determining what the awarded damages will be. These are calculated by how severe your injuries are, the relevant case details of the incident, and if the case is able to settle out of court or proceeds to trial.
The following are considered:
- Medical bills
- Future medical costs
- Future therapy needs
- Past and future loss of wages or other income
- Remediation property costs
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Rental vehicle costs
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
Meldon Law Is Your Partner in Getting What You Deserve
Being injured due to another party’s negligent action is bad enough, but you are also dealing with the resulting bills and other financial and emotional effects. You need a team on your side you can trust to fight for every penny you deserve so that you can focus on recovering and getting your life back on track to how it was before the injury. Meldon Law is your experienced personal injury attorney team, helping restore Florida personal injury victims for almost 5 decades. Contact us today for a free consultation for your personal injury case.
