Victims often receive compensation for pain and suffering after an accident. However, this isn’t the only thing people may recoup.
A personal injury lawsuit is far more encompassing than many people realize. While it is primarily about your injuries, it also focuses on the negligence involved in the accident that harmed you, your pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of future wages, medical bills, medication and a host of other things, including inconvenience, anxiety and property damage. Calculating losses sustained in a personal injury case is more than just a little complicated. Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer will outline this to you when discussing your case.
To begin with, the type of injury you sustain will greatly affect how damages are figured. Generally speaking, there is a rule of thumb in the legal system that says the greater the injury, the more compensation is generally allocated to your settlement or verdict. Keep in mind, insurance companies do their own thing and will do their best to minimize your injuries and reduce or try to deny your claim. While you may be in hospital with a halo and facing months of surgery and therapy to be able to walk, the insurance company will try to find a way to make your pain and suffering sound minimal, like imply your injuries are pre-existing.
When filing a report for your insurance company and for your Atlanta personal injury lawyer, tell the complete truth as you know it. Don’t embellish it, minimize it or downplay anything. Tell it like it is and spell out all your injuries in a matter-of-fact manner. Stick to the facts, and the insurance company won’t find any loopholes to pick at later.
Damages in total may be factored down further into medical special damages/expenses, non-medical special damages/expenses and property damage/expenses. In most cases, your medical expenses are fairly easy to figure out since you have receipts for those. The kinds of things you’d need would be proof of money out of pocket for an ambulance, doctor’s fees, the ER, operation fees, medical exams, medical equipment, physical therapy and medications. This is fairly straightforward.
The category of non-medical special damages is far more complex and deals with all that you could have earned if the accident had not happened, and all the bills you acquired because of your accident. This area also includes future lost wages, vacation leave, sick leave that has not been taken, travel costs to the doctor and physical therapist, child care expenses and housekeeping services if you can’t handle housework any longer. Lost commissions and overtime pay may also be considered in this category, depending on the nature of your job. The best thing to do is to keep precise records.
Property damages are included in filing for compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, as well. This would include the cost to fix your vehicle, storage fees, towing, broken glasses and destroyed clothing. Again, keep all your receipts and give them to your Atlanta personal injury lawyer. It never hurts to be very detail oriented when it comes to documenting expenses for an accident claim.
Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury, malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more at Webbdorazio.com.
