What Is an Injury Settlement?
A settlement agreement is an agreement between the defendant and plaintiff to settle the dispute outside of court. This is a quick and effective way to receive compensation.
In contrast to special damages, which can be easily calculated, non-economic damages are harder to determine in a precise dollar amount. This includes things like discomfort and pain.
Medical expenses
Based on the severity of an injury, medical expenses can be a substantial portion of a settlement. This could include doctor's visits as well as medications, surgery and other procedures. These costs are typically not covered by insurance, and can be expensive. In addition, in many instances there are ancillary costs associated with injuries, such as home healthcare adaptive devices transporting patients to medical appointments and more.
Medical bills are typically paid by your private health insurance plan, Medicare, Medicaid or PIP. If you get a settlement with unpaid medical balances, they will need to be satisfied from the settlement money. Your attorney can work to bargain with the billing companies and try to get the balances reduced.
Your lawyer can also determine the right amount of damages you should pay to be used to cover other non-medical loss. This includes loss of future earnings or pain and suffering as well as other non-economic losses. Your attorney must provide expert testimony and documentation of these other damages to make a proper claim.
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In addition to the compensation for medical expenses the injured victim may also be entitled to lost wage. The amount of damages is based on the amount of time that the victim was absent from work due to injuries. A personal injury lawyer can help their client recover the compensation for lost wages in a personal injuries claim.
A brain injury that is traumatic or spinal cord injury, for instance, can cause you to miss a significant amount of work. You will need to prove that your accident caused you to miss work. In proving the loss of wages, you need to include any and all sources of income. This includes regular earnings overtime, bonuses, and commissions. Include any vacation days that are not used or sick leave.
If your doctor has decided that you are able to return to work with certain restrictions the employer has to respect these restrictions. This might involve changing certain aspects of your job or providing necessary equipment.
A personal injury lawyer who is experienced can assist you in gathering the evidence needed to prove your claim for lost wages. They can also aid when the person injured is self-employed, or receives a variable wage. In these instances the insurance company will have to review the person's past and future earnings and provide an accurate estimate of the future loss of wages. This will require a complete account from the plaintiff's accountant or financial expert.
Non-economic damages
When people think of personal injury-related damages they usually think of loss of money due to medical expenses and lost wages. But, there are additional costs associated with injury which are more difficult to quantify in dollar amounts. These are known as non-economic damages. They cover the more intangible effects of injuries suffered by a person like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
Economic damages are simple for juries and courts to calculate, as they are documented in invoices and pay stubs. However, non-economic damages are much more difficult to quantify and could be determined by subjective factors like the pain and suffering as well as the emotional stress caused by the injury.
The pain and suffering can be physical, mental or emotional pain caused by the accident. This could include the difficulty of a person to take part in their normal hobbies or social activities. A jury will look at the impact of the injury the victim's life.
Other non-economic damages include disfigurement, loss of consortium and loss of enjoyment of life. For example one could be suffering from a disfigurement as a result of an accident that permanently alters their appearance. Although this isn't a financial loss however, it can be extremely painful to endure scars and other permanent injuries.
Damages for suffering and pain
Pain and suffering are non-economic damages that compensate you for the physical and emotional pain caused by your accident. These are subjective damages, that are the responsibility of the jury, in contrast to medical bills or auto repairs, as well as lost wages. Each juror will have different opinion on how much pain and suffering compensation is appropriate for your situation.
One method to help jurors recognize the extent of your injuries is to provide documentation. Your attorney can compile written records from your doctors that provide details of your injuries, along with videos and photos. Testimonies from friends and family can also be persuasive. These testimonies may help make the jury feel sympathy and explain how your injury can have a negative impact on your life, including hobbies and family activities.
The severity of your injury could affect the amount you receive for pain and suffering. Acute, disabling injuries typically have higher pain and awards than injuries that heal more quickly.
Injury can cause a lot emotional and psychological trauma, and a successful injury claim should reflect that. Your personal injury lawyer can help you create an impressive case and help you negotiate an equitable settlement for all of your injuries. Adam S. Kutner and Associates can offer you a consultation in case you have questions about a settlement that could be possible for an injury.