10 Types Of Damages That Can Help You Recover Financially After Your Accident
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
If you have been seriously injured due to an accident or injury, you may be entitled to be compensated from those who are at fault. How much you can recover depends on the type of damage you have incurred due to the accident or injury. This included during and after the incident. An experienced personal injury attorney will review your options and see what you are entitled to under Florida law. Here is a list of 10 types of damages that your personal injury attorney can request from the plaintiff:• Medical Expenses: All medical bills, current and future. This includes physicians, hospital stays, emergency room and ambulance fees, Therapy and adaptive equipment. You must show that the medical bills are all a result of the injury or accident. Often your attorney will have specialists for you to see to help determine your future medical expenses.
• Lost Wages: These damages is the amount of money you would have earned from the time of the injury to when the case is settled. If you are unemployed at the time of the accident, you may be allowed to recover lost wages of what you could have earned during the time period.
• Lost Earning Capacity: If as a result of your injury or accident, your ability to earn in the future has been eliminated or diminished, damages can be recovered. Taken into consideration is your age, health, life expectancy, occupation, skills, training and experience. Your past earnings will also be taken into consideration. So the claim of lost earning capacity focuses on what might have been earned if the accident or injury had not occurred.
• Mental Anguish: Any mental or emotional distress associated or resulting from the accident or injury, including anxiety, depression, nervousness, PTSD, grief, and shock will be taken into consideration.
• Pain And Suffering: While it is difficult to determine your level of pain and suffering after an accident or injury, most juries consider the nature of the injury, the future pain, and how long the patient is likely to be in pain, and the testimony of experts. You can be awarded a settlement for past and future physical pain.
• Temporary Or Permanent Disability: Temporary or permanent disability requires testimony by a medical expert and a doctor must examine you. In some cases the courts have determined that disability damages can not only include objective injuries but those you subjectively feel.
• Loss Of Consortium: Loss of consortium means you are deprived of the benefits of a spouse after an accident or injury These include companionship, affection, sexual relations and other factors between the two. Often in these cases the uninjured spouse will also make a claim. The value is determined on this loss by both parties life expectancies, how stable the marriage was and what marital benefits have been lost.
• Loss Of Enjoyment Of Life: A reduced ability to enjoy the day to day pleasures of life. It is usually an item of general damages and often treated as a type of pain and suffering.
• Household Services: These are the costs of having to hire someone to take care of your home while you are recovering from your injuries, if you would have done them had you not been injured.
• Loss of Society And Companionship: This is for wrongful death cases. If a loved one is killed in an accident or injury, you can request damages from the benefits of companionship, love, comfort and closeness that the immediate family members have lost as a result of a loved one’s death.
Should I File An Injury Lawsuit?
An accident or injury case should be discussed with a qualified, expert personal injury attorney. Some cases are excellent contenders for filing suit and some are not worth the time and money involved to pursue. If you think you have a valid accident or injury claim, contact the St. Pete’s Lawyer. Our law firm focuses only on personal injury law and can help you understand all of the types of compensation you are owed.