What Is an Injury Settlement?

An injury settlement is an agreement between the plaintiff and defendant to settle a matter outside of court. It is a good way to get the money you need quickly.

In contrast to special damages, which can be easily calculated however, non-economic damages are more difficult to pinpoint in a specific dollar amount. These include things like suffering and pain.

Medical expenses

Medical expenses can make up the majority of a settlement, based on the severity of the accident. These may include doctor's visits or medications, surgeries and other procedures. These expenses are not usually covered by insurance and may be expensive. In the majority of cases, there are ancillary costs arising with the injuries such as home healthcare, adaptive devices, transportation to medical appointments, and many more.

Medical bills are typically paid by your private health insurance plan, Medicare, Medicaid or PIP. If you receive a settlement with unpaid medical bills, these must be paid from the settlement money. Your attorney can work to negotiate with the billing companies and attempt to get the balances reduced.

Your attorney can also determine the appropriate amount for any other losses that aren't medically related. This includes the loss of future earnings along with pain and suffering and other non-economic losses. To make a claim your attorney needs to provide documentation and expert testimony on these other damages.

Lost wages

In addition to compensation for medical expenses the injured victim may also be entitled to compensation for lost wages. The amount of damages is calculated according to the time that the injured person was unable work because of their injuries. A personal injury lawyer can help their client recover the compensation for lost wages in a personal injury claim.

A traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury for instance, injury could cause you to miss a significant amount of work. This means you'll have to prove that the time you were unable to work was directly connected to your accident. When proving lost wages, you need to include any and all sources of income. This includes regular pay, overtime, bonuses and commissions. Include any unused vacation days or sick leave.

If your doctor has decided that you are able to return to work under certain limitations the employer has to respect these limitations. This could mean rearranging your job or providing you with the necessary equipment.

A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer can assist you to gather all of the information needed to support a lost wage claim. They can also help when the person who is injured is self-employed, or receiving an undetermined amount of money. In these situations, the insurance company will have to analyze the person's past and future earnings and provide an accurate estimate of the future loss of wages. This will require a full declaration from the plaintiff's accountant or financial professional.

Non-economic damage

When people think about personal injury damages they typically think of the money lost due to medical expenses and lost wages. There are other costs that are difficult to quantify in dollars. These are referred to as non-economic damages. These damages are for the intangible effects of injury, like suffering, pain and enjoyment of life.

Pay stubs and bills can be used to prove damages for economic reasons for courts and juries. Non-economic damages on the contrary are more difficult to calculate and may be based on subjective factors like pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

Pain and suffering refers to any physical, mental or emotional anguish resulting from the accident. It can also include the inability of a person to participate to their usual social or recreational activities. A jury will examine the impact of the injury the victim's life.

Other non-economic damages include disfigurement, loss in consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. People may experience disfigurement following an accident which permanently alters their appearance. It's not a huge financial cost, but it can be painful to live with scars and other permanent injuries.

Damages to relieve pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering is a class of non-economic damages that compensate for the emotional and physical distress you have endured from your accident. These are subjective damages which are decided by the jury, not unlike medical bills, auto repairs and lost wages. Each juror has a different opinion on what amount of compensation for pain and suffering is appropriate in your particular case.

One way to assist a jury understand the severity of your injuries is by providing documentation. Your attorney can compile written documents from your doctors that describe the severity of your injuries along with video and photographs. The testimony of family members and friends can be persuasive. These testimonies could help create an atmosphere of sympathy for jurors and demonstrate how your injury affected your hobbies and activities with your family.

The duration of your injury can also affect the amount of compensation you receive for suffering and pain. Compensation for pain and suffering is typically higher for severe and disabling injuries than injuries that heal more quickly.

Injury claims should reflect the emotional and psychological trauma that can be caused by an injury. Your personal injury lawyer can help you create an effective case and help you negotiate an equitable settlement for all of your injuries. If you have any questions about an injury settlement make a call to Adam S. Kutner & Associates for a consultation.