What Is an Injury Settlement?

An injury settlement is a contract between the plaintiff and the defendant to settle the case outside of court. This can be a quick and efficient method of obtaining compensation.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify in dollar amounts. This includes things like pain and discomfort.

Medical expenses

Depending on the severity of an injury, medical costs could be a significant portion of a settlement. These expenses could include doctor visits, medications and surgery. These expenses are often not insured and can be expensive. In a lot of cases, there are also additional costs due to the injury like home health care and adaptive devices, transportation to medical appointments and much more.

Medical bills are typically paid by a private health insurance provider, the government's Medicare or Medicaid, or your PIP coverage. If you receive a settlement that contains unpaid medical balances, these will need to be satisfied with the settlement funds. Your lawyer can negotiate with the billing companies and attempt to get the balances reduced.

Your lawyer will also be able determine the appropriate amount of damages you should pay to be used to cover other non-medical loss. This includes the loss of future earnings as well as pain and suffering, and other damages that are not economic. Your lawyer will have to provide expert testimony and documentation of these other damages to support your claim.

Loss of wages

In addition to the compensation for medical costs the injured victim may also be entitled to lost wage. The amount of damages is by the amount of time that the person was absent from working due to their injuries. A seasoned personal oakwood injury law firm lawyer can assist clients in recovering lost wage compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.

A brain injury that is traumatic or spinal cord injury for instance, can cause you to be absent for a considerable amount of work. This means you will need to prove that the amount of time you missed was directly linked to your accident. It is important to include all income sources in proving the loss of wages. This includes regular wages, overtime, bonuses and commissions. Include any days of vacation that you have not used or sick leave.

If your doctor decides that you can return to work within specific work restrictions, your employer must respect these restrictions. This could involve modifying certain aspects of your job or supplying useful equipment.

A knowledgeable personal injury lawyer can help gather the necessary information needed to support a lost wage claim. They can also help with cases where the injured party is self-employed or earns an income that is variable. In such cases an insurance company must look at the past and future earnings of the victim and provide a reasonable estimation of the lost wages to come. This will require a thorough account from the plaintiff's accountant or financial expert.

Economic damages

When people think about personal injury damages the first thing that comes to mind is the money lost through medical expenses and lost wages. There are additional costs that are difficult to quantify in dollars. These are referred to as non-economic damages. They are the more tangible consequences of injuries sustained by a victim, like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Pay stubs, bills and other documents can be used to prove economic damages for courts and juries. However non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify and could be based on subjective factors, Law like pain and suffering and the emotional trauma caused by the injury.

The suffering and pain can include physical, mental or emotional stress caused by the accident. This could include the inability of someone to take part in their normal social or leisure activities. A jury will consider the extent to which the injury has affected the victim's quality life.

Other non-economic damages include disfigurement, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. A person could suffer from disfigurement as a result of an accident that permanently alters their appearance. While this isn't a financial loss but it can be painful to bear scars and other permanent injuries.

Damages for suffering and pain

Pain and suffering is a type of non-economic damages that compensate for the physical pain and emotional distress that you've suffered from your accident. These are subjective damages that are the responsibility of the jury, unlike medical bills and auto repairs as well as lost wages. Every juror will have a different views about how much pain and suffering compensation is appropriate for your situation.

One method to help a jury to understand the extent of your injuries is to provide documentation. Your lawyer can collect the medical records of your doctor that provide details of your injuries, with photographs and video footage. The testimony of family and friends can be persuasive. These testimonies can help to make the jury feel sympathy and demonstrate how your injury has affected certain aspects of your life, such as hobbies and family activities.

The duration of your injury could impact the amount you receive for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering awards are typically higher for severe injuries that are disabling, as opposed to injuries that heal faster.

Injury can cause a lot emotional trauma and stress, and a successful injury claim should reflect the severity of the injury. Your personal injury lawyer can help you construct solid evidence and help you negotiate an equitable settlement for all your injuries. If you have any questions about an injury settlement make a call to Adam S. Kutner & Associates for a free consultation.