What Is Injury Compensation?

Injuries compensation is a sum of money that is paid to help injured individuals pay for the costs resulting from work-related injuries. These losses include medical expenses as well as lost wages, injured future income, and loss of enjoyment from life.

There are two options to receive this kind of money: a settlement or a lawsuit. A lawyer can analyze the case and tell you which option is the best for you.

Medical Treatment

The claim for your injury will include an extensive amount of medical treatment. The insurance company will cover reasonable and necessary medical treatments. This includes medical bills for health care providers and specialist. Also, you can get reimbursement for prescriptions and non-prescription medications, as you travel to and from medical appointments.

Depending on the nature of your injury you may require assistive equipment like wheelchairs, canes or special clothes. You can also claim reimbursement for home modifications, such as ramps and stair lifts. Medical expenses include diagnostic tests required to diagnose your injuries and monitor recovery. You may also be eligible to claim the cost of any procedure needed to treat your injury. The workers' compensation board has guidelines for medical treatment that doctors must follow. These guidelines allow your doctor to give most of your treatment, without requiring insurance approval.

Following your doctor's advice can be extremely beneficial in your case. If the defendant or insurance company sees that you have been avoiding appointments and playing tennis on weekends despite your alleged injuries, they could claim that your injuries aren't as severe as you claim. If you're always seeing healthcare professionals and receiving massive medical care it could be necessary to admit that your injuries were serious.

Lost Wages

The effects of injuries are not just physically painful, but they can be financially devastating as well. The costs associated with treatment can quickly add up and injured victims may also must deal with the loss of earnings as they recover from their injuries. If your injury caused you to be absent from work, you could be entitled to compensation for the time that you've been unable to work.

The process of proving lost wages is a complex process and requires specific evidence. It is essential to provide copies of your pay stubs from the past and income tax documentation. These documents can be used by your attorney to show the total amount of lost earnings due to your injury.

The lost wages could include your regular hourly earnings or salary, potential overtime bonuses, commissions, and much more. It could also include benefits you're not receiving anymore, such as free meals, car allowances or health benefits.

You may also be able to claim compensation for days you missed due to your injury since you needed to take vacation or sick leave to cover those days. Your lawyer can determine the fair value of these days and request reimbursement from the party responsible. If your injury is irreparable your lawyer may claim compensation for the loss of future earning capacity. This is a more complex procedure that requires hiring an actuary or forensic accountant to demonstrate your loss of earning potential.

Medical expenses

You could be faced with high medical bills depending on the severity of your injury. This can pressure on your finances. Injuries that are serious can prevent you from working and earning income for a long amount of time, which can put a financial burden on you and your family.

You are entitled to reimbursement for medical expenses related to the incident such as ambulance rides, doctor visits and x-rays, hospital treatment, medicines, supplies and orthopedic devices. You also have the right to reimbursement for transportation costs to and from medical appointments (including therapy). You must keep receipts for all medical expenses, since you will be reimbursed according to actual expenses.

For negotiating purposes lawyers and insurance companies typically use your bill amounts as the base for calculating medical special damages. They then multiply that amount by a number of 1.5 to 5 to calculate your general damages. In general, minor injuries fall at the lower end of the range, while serious or long-lasting ones will be at the upper end.

The Kocian Law Group has the expertise to ensure that you receive the entire amount of medical compensation that you are entitled to. We will compel insurers to pay the full amount recommended by your medical professionals even if they disagree with the necessity or reasonableness.

Suffering and Pain

The person who has suffered injury is entitled to compensated for the emotional and physical pain and injured suffering caused by their injuries. Physical suffering and pain damages could be a result of past and future medical treatment. The psychological discomfort and ache or shame, shock and sadness are also considered.

It is difficult to put a value on the pain and stress of an accident, particularly when it results in permanent injuries such as being confined to a wheelchair or blinded. It is vital that accident victims have the assistance of an attorney to gather sufficient evidence to prove their losses.

In some cases the party injured can reach a settlement agreement to avoid a trial. In most instances an insurance company will be involved in the settlement agreement. The insurance company may use either the multiplier method, or per diem to calculate the amount of pain and damages.

The courts employ the multiplier method as well as the per diem method to determine the amount of compensation for physical and emotional injuries resulting from accidents. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, however the final amount will be determined by the jury. A personal injury lawyer can assist accident victims in gathering evidence to prove their claim. Adam S. Kutner & Associates attorneys can assist you in the investigation of your case, and then prepare the case for court or settlement.