Types Of Personal Injury Damages

By Author: Harvard McIntosh
Total Articles: 25
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The types of damages that are available in the personal injury claim depend on type of case, the circumstances of the injury and local state laws. In general, personal injury damages include the following:
Compensation for medical bills for all injuries caused by defendant
If the applicant undergoes medical treatment and is required to receive medical care like hospital stays, physical therapy, the defendant must pay the costs of medical bills. This can become quite expensive in case the victim has become permanently disabled and needs adaptive devices or lifelong nursing care. This should include every expense that the applicant has to pay out over the course of medical treatment and should also include the future costs of medical treatment.
Sometimes the plaintiff must turn over some or all of his money to their health insurers if the health insurer has been paying bills prior to settlement. Sometime a medical lien is placed on the expected value of a future damage award either by insurers or health care providers to ensure payment is made when defendant pays out these medical costs.
Lost ...
... wages
Compensation for lost wages or income is another aspect of damage award in personal injury case. This includes payment for any work that an applicant has to miss because of injury. If the applicant has to take sick leave, he should be compensated for those days. If the plaintiff has been permanently disabled to work due to injury, the lost wages that he would have earned over the lifetime may be required to be paid by the defendant. The similar case applies if the applicant has been deferred for any future income because of injury.
Pain and Suffering
Juries sometimes award large damages for pain and suffering, particularly in case of significant injuries. The insurance companies often employ a pain multiplier in order to achieve a fair and reasonable number of pain and suffering damages. This involves multiplying actual financial losses with a number usually between 11/2 to 5 as the insurer or Dallas injury attorney deems appropriate.
Emotional distress.
Sometimes an accident has emotional ramification on the applicant. This must be proven by psychiatric records and things like diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder.
Wrongful death.
This type of lawsuits is brought by family members of the victim who has been killed in an accident due to someone else’s negligence. A family member must have standing to bring a wrongful death action though spouses can bring them to action in any state and parents can bring an action on behalf of minor children. There are varying rules that differ by each condition.
Loss of companionship
This action is brought by victim’s family members who have been seriously killed or who has been altered in a significant way by accident or injury. The idea is to compensate to the family member for the loss of a relationship. In some states, loss of consortium is specific and can compensate a spouse if he or she looses the ability to have an inmate physical relationship with the victim.
Punitive damages
Punitive damages are not allowed in all cases and they are quite different from other kinds of damages. Their main purpose is to punish the defendant for wrongful doing and act as a deterrent to this sort of behavior.
If you are to file a personal injury lawsuit, you should consult some good injury lawyer.