What Are the Most Frequently Awarded Legal Damages?

A personal injury or the wrongful death of a close loved one leaves victims with multiple types of damages.

Pursuing a civil claim and lawsuit is your right when the damages result from negligence. The outcome of your case is impossible to foresee. However, fighting for the compensation you deserve and not what insurance companies want to pay is best for protecting your future medical needs.

A lawyer can help you seek compensation and justice for your harm or loss. If you suffered life-changing injuries or the loss of a close loved one, consider contacting a personal injury today.

Personal Injury Claims and Lawsuits

Medical Costs

One top priority when it comes to legal damages is your medical costs. Severe or catastrophic injuries typically require an extended hospital or trauma center stay. The costs can grow upon release to a rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility. Even outpatient care involving physical and occupational therapy is a cost many accident victims endure.

The most frequently awarded medical damages include:

• Medical transport costs: An especially traumatic accident sometimes requires air ambulance transport from the scene. Air ambulance services cost thousands, with some flights costing patients more than $30,000.
• Hospital fees: The average hospital stay averages $11 700. Lab tests, surgical procedures, and Intensive Care Units can cause your hospital fees to skyrocket.
• Doctors’ and specialists’ fees: The fees associated with doctors and specialists in an emergency department setting are higher than a standard office visit. These fees can exceed your ability to pay from the services they provide to save your life to your aftercare.
• Long-term medical costs: There is generally no quick fix when you suffer a severe injury. A rehabilitation center, therapies, or skilled nursing facility fees can climb to exorbitant amounts throughout a patient’s lifetime.

This is not a complete list but rather examples of the medical damages typically awarded in civil cases. If you suffered severe injuries due to a negligent person, you should not pay for your medical expenses.

Holding the responsible person accountable is where a lawyer can help you. Personal injury lawyers understand the stress accident victims experience as they deal with their painful injuries, mounting expenses, and inability to work.

If your medical bills continue to climb, you may want to contact a personal injury lawyer today. A free case consultation is a great way to learn more about moving forward with a possible civil claim and lawsuit.

Lost Wages and Future Earnings

Severe injuries sometimes demand a long, restful recovery. A significant time away from your job can result in lost wages, making it challenging to pay household bills. In addition, permanent injuries may prevent you from returning to the position you held before the accident.

Whether you hated or loved your job, the wages lost are not fair. The person responsible for your harm owed you a duty of care. By breaching this duty, you suffer injuries that prevent you from working.

A personal injury attorney can review your case to determine your lost income. If you cannot return to your job, your attorney may seek compensation for the loss of your future earnings.

The loss of your trade or career can profoundly impact your life. Fighting for the compensation you need and deserve is where and how an attorney can help you.

Pain and Suffering

A traumatic accident is a shocking and frightening experience. Injuries are generally immediate, resulting in pain and confusion. An accident’s emotional and psychological impact can follow you for days, weeks, months, and even years.

Many accident victims have Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research shows that PTSD is a typical result for car accident victims. Reliving the experience, avoiding travel, and other psychological effects can last a lifetime.

If your life is shattered due to another driver’s careless actions or otherwise negligent person, consider hiring an attorney. You have a right to fight for compensation regarding your mental anguish.

Medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering are among the top damages common in personal injury cases. However, the outcome of your case depends upon a variety of factors. A personal injury attorney will fight for the best results possible.

Wrongful Death Claims and Lawsuits

Tragic accidents resulting in death sometimes go unnoticed until it happens to someone we love. If you lost a close loved one due to a negligent person, company, or both, you may qualify for a wrongful death claim and lawsuit.

Wrongful death cases are highly emotional. The permanency of your loss due to the reckless actions of another person can leave you in deep mourning and unable to make critical decisions. In addition to your loss, you must inform family and friends and plan a service for your loved one.

Grief is a powerful emotion that can exhaust you. By hiring a wrongful death attorney, you can remove the burden of a legal case from your shoulders. A wrongful death attorney can manage your case from start to finish.

Wrongful death attorneys understand the anger most clients experience when negligence is a factor. The fact that their loved one’s death was likely preventable—had the liable party acted responsibly —is heartbreaking.

Fighting for compensation cannot return your loved one. It can, however, help with your financial hardship during this stressful time of sudden loss. Common types of damages awarded in a wrongful death claim and lawsuit include:

Final Medical Expenses

The life-saving efforts by medical professionals to save your loved one come at a cost. While the attempts were unsuccessful, your loved one’s final medical expenses are generally part of your civil case.

Intensive Care Units, specialists, and trauma centers can result in massive medical bills. If your loved one did not immediately die from their injuries but rather died sometime later, you can still take action.

A wrongful death attorney can include your loved one’s final medical expenses in your quest for damages. The arrival of medical bills for your deceased loved one only serves as a reminder of your loss. You may want to gather these and other related bills and contact an attorney without delay.

Funeral and Burial Costs

The average cost of a funeral is thousands, causing many families financial stress. Payment for your loved one’s service is another cost generally awarded in a wrongful death case.

Planning a service for your loved one is emotional enough. No family who loses a loved one due to negligence should stress paying for a funeral and burial or cremation.

Loss of Income

Like the lost wages cited in the personal injury example, pursuing lost income is sometimes possible in a wrongful death case. If your loved one provided for your household, their loss of income can hit you especially hard.

The loss of potential future earnings and the loss of inheritance for surviving children are also possible forms of compensation. Again, a wrongful death lawyer can help you better understand the potential outcomes of your case.

Non-Economic Damages

It is not uncommon for wrongful death cases to include compensation for non-economic damages. These damages differ from economic ones, such as medical bills. Non-economic damages are intangible losses that are hard to assign a dollar value.

While your loved one was most likely priceless to you, conveying that value to an insurance company, judge, or jury is difficult without an attorney. The wrongful death attorney you hire can rely upon their skills and experience to seek fair compensation for your loss of friendship, companionship, and other related non-economic damages.

Understanding Claims and Lawsuits

A civil case generally begins with a personal injury or wrongful death claim. Then, the attorney you hire negotiates with an insurance company for a fair  wrongful death settlement, resulting in both parties saving precious time.

If your attorney cannot secure the amount of compensation they feel you deserve, they may proceed to court. A trial is an intense process that is daunting to handle alone.

The pursuit of compensation for your personal injuries or loss is a serious matter. An insurance adjuster may ask you to accept a settlement before hiring an attorney. This is a calculated move designed to save the insurance company money.

If you agree to the settlement, you cannot pursue additional funds later—a real problem should your medical condition worsen. Again, hiring an attorney is the best way to protect your best interests with insurance companies.

Your attorney can also file a civil lawsuit with the courts on your behalf. However, to do so, your lawyer must file within the statute of limitations. Therefore, you need a lawyer who understands the law and legal deadlines.

Time passes in a blur when you experience a traumatic event. But, unfortunately, missing the court deadline generally leaves you no further options for pursuing compensation.

The smallest legal detail can forever impact your case. If you suffered severe injuries or lost a loved one due to negligence, consider hiring a lawyer as soon as possible.

Your Pursuit of Compensation and Justice

Drivers, property owners, and others owe those around them a duty of care. An accident caused by negligence is typically preventable. If a negligent property owner is responsible for your slip and fall or a drunk driver killed your loved one, a lawyer can help.

Pursuing a claim and lawsuit is time-consuming and requires attention to detail. In addition, the single event of a traumatic accident results in multiple changes to your life. Dealing with those changes and a legal case on your own can overwhelm you.

A personal injury or wrongful death lawyer will openly communicate with you regarding your case. Their experience includes working with accident victims who, like you, suffered injustice due to the careless actions of others.

The caring and compassionate approach they take with you differs from the aggressive and firm stand representing you. In addition, civil lawyers are well-versed in the tactics insurance companies use to confuse accident victims.

If your life turns upside down in an instant due to a negligent person, you do not have to fight your case alone. Hiring a lawyer can protect your best interests and provide peace of mind as you recover or grieve.

Consider Contacting a Lawyer Today

Time is not on your side as you contemplate your next step. Many personal injury attorneys work on a contingency-fee basis. This means that your lawyer does not collect legal fees unless and until they win your case.

The insurance companies do not want accident victims to contact an attorney. Their push to get victims to accept less than they deserve is a tactic to settle cases quickly.

An attorney can put a stop to insurance adjuster calls to your hospital room. Your attorney can firmly negotiate for a fair settlement and, if necessary, take your case before a judge and jury.

If you suffered a catastrophic injury due to another person’s negligence, consider pursuing compensation for your damages. If your loved one is never returning home due to someone’s careless actions, give careful thought to a wrongful death case.

The steps you take to pursue compensation are vital for your future medical needs. First, gather significant evidence, such as police reports, accident scene photographs, and the contact information for witnesses. Next, consider contacting a civil lawyer for a free case consultation.

Once you hire a lawyer, you can focus your time and energy on your physical and emotional health. Compensation is never promised, and each civil case is unique. Settling for less than you deserve is not an option you should consider.