4 Types of Compensation for Personal Injury Cases

If you have suffered a personal injury case and are hoping to gain compensation, you might be curious to know what types of compensation are available to you. When you are hurt because of someone’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation either through a lawsuit or a settlement outside of court. Visiting a trusted personal injury attorney’s website such as callpaul.com can give victims a little more insight into the kind of compensation they might be able to fight for and what cases they might be able to represent in court.

The best way to determine what kind of compensation you can receive is to talk to a personal injury lawyer as they can walk you through your case and see exactly what happened. They can talk to the at-fault person’s insurance company to see if a settlement can be reached. If not, the case may be taken to court and a lawsuit will have to be filed. 

Personal Injury Compensation 

When you want to receive compensation for personal injury cases, you need to try to claim all the losses you have experienced and also try to receive additional compensation when possible. 

Here are some of the compensations you can try to seek. 

Economic Damages

Anytime you have been harmed by the negligence of someone, you will suffer from financial losses. The compensation you receive for the financial losses is called economic damages. 

This is usually the easiest compensation to receive because it can be calculated. You can add up the money you have lost and present the court or insurance company with the figure. 

Here are some of the things you can seek economic damages for:

• Loss of damage to your property because of the injuries you have received
• Financial losses you have lost from your pocket because of the negligence of the other person
• Loss of wages both past and future if you are still unable to work because of the injuries that you sustained
• Lost wages for all the time that you missed off work including any vacation days or sick days that you had to take
• Medical bills that you received because of the injury
• Future medical bills that are associated with the injury such as if you need ongoing care or if you need things like physical therapy

If, for example, you get into an accident in Denver, Colorado and require chiropractic care to manage back and neck pain from whiplash, you might be able to receive compensation to receive services from a local chiropractor such as those at Governor’s Park Chiropractic. 

You and your lawyer can sit down and take a look at all the medical bills you have received as well as calculate the income you have lost because of the injuries. 

Non Economic Damages

When you have been hurt or injured by a negligent person, you are entitled to seek compensation for things other than financial losses. These are often harder to put on a number on compared to economic damages. 

Some of the things you can seek non economic damages for include:

• Disfigurement
• Emotional distress that was caused by the accident or any injuries that you received
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of companionship if you are no longer able to work or do the things you used to do that allowed you to have a circle of friends and a social life
• Loss of enjoyment of life

When insurance companies are trying to figure out numbers for non economic damages, they will usually multiple your economic damages by a number between 1.5 to 5 depending on how severe your injuries are. 

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages can only be sought if the defendant acted in a way that was more than just negligent. This means they acted in a way that intended to purposely harm you or they showed a complete disregard for your life and safety. 

These damages and compensation are different because they are more of a punishment on the defendant rather than designed to help you recover from your losses. Usually punitive damages are determined by the court and they are figured based on how severe the defendant’s actions were. 

Wrongful Death Damages

Wrongful death damages are received when someone’s negligent actions caused one of your loved ones to die. Close members like children and spouses are usually eligible to file a wrongful death claim to try and receive compensation because of their loss. 

There are several things you can receive compensation for when it comes to wrongful death claims including:

• Loss of companionship because you no longer have your loved one around
• Funeral expenses and expenses related to the burial
• Medical bills that were incurred before the death
• Suffering and pain experienced because of the death of the loved one
• Loss of wages and financial contributions that the person would have been able to contribute to their family if they had not died
• Emotional distress from the family members because of the death of their loved one

As you can see, some of these damages are very hard to calculate and give a number to. Sometimes, the court will look at how close the relationship was and how much you financially lost especially if the person was the head of the house and the main income earner. 

Limitations on Compensation

There are usually limits of some kind that limit the amount of compensation you can receive from injury claims. Economic damages are not usually capped, but punitive damages and non economic damages are. 

These limits are more common in medical malpractice cases because there are also limits on doctor liability. 

Insurance companies also have limits on claims so if the compensation is set by the court to go above the what the insurance company says they will pay, then the excess will have to be paid by the defendant or another means. 

This is why it’s important to know about the limits from the defendant’s insurance company and if there are other limits outlined by your state. This will help you be able to see how much you might be able to recover on a practical and reasonable level. Checking on Bench Craft Company Lawsuit.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to the compensation of personal injuries, it can be hard to determine how much money and other forms of compensation you are entitled to. This is why it’s recommended to get a personal injury lawyer that can talk to the insurance company and court on your behalf.