How Much is My Personal Injury Accident Claim Worth?
When determining the value for a wrongful death and/or personal injury claim a number of factors are involved.
One of the first factors looked at is the "special damages" or the plaintiff's economic damage.
This can include but not limited to monetary losses as a result of the accident, lost earning and medical bills.
These type of damages are also usually easy to prove since they have readily available documentation.
This article will focus on valuing a personal injury accident claim.
Non Economic Damages On the other side of the coin are general damages or non economic damages.
These tend to be much harder to prove and therefore require some degree of legal skill in order to maximize the payoff.
This class of damages include but are not limited to impairment or loss of physical and mental capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, loss of consortium, companionship loss and emotional or physical pain and suffering.
Because of something referred to as "tort reform" many states have put a maximum dollar or award amount on non-economic damages.
Because of this you need to make sure that the lawyer you choose to represent you is experienced in dealing with non-economic damages and related concerns.
Punitive Damages It happens that sometimes the court will find that the defendant is liable for something called "punitive damages".
Keep in mind that these are usually not awarded as compensation for injury but rather to punish the defendant for there actions in the matter.
However, in most states to get this type of award it must be proved that the event the claim is made on or injuries resulted from gross negligence,malice or fraud on the part of the defendant.
This can include any separate statutory provisions that authorize the awarding of exemplary or punitive damages and sets a cause of action.
Most punitive damages involving medical malpractice claims tend to be based on gross negligence and/or malice.
This article has focused on the things to consider that go into valuing a personal injury accident claim.
of course when involved in anything that is outside of your own specific specialized knowledge you should seek the advice of competent professionals.
In this case you should be looking for a lawyer that specializes in this field of practice.
One of the first factors looked at is the "special damages" or the plaintiff's economic damage.
This can include but not limited to monetary losses as a result of the accident, lost earning and medical bills.
These type of damages are also usually easy to prove since they have readily available documentation.
This article will focus on valuing a personal injury accident claim.
Non Economic Damages On the other side of the coin are general damages or non economic damages.
These tend to be much harder to prove and therefore require some degree of legal skill in order to maximize the payoff.
This class of damages include but are not limited to impairment or loss of physical and mental capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, loss of consortium, companionship loss and emotional or physical pain and suffering.
Because of something referred to as "tort reform" many states have put a maximum dollar or award amount on non-economic damages.
Because of this you need to make sure that the lawyer you choose to represent you is experienced in dealing with non-economic damages and related concerns.
Punitive Damages It happens that sometimes the court will find that the defendant is liable for something called "punitive damages".
Keep in mind that these are usually not awarded as compensation for injury but rather to punish the defendant for there actions in the matter.
However, in most states to get this type of award it must be proved that the event the claim is made on or injuries resulted from gross negligence,malice or fraud on the part of the defendant.
This can include any separate statutory provisions that authorize the awarding of exemplary or punitive damages and sets a cause of action.
Most punitive damages involving medical malpractice claims tend to be based on gross negligence and/or malice.
This article has focused on the things to consider that go into valuing a personal injury accident claim.
of course when involved in anything that is outside of your own specific specialized knowledge you should seek the advice of competent professionals.
In this case you should be looking for a lawyer that specializes in this field of practice.
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