Compensation Pain, Suffering, and Disruption of Life:
- Lost earnings
- Lost pension contributions
- The cost of medical treatment
- Damaged personal possessions
- The cost of employing domestic assistance
- Damaged property
- Canceled holidays fees
- Compensation for those who cared for the victim, even if they were not paid
- Postage and telephone costs for correspondence with a lawyer
- Extra heating bills if the victim is housebound
- In motor cases the victim can claim for excess, the cost of hiring a car, the cost of repairs, the victim’s inconvenience if he or she is without a car while it is being repaired or replaced.
Once the case goes to trial the judge has to determine what type of compensation and how much compensation should be awarded to the victim of the personal injury case. The types of compensation available in a personal injury case include money payments, payments for services, services rendered, compensation for medical bills and payment for lost wages.
Compensation for Incurred Expenses:
- Expenses for the care, treatment, and hospitalization of the person involved in the accident or who died as a result of the personal injury accident
- Sorrow, mental anguish, and loss of companionship
- The expected loss of income of the person who was injured or who died
- The expected loss of services, protection, care, and/or assistance which the person who was injured or who died provided to the survivors/beneficiaries
- Loss of victim's future earnings until the time of retirement
- Loss of medical benefits, pension, and 401(k) as a result of the injury or the death
- Loss of inheritance caused by the untimely death of the victim
- General Damages
- Compensation for any property damage caused by the accident that caused the injury or the death of the loved one
- Pain and suffering
- Reasonable funeral expenses if the accident resulted in a death
Proving the Case and Compensation Fairness
The plaintiff’s attorney in a personal injury case will need to prove that the defendant was guilty in the case and that the amount of compensation being asked for is appropriate to the injury that occurred. Some states will allow the victim of a personal injury case to collect interest on the compensation awarded by the judge until it is paid in full by the defendant of the case. The interest will continue to accrue until the final payment is made to the plaintiff.
This helps the victim or the family of the victim to collect on their accident injury compensation much quicker because the defendant will not want to have to pay more and more money as time goes by. The plaintiff in a personal injury case must realize that there is a statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit when attempting to obtain compensation for injuries or death inflicted. If the suit is filed after the statute of limitations, the court will not allow the suit to continue
