Injury victims that pursue personal injury cases can recover the damages they incurred as a result of their injury. The damages a personal injury law firm can collect on behalf of an injury victim (most often from an insurance company) are meant to compensate them for the losses they suffered as a result of the incident.
Recovering Economic Damages in a Personal Injury Case
Economic damages refer to the money lost by the injured victim as a result of their slip and fall or motor vehicle crash (or even dog bite). This money is paid by the responsible parties or their insurance companies.
Courts will also award the victim money spent on recovery or lost as a result of the victim’s injuries. Economic damages can also be money the victim is expected to spend on future care or that they are expected to lose in the future as a result of their injuries.
Recovering for Past and Future Medical Bills in a Personal Injury Case
The most common economic damage is a personal injury claim is medical bills. An injury victim can recover for all of the medical expenses incurred as a result of their injuries. These can include hospital bills, chiropractic bills, imaging (such as x-ray and MRI) bills, specialist bills, and medical facility bills.
Additionally, when a personal injury attorney claims the victims damages, they should always include expected future medical costs. These can include the expected costs of recommended future care. Often, medical professionals like surgeons and chiropractors will make recommendations and predictions about the care an injury victim will need. An experienced personal injury lawyer will claim these future damages in any demand they make upon the insurance company.
Lost Wages and Loss of Future Earning Capacity
An injury victim can also recover their lost wages via a claim or injury lawsuit. Any money the victim lost from their job as a result of their inability to work due to their injuries is recoverable. Courts and juries try to compensate injury victims for these losses.
Further, injury victims can recover for their future loss of earning ability. This might seem complicated but it is actually fairly straightforward. If in the future an injury victim is unable to perform the job they had prior to the accident, courts will attempt to compensate them for this loss of ability to earn money.
For instance, a construction worker with a serious spine injury may not be able to work in construction in the future. Courts will try to compensate the victim for this loss of earning capacity via the damages awarded from the case.
Recovering Non-Economic Damages in a Personal Injury Case
The most common non-economic damages people think of are pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of the ability to enjoy life. These damages are difficult to quantify.
Pain and Suffering refers mainly to the physical pain a person endures when injured. Courts and juries will attempt to compensate injury victims for their daily pain from their injuries under this category.
Whereas mental anguish deals with the emotional pain injury victims suffer as a result of their injuries. People often refer to mental anguish as emotional distress. Florida courts attempt to compensate injury victims for mental harm they suffer with damages in this category.
Lastly, loss of the ability to enjoy life refers to ways an injury victim’s life has changed for the worse since their injury. These damages refer to loss of a hobby or ability to travel or take vacations.
Victims can recover these non-economic damages in a personal injury case but not in a workers compensation case.
Call Knapp Accident & Injury Law
Call Knapp Accident & Injury Law for a free consultation if you or a loved one has been hurt by the negligence of someone else. We can discuss the insurance claims process (including when it would make sense to file a lawsuit) and the damages you can recover in a personal injury case. All conversations are completely confidential as a result of the attorney-client relationship.
We are open 24 hours a day and seven days a week to discuss your potential claim with you. Call us today at (813) 568-3724.
