How Personal Injury Compensation Can Help You Get Back on Your Feet
A serious injury can alter your life. You may be overwhelmed by the consequences of your injuries, ranging from medical bills and lost income to suffering and pain.
Certain costs are simple to calculate, such as your medical expenses or time off work. Others are more subjective, such as your suffering and pain.
Lost wages
Injuries that cause loss of income can be devastating. Many families rely on their wages to cover essential expenses like rent or mortgage payments and food expenses. In New York, injured workers may be eligible to file a personal injury claim against the driver who caused the accident to recover the cost of lost wages. A successful claim will require evidence that the injury was the reason of the wage loss, and that it is directly linked to the accident.
The first step to calculate the loss of your wages is to determine the average weekly wage (AWW) that you earned before your accident. This can be done by looking through your pay stubs. An attorney can help gather documents to support your claim. Include knowing it if you have more than one employer or have multiple sources of income. Include any financial benefits that you receive, such as retirement benefits, health insurance or bonuses.
You may not be able to return to your job or you might be able do so in a reduced capacity, based on the nature of your injury. If you are in this situation, your insurance company may be required to provide temporary benefits such as an annual fixed payment that is which is based on a percentage of your income.
You could also be entitled to reimbursement of your paid time off (PTO) which you utilized to recover from your injury. The value of PTO is generally considered to be the equivalent of one day's salary.
When you calculate your lost wage, you should also consider any work-related costs that you've incurred. This could include the cost of any transportation, meals or equipment needed to help you recover.
While workers' compensation can provide you with the medical treatment and compensation for your current missed wages, it doesn't cover future lost earnings. If your injury stops you from working in the same field or with the same wage you can seek compensation for future losses through a separate process called "lost earning capacity." To be able to prove this claim, you must to prove the impact your injury has had on your ability to pursue a specific career path.
Medical bills
Many people are shocked when they look at the cost of an hospital visit, particularly an emergency room visit. Outpatient treatments can be costly. This is because medicine is a for-profit business, and doctors have to cover their costs and make profits. Therefore they have the right to place a lien on your personal injury settlement or award to recuperate the amount they were billed.
Medical bills are considered to be a part of the claim to compensation for injuries caused by the negligence of another. They are usually refunded by the party responsible for the accident and their insurance company. However, during the pendency of a case involving a car accident it is your obligation to pay the medical bills.
When your personal injury protection (PIP) has reached its $8,000 or $2,200 limit, you can use your health insurance to pay the remainder of your medical expenses. It is essential to keep your health insurance information in the the medical provider's file to allow them to pay these bills directly to them.
It is also important to confirm whether the medical professionals who treated you are authorized to treat you by the Workers' Compensation Board. If they are not, you'll be responsible for the bills should you ever receive an injury settlement.
It is also crucial to make sure that you inform your attorney regarding all of the doctors' offices, physical therapists and other medical providers you have been to. Your lawyer may be unaware of them and might not be able collect the amount due from your settlement.
Although there is no way to fully compensate for the physical and emotional trauma you've experienced as a result of the negligence of another the other party, a lawsuit for injury can be a great help. If you can prove that the other person's negligence is the cause of your serious injuries or the death of a loved ones, you could seek damages to pay for the loss of wages, medical expenses and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.
Suffering and pain
Unlike economic damages, such as medical bills and loss of income it is difficult to put a dollar value on the pain and suffering. It is important to hire an attorney who is able to explain to jurors the impact of your injury on your life. Evidence such as witness testimony, copies of your medical records and photos are all helpful. The jury should be able to understand the way your injury has impacted your life and prevented you from participating in other activities can have a significant impact.
Your lawyer may use one of two standard methods to determine your suffering and pain and suffering, which is the Multiplier method or the Per Diem method. The Multiplier method takes your monetary damages, and multiplies it by a number that ranges from one to five depending on the severity of your injury. The Per Diem method assigns an amount of money for each day you were injured, and then multiplies that number by the number of days required to recover fully. Your lawyer will take into account many aspects to determine the appropriate settlement amount for your discomfort and pain.
Computers and algorithms cannot measure pain or suffering, which is why every case has to be assessed each case individually. In addition to assessing the physical pain you are experiencing emotional anguish, mental stress and distress should be taken into consideration. This includes emotions such as depression, grief and anxiety. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental disorder that can cause extreme mental pain.
A psychologist or any other expert can testify to your injuries and how it has affected you. This can be done by written reports or face-to-face testimony. The more details you can provide, the more likely it is that your attorney can get you a higher compensation award for your pain and suffering.
Although the majority of personal injuries involve accidents, you can also bring an action against someone who deliberately harmed you. This kind of negligence claim is described as a civil tort. Civil torts are not unheard of, even though these claims are not common. They include wrongful death, medical negligence dog bite injuries, and defamation lawsuits.
Damages
Following an accident, a monetary award can aid someone to get back on their feet. It could also be used to compensate for intangible losses, such as pain and suffering. Typically, damages are paid by the defendant in an insurance settlement or by a judge or jury in a court case.
In general there are two kinds of damages: compensatory or punitive. Compensatory damages pay the plaintiff for actual expenses and are offered in nearly every personal injury claim. Punitive damages penalize the offender and deter similar behavior in the future.
When seeking compensation, it is crucial to include not just the past losses, like medical bills and lost wages, but also estimated future losses and expenses. This includes prescription drugs, future surgeries and any other costs that are not anticipated. It is important to also think about the impact of your injury on your quality-of-life. It is essential to take into account the consequences you face if, for example you are unable play with your kids or engage in other activities you enjoy.
Add up the expenses and lost wages to get a simple calculation of losses in the past. However, to calculate future medical expenses and a decrease in earning power, you'll need medical note from a doctor that outlines the amount of time you will be unable to work and your typical hourly rate. Then, you'll be able to divide the number of days between your date of greatest medical improvement and when you are scheduled to resume work by that daily rate to calculate estimated lost earnings.
You may also be entitled to compensation for "loss or consortium" in the event that your accident has caused emotional anxiety in your relationship with your spouse or other family members.
It's difficult to put a price on pain and suffering, but you deserve the full and fair compensation for the injury. Often, this category of damages will be based on a jury or judge's decision, not on actual evidence. Your attorney can explain this in greater depth and help you decide the level of damages you're entitled to for your injury.