How an Injury Lawyer Can Help
An injury lawyer can help you in getting compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering. They can also take on with the aggressive tactics employed by employers, insurers and even some healthcare professionals.
Injury lawyers can choose to focus on this area. This allows them to acquire an extensive knowledge and understanding of the area.
Damages
When you suffer an injury due to someone else's negligence, the resulting damages can result in physical, financial, and emotional pain for you and your family. A personal injury lawyer is able to help you recover these losses through the process of filing an accident lawsuit or claim against the responsible party. Damages are your recourse against the wrongdoer and can be classified as compensatory or punitive.
Compensatory damages can be quantified in dollar amounts. For example medical bills, or lost wages. A jury or judge will review these costs and determine the amount that is fair to reimburse you.
Expert witnesses and a doctor can also help you calculate the future medical expenses and loss of quality of living. When calculating these costs, it is important to keep meticulous receipts and records. Your attorney for injuries may consult with medical experts to learn about your particular diagnosis, limitations and the expected consequences for your future.
Valuing non-economic damages such as pain and suffering is more difficult. It is important to choose an attorney with experience in valuing injuries and needs. This includes mental stress and loss of enjoyment life.
Your lawyer can attempt to settle the case prior to trial with the insurer of the defendant. injury attorney chico is to reach an equitable settlement quickly in order so that you can be free of the financial burden and stress that was caused by the accident. If negotiations fail, then your lawyer can start a lawsuit and present the matter before a judge or jury. In the course of a trial, your lawyer will argue and present evidence before an arbitrator or judge. If you prevail in a court, your attorney will work out a plan to collect the payout.
Suffering and Pain
If you are injured in an accident, it is not only the physical injuries you are suffering. The emotional trauma can be significant and cause ongoing discomfort. You may also have difficulty getting used to your new routine particularly if you're affected by a permanent disfigurement. This is often called "pain and suffering."
The pain and suffering of a person is difficult to quantify when compared to other economic damages like medical expenses loss of wages, pain and suffering and future earnings. However there are methods that your lawyer can help determine the fair value of these expenses.
For example there are many states that use the multiplier method to determine the amount of pain and suffering damages you should receive. They take your economic losses and multiply them by a number between 1.5 and 5. Typically the more severe the physical injuries you suffer then the higher the multiplier will be.
Other methods of measuring pain and suffering include the per diem method in which a specific dollar amount is assigned to each day you suffer the injury. Your lawyer can provide you with the various methods and assist you in deciding which one is best for your particular situation.
Although proving that you suffer from mental pain and suffering is harder than proving your financial losses, your attorney will try to provide concrete evidence of the suffering you've experienced. He or she may require you to keep the track of your emotional and/or physical pain to describe it to the jury.
If your case goes to trial, you can expect the jury to spend several hours deliberating what they believe is a fair amount of money you should receive for your suffering and pain. A judge can alter the verdict of a jury in rare instances.
Lost Wages
In addition to damages to property and medical expenses victims could be able to obtain compensation for lost wages in a lawsuit brought against the person who was at fault. This is known as loss of earning capacity (LOSC). This damages award covers future earnings from promotions, raises and bonuses that the victim would have received in their current job, and includes fringe benefits such as gym memberships, use of a company car, or electronic equipment loaned by the company.
An attorney for injuries can help you demonstrate the full impact of your accident by providing pay receipts, tax returns and earnings statements. These documents can show the amount of time you were absent from work, as also the hourly rate at which you typically earn per shift. If you were paid commission, your attorney can obtain additional evidence from your business associates to illustrate how much you could have earned had you been working.
It is important to understand that you are only entitled to the lost wages that resulted from your accident. This is in contrast to the more speculative types of damages, including emotional and punitive damages.
In the case of lost earning capacity, it's essential to obtain expert witnesses who can offer their opinion about your capacity to fulfill your duties after the injury. This can be a complex job that requires the use of computer software to demonstrate the differences between your current capabilities and those that you had prior to the accident. Your NY injury lawyer will utilize the testimony from experts to help you get the appropriate lost wages damages award. They will also counter arguments that are made by the responsible party or their insurance companies that your injuries are not severe enough to keep you from working, based on generic or statistical data.