Types of Personal Injury Compensation
Tucson, Arizona
Whenever you are injured in an accident and you win your personal injury case, there are several different types of compensation that you may walk away with. Regardless of how you have received your personal injury, it’s essential to know what types of payment you may get and what types of compensation you’re eligible for.
Before we delve into that though, let’s look at what personal injury law is and how you can win your case.
What is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is any injury that you suffer due to someone else’s actions, often due to carelessness on one party’s part. If you suffer a personal injury, it only applies if you are not at fault for the accident.
For example, let’s say that a distracted driver runs a red light and hits you while you are crossing the street. In order to gain compensation from the driver who injured you, your lawyer will need to prove negligence.
The case needs to show that the person who injured you had a responsibility to be careful around the victim and that their lack of responsibility is what caused your injury. If the driver was distracted by texting, which was why they ran the red light, your lawyer could prove that the driver was responsible, and their negligence caused the injury.
It’s all about proving negligence and figuring out who was at fault for the accident. Once that is done, your personal injury lawyer can help you figure out what type of compensation you are eligible for and how to go about getting it.
Personal Injury Compensation
Once negligence has been proven, and you move forward with the case, you will be given some options for receiving compensation. The type of compensation can vary depending on the situation, but there are several different types available. Understanding when and how certain types can be used will help you get the best possible compensation for your injuries and allow you to heal.
Emotional Distress
Emotional Distress is one of the most common types of compensation and can come into play no matter what kind of accident you suffer. If you have an unexpected accident and unexpected medical bills resulting from that accident, then emotional distress is relevant to your case. This is compensation for the mental worry and pain and suffering that your accident gave you.
The psychological damage of a car crash, trip and fall, or another type of accident can be much more damaging than the physical wounds or damage. This compensation takes all of that into account, covering everything from depression to PTSD.
Arizona has no cap on the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded. However, the United States Supreme Court believes that punitive damages to compensatory damages that exceeds 9:1 will generally be deemed unconstitutional.
Source: Enjuris
Punitive Compensation
Punitive compensation is designed to help you heal as the victim of the accident and deter the same action from happening again. It’s a punishment. It ties into the negligence side of personal injury whenever ‘willful and wanton’ negligence is performed. ‘Willful and Wanton’ negligence is whenever someone understands that doing an action is dangerous and can cause harm but does it anyway.
An example of this would be a driver running several red lights in a row and crashing into a business. The business owner could sue if he were injured during the crash for willful and wanton negligence. The driver knew that nothing good could come of running several red lights, but he performed the dangerous action anyway (ie. Driving Drunk).
Property Damage Compensation
If your property gets damaged during an accident, you can recover damages to return your items to the pre-accident condition. If your car is crashed into and you lose clothing or equipment during the crash, you can sue for damaged to get your property recovered. Typically, when the property damage compensation is paid out, the price goes down to the market value.
Property damage can include the repairs to your vehicle, your car’s market value if it is irreparable, and any costs to your rental car, along with the damaged property that was in the car, such as a phone or laptop.
If you are able to, after the crash, be sure to take pictures and video of the damaged car from as many angles as possible. Also, take a picture of or write down a list of all your property damaged in the crash.
All of this evidence will help you make sure that your side of the story is told, and you have proof to back up your claims. Do as much as you can and know that all the data you take will help you receive your needed compensation later.
Lost Wages
This is another common type of personal injury compensation since most people involved in accidents are often too severely hurt to return to work. If you can’t do what you used to do for your job before the accident, you can seek compensation for your lost wages.
The total compensation you receive is pulled from the pay you would have received if you had not been injured. If you would have worked fifty hours and made 500 dollars if you hadn’t been injured, then you can sue for that and receive that compensation.
If you cannot return to the same job after your accident, you can collect earnings for future lost wages. If you are a construction worker and permanently injure your arm, you won’t be as good at that job post-injury.
So you can get compensation for future lost wages, which takes the potential amount of money that you would have earned before the accident and compares it to the money you are earning after the accident. Then you can make the difference.
Medical Expenses as Compensation
You can also claim the injuries you suffer during the accident as compensation that can be covered. You will have some level of medical expenses, and it can help offset some or all of the cost.
Some of these expenses can be hospital bills, therapy bills, and the cost of your surgery. However, medical expenses are a bit more thorough. You need to document the issues and procedures you are undertaking to make sure that you are getting the most compensation for your injuries.
During the trial, you will need to show your medical bills to the judge in order to prove that you deserve the amount you are asking for. Additionally, your doctor or physician will also need to testify to show that these costs are reasonable.
Getting medical expenses as compensation requires more steps, but it can also pay off if you manage to receive it. Then all those medical expenses are covered by either your insurance or the person who caused your accident, and that can be a huge relief.
Personal Injury Compensation
Personal injury compensation is an essential part of your recovery from an accident or injury. It helps take some of the medical bill pressure off of you and also works to give you a measure of justice from the person who caused your injury.
In order to make sure you understand the requirements for the different types of compensation, it’s essential to hire an excellent personal injury lawyer. They’ll be able to help you understand your options and fight to make sure that you receive the benefits and compensation you need to heal.