When you have suffered a loss or injury that was caused by the negligent or careless actions of another person, company or entity, you may have the legal right to seek compensation for damages by filing a personal injury claim. To reach a successful verdict or satisfactory settlement, your personal injury attorney must prove those damages as well as the defendant’s liability in the case. At Harrell & Harrell, P.A., our personal injury lawyers will fight on your behalf for all of the damages to which you’re entitled. Read on to learn more about the types of damages that may be part of a personal injury claim and how we can help ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
What Are Damages For?
Damages are intended to return a person to the condition or position they had before the event that caused their losses. In the case of a car accident, for example, your accident attorney will work to help you receive compensation for the costs of your physical injuries, the costs to repair or replace your car or other damaged property, and damages such as physical pain and mental suffering. These types of damages are generally either categorized as economic or monetary, or non-economic or non-monetary.
Compensatory Damages for Economic Losses
Economic losses may be awarded for the actual dollar amounts of your loss, such as your medical bills. Depending upon the specific circumstances of your accident, injury and losses, you may be entitled to compensation for these types of monetary losses and more:
Expenses for Medical Care
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in an accident, you can seek compensation for the financial costs incurred as a result. This is a broad category, and it can include these costs and more:
- Transportation from the accident scene by emergency personnel
- Treatment received in an emergency department at a hospital or other medical care facility
- Hospitalization
- Surgery costs
- Laboratory fees
- Costs for diagnostic scans and testing
- Bills from family physicians or other doctors
- Prescription medications
- Inpatient rehabilitation services or physical therapies
- Outpatient rehabilitation services or physical therapies
- In-home nursing or health care
- Medical devices such as walkers or crutches
Future Medical Costs
In addition to being reimbursed for medical expenses you have had to pay for so far, you may be entitled to medical costs that you will need to meet in the future, such as long-term physical therapy if you have suffered permanent injuries or the assistance of a home health aide over a long period of recovery time.
Lost Income or Wages
If you have had to miss work as a result of your injuries and were not paid for the missed time, you have the right to seek compensation for the wages you were not able to earn. This includes the time you have missed traveling to and from appointments for medical care of physical or vocational therapy.
Loss of Future Earnings
You may be entitled to compensation for the income you would have been able to earn in the future had you not suffered injuries due to someone else’s negligence.
Replacement or Repair of Damaged Property
If the property you own was lost or damaged as the result of an accident caused by someone else, you may be able to recover the cost of having it replaced or restored to its prior condition. Examples are repairs made to your vehicle and the loss of personal property in the vehicle, such as a laptop computer.
Household Services
If family members, friends, or neighbors are not able to assist you with household chores during your recovery, you may be awarded damages for the cost of household services. Examples of these services that you may no longer be able to perform include housecleaning, lawn mowing, and repairs.
Wrongful Death
If you have lost a loved one due to an accident caused by someone else’s careless or negligent actions or unreasonable act and you are the personal representative of your loved one’s estate, our attorneys can help you seek compensation for damages. These damages may include funeral costs or medical bills.
Compensatory Damages for Non-economic Losses
Non-monetary losses can be more challenging to prove than losses such as medical bills, but they are just as important as monetary losses to the well being of our clients and their families. From our decades of experience practicing personal injury law, we know that the successful recovery of these types of damages can help cover the true costs of our clients’ losses or injuries, both now and in the future.
Non-economic losses may include:
Pain and suffering
These damages relate to the pain presently caused by your actual physical injuries, as well as the pain you are likely to suffer in the future. Learn more about these damages and how they are calculated.
Emotional distress
Damages for emotional distress involve mental pain and suffering. This may include but not be limited to a loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, and fear. More severe forms of emotional distress include depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Loss of companionship
Also referred to sometimes as a loss of consortium, this is the loss of the emotional aspects of a relationship, such as the loss of comfort, affection, and assistance. Loss of companionship damages may be claimed to compensate a family member of someone who has died in a wrongful death case or been injured in an accident case.
Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm Now
For more than four decades, the personal injury lawyers at Harrell & Harrell, P.A., have helped clients with a wide range of personal injury cases. Personal injury is our law firm’s only focus, and we have the experience needed to help protect your financial future. Our practice areas include:
- auto accidents
- truck accidents
- slip and fall accidents
- wrongful death
- nursing home abuse
- medical malpractice
- and more
There’s never any fee for an initial consultation to help determine the strength of your case. If you would like to schedule a free consultation or just have questions about the types of damages you may be able to recover with a personal injury claim, please don’t hesitate to contact us online, or call us at 800-251-1111 or 904-251-1111 any time of day or night.