How an Injury Lawyer Can Help

Whether you are looking to obtain compensation for medical bills, lost wages or suffering and pain, an injury lawyer can assist. They can also assist with aggressive tactics employed by employers, insurance companies and even some health care experts.

Injury lawyers often choose to concentrate on a specific area of law. This allows them to gain a comprehensive knowledge and expertise of the field.

Damages

When you suffer an injury due to the negligence of another, 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 by way of filing an accident claim or lawsuit against the person responsible. Damages are your remedy against the perpetrator and can be classified as punitive or compensatory.

Compensatory damages are costs that can be quantified which can be documented in specific dollar amounts such as medical expenses and lost wages. A jury or judge could analyze these expenses and figure out a fair amount of money to reimburse you.

Expert witnesses and a doctor can also determine future medical expenses as well as loss of quality of living. When documenting these expenses, it is crucial to keep precise receipts and documents. Your injury attorney may also consult with medical experts to determine your particular diagnosis and limitations, as well as the likely impact on your future.

Valuing non-economic damages such as pain and suffering is more difficult. It is important to consult an experienced injury lawyer who can establish a fair dollar value on your injuries and Injury needs. This includes the loss of enjoyment of life and mental stress.

Your lawyer may try to settle your case before trial with the defendant's insurer. The goal is to negotiate you a fair settlement as soon as possible, to ease your financial burden and stress caused by the accident. If negotiations fail, your lawyer can start a lawsuit and take the case to trial. A trial is a legal proceeding where your injury lawyer presents arguments and evidence before a jury or judge. If you get a verdict, your attorney will make arrangements to collect the amount.

Suffering and Pain

You may suffer more than just physical injuries when are injured in an accident. Traumas to your emotions can be important and can cause chronic discomfort. In addition, you might be experiencing difficulties adjusting to your new life, particularly if your injury causes lasting disfigurement. This is often called "pain and suffering."

Unlike the more tangible economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and the loss of future earnings, suffering and pain is hard to quantify. There are many ways that your attorney can assist in establishing a fair value of these losses.

For instance the majority of states use a multiplier method for calculating the amount of pain and damages you're entitled to. They take your entire economic losses and multiply them by a figure between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier is higher when you've suffered a severe physical injury.

Other methods of the calculation of pain and suffering are the per diem method, in which a specific dollar amount is assigned to each day that you are suffering from the injury. Your lawyer can explain the various methods and help you determine which one is best for your situation.

Your lawyer will do everything possible to prove the mental distress you've suffered. He or she may require you to keep the track of your emotional and/or physical pain to report it to a jury.

If your case is being tried by a jury, you can anticipate that the jury will take a lot of time to determine what they believe is an appropriate amount to compensate for your pain and discomfort. In certain cases judges may modify a jury's decision, but this is extremely rare.

Lost Wages

In addition to medical expenses and property damage, victims may receive compensation for lost wages through a lawsuit against an at-fault party. This is known as loss of earning capacity (LOSC). The damages award is based on future earnings from promotions, raises and bonuses that a victim would have received in their regular employment, and includes the value of fringe benefits such as gym memberships, use of a company vehicle or company-loaned electronics.

An injury lawsuits lawyer can help you demonstrate the full impact of your injury by presenting pay statements, tax returns, and earnings statements. These documents can show how much time you've missed at work and what you usually earn per hour. If you were paid via commission, your lawyer can seek additional evidence from business associates in order to establish how much you could have earned if could have continued working.

It is important to understand that you only have the right to the lost wages that occurred because of your injury. This is in contrast with the more speculative damages which can be awarded, such as punitive damages and emotional distress.

If you have lost earning capacity, it is crucial to have expert witnesses who can provide opinions regarding your capability to perform your job after the injury. This can be a complex task and requires the use of computer software to illustrate the differences between your current capabilities and those you had prior to the accident. Your NY injury lawyer will use the testimony of experts to help you obtain the right lost wage award. They will also counter arguments that are made by the responsible party or their insurance company that your injuries weren't severe enough to hinder you from working on statistical or general data.