What Is an Injury Claim?

An injury claim is a request for monetary compensation from a person who caused you harm. It is usually handled outside of court. Your lawyer handles all communication with both the defendant and his insurance company.

Special damages are easy to calculate, and they include costs related to your injury like medical bills, repair bills and lost wages. General damages can be more difficult to calculate and include things like pain and suffering.

Medical Treatment

A claim for injury is insufficient without medical treatment. Workers who are injured must receive the necessary medical care to treat their injuries and prove that they suffered injury by someone else's negligence. This is also a good method to determine the amount of damages the responsible party should pay.

Under California workers insurance laws, you have the right to medical treatment that is reasonable to cure or relieve work-related injuries and illnesses. The doctors who provide that care must follow guidelines that are based on scientifically-supported medical treatments.

In calculating your total pain and suffering, the insurance adjuster will consider your medical bills to determine how serious your injuries were. They might use a multiplier to determine a suitable range for your damages. But, if you've had gaps in your treatment or if your physical therapy account for a significant portion of your bills the insurance adjuster might view your injuries as not as severe as you claim.

There are a myriad of reasons why gaps could be present in your treatment. Transportation issues, family issues and other circumstances that are unavoidable can hinder your ability to schedule an appointment with a physician. A experienced personal injury lawyer can gather evidence that a delay in your treatment was due to an unavoidable incident.

Lost Wages

The loss of income resulting from injuries in a car accident is a different type of economic damage that can be recouped through personal injury claims or lawsuit. This is known as lost wages or loss of earnings, and it can be among the most significant losses victims face because of their injuries.

Loss of wages can be devastating for an injured victim, and are often difficult for victims to manage. Those who work full-time or even those with hourly pay can easily be unable to pay for large amounts when they must leave work due to injuries. In addition to losing on the value of missed work hours injured workers could also lose out on other benefits of the company like gym memberships, company-loaned vehicles and other benefits.

In some cases, injuries caused by a crash can be so severe that the victim cannot return to work or they permanently become unable to carry out their job duties because of emotional and physical trauma. In such a situation the victim may be entitled to future lost wages or lost earning capacity, in addition to the damages.

To be eligible for compensation for lost wages resulting from an accident, you'll be required to prove the hours you didn't work at work. This could include pay stubs, employment records, profit-and-loss statements and tax documents. A doctor's note or disability slip that details the injuries sustained and the amount of time the victim must stay out of work in order to recover is important as well.

Pain & Suffering

Pain and suffering is one of the most difficult damages to prove. This includes any discomfort, pain or emotional trauma that is caused by an injury. It also includes loss of enjoyment of life and any disfigurement which may be the result of the accident.

Your lawyer will be able to help you determine the amount your claim may be worth through an objective analysis of your injuries and how they impact your daily activities. This kind of information is usually more convincing to jurors than receipts and bills.

There are a variety of ways to determine the amount of pain and suffering including the multiplier method, as well as the per diem method. The multiplier method is where your actual economic losses are added up and then multiplied by an amount between 1.5 and five, based on how serious your injuries are.

There is also the possibility to seek non-economic damages, such as loss of consortium, physical impairment, and disfigurement. Physical impairment is any limitation you may face in performing your daily activities due to the injury, and disfigurement may be awarded for any permanent or recurring damage caused by the accident.

Injuries and pain like other damages are subjective and difficult to quantify. That's why it is important to keep records of your injuries and discomfort in the event that they occur so you can record the impact on your life.

Damages

There are some costs that can be printed on receipts and added to make a neat number but there are also costs that aren't quantifiable. General compensatory damages address these intangible losses.

For instance, emotional distress isn't an expense that can be printed, but you may be able to recover compensation for the negative effect on your life that your injuries have caused. This could include anxiety, fear and post-traumatic stress disorder. You may also be eligible for compensation for the loss of enjoyment in life in the event that an injury has impeded you from enjoying the activities you enjoyed prior to.

Special damages are financial compensation for costs you've had to pay as a result of your illness or injury. They can include travel to and from hospital prescriptions and treatment costs, home adaptations and care needs. You may also be able to claim lost future earnings in the event that an injury or illness prevents you from returning to the same job.

In certain cases, a court may give the court with exemplary damages. These damages are intended to punish defendants for serious conduct, such as defamation. A lawyer who has experience can help you determine if exemplary damages are applicable in your case.