Claiming Expenses for Your Personal Injury Accident

After being involved in an accident in which you obtain a personal injury, you’ll want to start thinking of compensation. If someone else was at fault for your accident, whether it was an accident or on purpose, that individual is also responsible to pay for all expenses incurred. Whether you’re in the process of filing an insurance claim or are thinking about filing a lawsuit, the following are some expenses you may be able to claim.

Special Compensatory Damages

A special compensatory damage is something with an exact monetary value. You can easily seek an exact amount for these damages by totaling up some numbers. For example, if you were injured and had to ride in an ambulance to the emergency room, where you underwent emergency surgery, you would have a bill from the ambulance contractor, the hospital emergency room, the surgeon, and possibly others such as an anesthesiologist or other specialist.

You can also seek special compensatory damages for lost wages. Your employer can provide you with a form that shows how much you’ve missed out on due to your injuries. It’s also possible you’ll have the loss of earning ability, and that can be determined with a mathematical equation as well.

General Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are general when they don’t have an exact value. This could include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, loss of companionship, and other similar losses. Because there’s no obvious monetary value that can be placed on these items, a court will decide how much you deserve for each of them.

Punitive Damages

If your injury was due to the blatant negligence of another individual, the judge may award punitive damages. These are awarded as a way to punish the defendant, though the plaintiff receives the compensation. When the defendant was malicious or extremely irresponsible in his or her actions, the judge may award punitive damages to teach the defendant a lesson and to deter him or her from doing the same thing again.

Contacting a Lawyer

There are a lot of different types of special and general compensatory damages you may be able to seek for your personal injury. Your lawyer can help you place a number on them, as well as look to the future for expenses that may occur later as a result of the injury. To learn more about what expenses you can claim, and to receive the help of someone in the legal world, contact a personal injury lawyer today.