Besides your physical (and mental) recovery, the most important thing after a serious personal injury is getting the monetary compensation you deserve. You probably have a mountain of medical bills to pay down, which is all the more difficult with your injury putting you out of work. That’s to say nothing of the financial strain on your friends and loved ones.
Damages is the collective term for the compensation (monetary or otherwise) used to make the injured party whole in a personal injury case. Compensatory damages are meant to help the plaintiff get back to the position they were in prior to the injury—or as close to that position as possible.
Sounds fairly simple, right? It should be that simple to get the money you deserve after an accident, but external factors can make the process complicated. We’ll go over what you should know about getting compensatory damages after a personal injury.
There’s really no such thing as a typical personal injury case. The circumstances of each case are unique, which is just one reason why it takes a long time for personal injury cases to be brought to resolution.
The amount your personal injury case might settle for depends on many factors, such as:
It’s difficult to provide a damages range for severe or catastrophic personal injury cases, which can add up to millions of dollars. The value of a personal injury case can vary depending on the facts of the case, injuries involved, and damages that can be proven. Some cases settle for thousands while some can go into the millions.
You shouldn’t feel pressured to settle your personal injury case if you feel you’re consistently being lowballed. Courts exist for a reason, and your attorney should be prepared to take your case to trial at any point.
However, the vast majority of these cases (up to 95 percent, according to some estimates) settle before a judge or jury verdict. Plaintiffs sometimes prefer the certainty of settlements to a judge or jury deciding on damages. Trials can also be expensive and time-consuming.
You should not assume your case would net somewhere in the ranges above. Getting the money you need depends on how well your attorney is able to negotiate with the other party and the strength of your case, among other factors. Effective lawyers can objectively evaluate your case and advise you on the route most likely to achieve a favorable result.
Compensation, or damages, available in California personal injury cases fall into one of three categories: economic, non-economic, and punitive. Economic and non-economic damages are both considered compensatory damages. Non-economic damages are sometimes referred to in California as general damages, and economic damages may be called special damages.
The purpose of economic (or special) damages is to help the victim get back into the financial position they were in prior to the accident. Economic damages are relatively straightforward—they often include losses like healthcare expenses, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, property repairs, and other easily quantifiable damages.
The other type of compensatory damages, non-economic damages, aims to compensate victims for everything else they lost after they suffered a serious injury.
What can you lose out on apart from out-of-pocket medical expenses and missed wages? It depends on the circumstances of the case, but one thing victims might claim is that they lost the ability to be a companion to their spouse or partner. Not being able to accompany your partner on vacations or be intimate with them are two very real losses that are nonetheless difficult to quantify.
Experiencing a mental illness caused by a serious accident may also lead to a diminished quality of life. Testimony from your friends, loved ones, and medical providers can help bolster claims for non-economic, or general, damages.
Punitive damages go beyond the plaintiff’s losses. Defendants sometimes engage in grossly negligent or malicious behavior that cannot be chalked up to a momentary lapse in judgment. In these extreme cases, courts may find it appropriate to punish defendants to deter anyone from behaving similarly in the future. Few personal injury cases result in punitive damages, but they may apply in your case.
A personal injury case involves harm to someone’s body, reputation, or emotions that arise from the actions of some other entity. Plaintiffs must show that they suffered losses due to someone else’s breach of a duty of care. In other words, the defendant was not acting like a reasonable person would have under the same circumstances.
A few types of personal injury cases you might hear about include:
Many personal injury cases get resolved before the victim files a lawsuit. For instance, someone who suffered injuries due to a car accident might be satisfied with the payout offered by the other driver’s insurance company. Some cases require a little negotiating before both parties agree on a resolution.
If you think a lawsuit is in your near future, though, make sure you address the following considerations.
Your personal injury lawsuit will likely get dismissed if you do not file within the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the window of time after the accident in which victims are legally allowed to sue.
Most California personal injury cases have a two-year statute of limitations, but several exceptions exist—particularly in medical malpractice cases and circumstances involving government entities. Acting quickly after you suffer a personal injury is critical for a successful claim.
Identifying the liable person or entity in a personal injury case is sometimes more complicated than it might initially seem. If you are involved in a commercial vehicle accident, the driver might not be the liable party; the employer, cargo loader, vehicle manufacturer, or public works department might bear all or part of the liability. Your attorney will be helpful in determining the responsible party.
Insurance policies may apply in your personal injury case, but that’s no guarantee that the insurance providers will operate in good faith and give you what you deserve. As long as you satisfy the terms of your insurance policy in connection with your claim—such as notifying your agent in a prompt manner and providing the requested information—the company should do its part.
Filing a lawsuit against an insurance company or against their insured directly might be necessary if you aren’t getting the compensation you need and deserve. A lawsuit might also help if insurance policies don’t pay enough. For instance, the minimum car insurance limits California drivers are required to have may cover only a portion of the economic damages incurred in a catastrophic car accident.
Deserving plaintiffs sometimes miss out on damages because they lack evidence against defendants. You should hold on to every medical bill and communication with your insurance company after a personal injury. Pictures of the accident scene and your physical injuries may also be crucial in proving your case. Remember to also hold onto police reports, notes, diagrams, and witness information. Your lawyer will let you know which pieces of evidence will be important to your case, but it’s always wise to preserve everything that may be remotely connected to your personal injury.
One wrinkle in California law you should know about is the state’s pure comparative negligence system it uses to determine fault. Under this legal arrangement, plaintiffs don’t obtain the full amount of the damages they suffered if they bear some liability for the accident or incident that caused their injuries. The compensation they receive is proportional to the other party’s liability.
If, for example, you suffered damages totaling $250,000 after a serious car accident but were 20 percent at fault for the accident, you would not receive the entire $250,000. Instead, you would get $200,000, or 80 percent of the total damages incurred.
Understanding the countless legal nuances relevant in any California personal injury case can be extremely difficult for someone who’s not an attorney. You know better than anyone else on the planet the extent of your losses and the ways you’ve suffered, but it takes a legal professional to translate your experience into the payout you deserve.
Experienced California personal injury attorneys know how to negotiate with insurance companies and the other side’s legal counsel. They know which evidence is most compelling in and out of court. A skilled personal injury lawyer is your greatest asset, and you deserve a firm with proven results.
Thompson Law focuses on helping clients get the compensatory damages they need and deserve when they have suffered due to another person’s actions. We will stand by your side every step of the way. No fight is too big, and no case is too complex.
We offer free initial consultations, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you think there’s the smallest chance your case is legitimate. You don’t pay us unless we recover compensation for you first.
Thompson Law charges NO FEES unless we obtain a settlement for your case. We have put over $1.9 billion in cash settlements into our clients’ pockets.
Contact us today for a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your accident, get answers to your questions, and understand your legal options. State law limits the time you have to file a claim after an injury accident, so call today.
