Three Lesser-Known Types Of Damage In Personal Injury Cases
Posted on: 11 May 2015
Share
When you have been injured in an accident, you may suffer from several types of damages. Most people immediately think of the financial losses due to medical bills as being the only major type of damage that you suffer after an accident. However, there are actually several other lesser-known, yet still significant, kinds of damage that you may have to deal with. Your personal injury lawyer can usually help you recover these types of damages. The top three types of lesser-known damages in personal injury cases are detailed below.
Future Medical Costs
If you have a permanent injury, or an injury that will require ongoing medical care for a protracted period of time, you may be entitled to this type of damage. This damage award would include compensation for things including:
- Future hospital stays
- Future doctor appointments
- Prescription drugs that you will need in the future
- Future therapy visits
- Any other medical need that you are reasonably expected to have in the future
The exact amount that you are awarded in future medical costs may largely depend upon your doctor's estimations of future care cost, as well as the demonstrated past cost of similar care.
Reduced Quality of Life
If you have experienced a reduced quality of life due to your injury, you may be eligible for this type of compensation. Although it may be challenging to assign a precise value to this type of damage, diminished quality of life is still recognized by the courts as being a significant loss.
This damage can be demonstrated in several ways. This can include your own testimony, testimony of a mental health care professional who treats you, and testimony of your loved ones.
Lost or Reduced Ability to Earn a Living
In cases where you are disabled in an accident, you may be entitled to damages for your lost or reduced ability to make a living. This is most significant in cases where a person is permanently disabled due to the accident, but it may also apply in cases of short-term or long-term disability.
If you are permanently disabled, you would typically be entitled to a total amount equal to that which you would have earned for the remainder of your working years. In the case of short-term or long-term disability, you could be entitled to an amount equal to what you would have earned while out of work due to the injury. This type of award is mainly focused on compensating you for what you could have reasonably expected to earn had you not been hurt.
When considering the damages that you suffered in an accident, don't forget to think about every area of your life. The injury may have affected you in more ways than you initially realized. Call a personal injury lawyer like Gomez May LLP today to make sure that you don't miss out on any of the money you deserve!