Personal Injury Compensation 101

If you were involved in an accident, you’re most likely feeling confused. Matters regarding personal injury compensation are rarely straightforward and there are various kinds of accident-related losses to account for.

At the same time, your financial future is at stake and not asserting the full scope of your legal rights will put you at a significant disadvantage. 

Fortunately, eliminating the confusion is easy upon learning more about personal injury compensation and the different types of damages accident victims can recover. 

What types of compensatory damages are available?

Every accident is unlike the next one so determining which damages you may be eligible for will depend on your specific circumstances. Regardless, in the field of personal injury, there are two main categories of compensatory damages:

Financial damages

The term financial damages is pretty much self-explanatory, so we’ll shift our focus to the expenses covered: 

• Medical expenses

Includes the current and future costs of a variety of medical procedures associated with the accident, such as diagnosis, testing, surgical procedures, treatment, rehabilitation, and therapy. 

• Non-medical expenses

In Florida, plaintiffs can also recover non-medical expenses. These could be anything from transportation costs to reimbursement for hiring a house cleaning service. 

• Lost income

Covers different forms of compensation you would have earned if the accident never occurred, namely wages, salary, commission, vacation days, benefits, etc.

• Loss of earning capacity

If an injury hinders your ability to work in the future, you may receive personal injury compensation for loss of earning capacity. This may also involve reimbursement for the financial repercussions of pursuing a lower-paying job because of the accident. 

• Property damage

In the Sunshine State, property damage incorporates damage to a vehicle and other personal items, e.g. clothing and electronics.

Non-financial damages

Generally speaking, the effects of an accident aren’t solely limited to financial losses. In most cases, you may recover personal injury compensation for things like:

• Pain and suffering

The physical and mental effects of the accident can have an adverse effect on life. Hence, victims are entitled to receive compensation for long-lasting or short-term pain and suffering. Good examples of this are fear and anxiety in regards to trauma endured in the accident, grief over loss of ability, reduced strength and stamina, as well as loss of independence in daily life, and so on.

• Physical impairment

Individuals who suffer permanent disfigurement and scarring can be heavily affected by both societal and physical effects of the injury, which is why personal injury compensation is available for those suffering from a physical impairment. 

• Loss of consortium

Loss of companionship or consortium is available to the victim and their family. Sadly, the effects of the injuries often extend to close family. Spouses or children of the victim may experience loss of affection, companionship, as well as loss of support in taking care of household duties. As such, they are eligible for personal injury compensation.

• Loss of enjoyment of life

Injuries can harm a person’s ability to perform various activities that provide them with enjoyment and they can recover compensation if this happens. 

Other types of damages

In select cases, victims may receive special types of damages:

Nominal damages

When pursuing personal injury compensation, some individuals may successfully prove the fact they sustained harm due to the actions of another person. However, the court may deem their injury insignificant, in which case the judge will award nominal damages to the plaintiff. 

This is typically a small amount that establishes in court records the fact that the defendant is at fault but their actions resulted in no real harm.

Nominal damages may also be awarded in cases where the plaintiff is unable to demonstrate the value of their losses. 

Punitive damages

These serve the purpose of punishing a defendant for their intentional malicious acts that caused harm to another person. The idea is to dissuade the defendant from repeating the behavior in the future and to deter others from doing similar actions. 

Florida law limits punitive damages to $500k or three times the amount of compensatory damages.

What matters when negotiating a settlement

Most personal injury cases get settled with the insurance company before they even get to trial. Thus, it’s useful to be aware of the factors insurers consider when deciding on the appropriate settlement. These include:

1. Fault

Recovering personal injury compensation is only possible if you prove the opposing party was at fault for the accident. Arguably the main matter of contention here is how certain the fault is. 

It’s in the insurance company’s interest to minimize their expenses so if there is any doubt as to whether the other party is responsible for the injury, they may avoid settling the claim.

In the case of car accidents, the percentage of liability also plays an important role. You’re more likely to recover appropriate compensation if the other party is found to be 100% than if the responsibility for the accident is split equally.

2. Severity of the injury 

Greater settlements are usually associated with injuries that necessitate long-term treatment, longer recovery, and considerably disrupt your day-to-day life. Insurance companies sometimes tend to correlate the extent of injuries with the property damage incurred in the accident.

For instance, a totaled car is generally followed up with the assumption injuries suffered by the victim are also significant. 

3. Medical expenses

Lastly, insurance companies will take into account the extent of the medical expenses, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity. This isn’t to say you won’t be able to recover personal injury compensation for pain and suffering, but since the value of those damages isn’t easy to quantify, the insurer may choose to minimize the impact of the accident. This normally leaves claimants with lower settlement. 

Why you should hire a lawyer?

If you got the impression insurers aren’t really concerned with justice or the well-being of the victims, you are right. Since they’re a business, insurance companies are mostly focused on minimizing their expenses and will stop at nothing trying to get you to settle for the least possible amount of money.

This is why no victim should ever enter into the negotiation process without a lawyer. 

A legal professional can accurately ascertain the full scope of your damages, help prove the other party was negligent, negotiate on your behalf, and if needed, represent your interests in court.

When it comes to Florida, a safe bet is to contact the Law Offices Of RITE as soon as possible. We’ll do all it takes to recover the maximum amount of compensation that will help you move on from the trauma you experienced.

Schedule a free consultation right away by calling (904) 500-RITE (7483) or sending an email to info@rite4justice.com. 

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.