Understanding Available Compensation In Your Personal Injury Case
It is a question that attorneys are asked all the time: “How much is my case worth?” It’s a perfectly understandable concern, given all that you’ve recently been through. But for better and worse, there is no uniform answer to the question. Each case is unique, and the available compensation depends on a number of important factors.
At Hardee, Massey & Blodgett, LLP, our attorneys are committed to providing caring representation and aggressive advocacy to each client. When you contact us for a free initial consultation, we can likely give you a better estimate of the financial value of your case based on the factors we’ll be discussing on this page.
Medical Bills And Other Health-Related Damages
Attorneys and courts use the term “damages” to describe money owed for the harm someone has suffered. Damages can be compensatory (to cover costs that the victim incurred because of the defendant’s negligence) or punitive (to punish the defendant’s behavior and deter similar behavior in the future).
One of the biggest sources of compensatory damages is medical expenses. Our attorneys will help you accurately calculate all medical costs (present and future) and seek appropriate compensation. These include costs like:
- Hospital and physician bills
- Surgery
- Physical rehabilitation and occupational therapy
- Prescription drugs
- Diagnostic tests and imaging
If your injuries resulted in permanent disability, we will also pursue damages for things like:
- In-home medical equipment
- Adaptive technology in your home and vehicle help you remain physically functional
- Costs of in-home health care aides and other ongoing medical treatment
The health consequences of a personal injury can vary greatly, which is one reason why it is impossible to know how much a case is worth before examining the details.
Lost Wages And Property Damage
Two other types of compensatory damages are compensation for lost wages and damage to your property. While you are recovering from your injuries, you may be unable to work, and each day that you are not working is one more day of wages that you have lost. If your injuries resulted in permanent disability, you may never be able to work again. It is our job to help you seek full and fair compensation for this lost income (present and future) which was a direct result of someone else’s negligence.
In the case of a car accident, your vehicle may be badly damaged or destroyed. Depending on coverage limits, insurance may not be enough to fully reimburse you for these costs. We work tirelessly to obtain appropriate compensation through a negotiated settlement or jury trial.
Compensation For Non-Economic Damages
Some consequences of a serious accident cannot easily be calculated or have no direct ties to financial costs. They are nonetheless very real, however, and deserve to be compensated. Our attorneys can help you seek non-economic damages for harms that include:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Anxiety, depression and grief tied to the accident
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
Calculating these costs can be complex, but we will utilize our attorneys’ 58 combined years of experience in determining an appropriate total.
Damages Meant To Punish And Deter
Punitive damages are not available in all cases. In order to be applicable, the defendant’s behavior must be characterized using terms like egregious, willful, malicious or reckless. Punitive damages may be appropriate when the defendant acted in ways they knew were likely to cause serious harm to others, such as driving drunk.
Contact Us For Case-Specific Advice And Guidance
Hardee, Massey & Blodgett is based in Greenville, and we offer free initial consultations to prospective clients throughout North Carolina. To discuss your case and learn more about your legal options, give us a call at 252-787-4627 or fill out our online contact form.