What Damages Can You Claim In California Personal Injury Laws

The ability to obtain the compensation you deserve is the primary benefit of filing Personal Injury Claims. In addition, you’d be able to stand your ground and fight your claim if an insurance company refused to compensate you adequately for your damages.

On the other hand, Personal Injury Claims aren’t only about getting more money. You’d have to show that you’re entitled to a certain amount of money based on the circumstances of the case. Let’s have a look at how these damages are calculated:

1. Calculating Economic Losses

The first type of possible awardable damages in a personal injury case is economic damages. These charges, expenses, and financial losses are related to the accident victim’s costs, fees, and financial losses. Here are a few examples of financial losses:

Medical Expenses

The cost of your medical care and therapy after an injury is included in your damages. This is the most common type of damage in a personal injury case.

Expenses for medical care might include, but are not limited to:

• Ambulance and emergency room charges
• Physician and specialist fees
• Hospitalizations and surgeries
• Other diagnostic tests, including lab testing, x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs.
• Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, vocational therapy, etc.
• Medical equipment
• Medications

Almost any reasonable and necessary medical expense can be included in a personal injury case. That said, it’s important to get medical attention right after you get into an accident (no matter how minor you think the damage is). Getting checked is a great way to document all your injuries, which will make it easier to request records should you need to prove all your medical losses.

All receipts and records should be kept by our Top Rated Personal Injury Attorneys in Los Angeles, as they can be utilized as proof to support your claim.

Income Loss

If your injuries prevent you from working, you may be entitled to wage loss compensation. A multitude of factors can lead to a loss of income, including:

• Wages
• Salaries
• Benefits
• Commissions
• Bonuses
• Losses calculated based on expected earnings

Damages for loss of income might also include lost chances and other forms of compensation. Similarly to medical costs, thoroughly documenting your losses increases your chances of receiving full compensation for your economic losses.

For damages that don’t have documents or receipts, such as possible earning potential, you can have an economist or other experts analyze and testify to your potential losses based on your current employment, work, promotion potential, and other lost opportunities.

Other Out-Of-Pocket Expenses

Other financial losses, however, may be included in a claim for damages depending on the circumstances, including:

• Transportation costs to and from medical visits
• In-home health care or personal care
• Long-term medical or personal assistance
• Modifications to a home or vehicle are required due to a disability or impairment
• Help with home responsibilities

An important thing to note here is that these expenses wouldn’t have been necessary if you weren’t involved in an accident. So in a sense, your injuries don’t just affect you physically or at work; it affects your entire financial behavior.

2. Monetary Values For Non-Economic Damages

In a personal injury case, “pain and suffering” damages (often known as non-economic damages) may be awarded. Therefore, you are entitled to financial compensation for your pain and suffering as a result of the accident and your injuries.

The negligent person or party that caused your injury could be held liable for the following:

• Pain and suffering
• Long-term impairments and disabilities
• Deformity and scarring
• Emotional anguish and mental agony
• Psychological harm includes PTSD, anxiety, and sadness.
• Loss of pleasure in life
• Loss of companionship

There is no standard technique for valuing a person’s pain and suffering. In a personal injury case, however, several factors determine the amount of pain and suffering damages granted. Consider the following examples:

• A person involved in a catastrophic accident that ends in life-altering injuries such as amputations, paralysis, or brain damage is considered to have suffered more than someone who breaks a bone and heals in a few months.
• A person who breaks numerous bones or has a severe fracture that necessitates surgery, on the other hand, may not experience as much pain as someone who breaks a finger. Everything is predicated on the situation’s facts.

The main hurdle with these non-economic damages is that they’re not always as easy to prove as economic damages. There aren’t any receipts to give an exact monetary value to someone’s mental suffering.

However, you can help your California Attorney For Personal Injury maximize pain and suffering damages by keeping a journal throughout your case. Make a list of how much pain you’re in daily and how your injury has impacted your life. Keep track of how you’re feeling, including any flashbacks, nightmares, worry, or distress.

3. Punitive Damages For Extreme Cases

Punitive damages are a third type of compensation that may be given in particular personal injury cases.

However, punitive damages are rare and often reserved for the most egregious cases. Punitive damages, as the name suggests, are meant to punish a negligent party for causing extreme harm and danger to the plaintiff and everyone surrounding them.

That said, punitive damages are given depending on the facts of the case and how the court decides on it.