How an Injury Lawyer Can Help

If you're trying to claim compensation for medical expenses, lost wages or suffering, an injury lawyer can help. They can also handle with employers who employ aggressive tactics insurance companies, insurers, and even healthcare professionals.

Injury lawyers often choose to concentrate on a specific area of law. This allows them to gain extensive knowledge and expertise in this field.

Damages

If you are injured due to someone else's negligence, the resulting damages can cause financial, physical and emotional hardship for you and your family. A personal injury lawyer can to help you recover these losses through the process of filing a claim or lawsuit against the responsible party. Damages are the remedies you seek from the wrong defendant and are classified as punitive, compensatory or general.

Compensatory damages are costs that can be quantified that can be recorded in specific dollar amounts for medical bills and lost wages. A judge or jury will look at these costs and calculate an amount that is reasonable to reimburse you.

Expert witnesses and a physician can also help you calculate future medical expenses and loss of quality of life. It is important to keep meticulous documents and receipts when calculating these expenses. Your injury lawyer will consult with medical professionals to determine the diagnosis and limitations as well as the expected impact on your life.

It is difficult to value the non-economic costs, like discomfort and pain. It is essential to work with an attorney who is experienced in valuing damages and needs. This includes the loss of enjoyment of life and injury lawyer mental anguish.

Your attorney can settle your case with the insurance company of the defendant before trial. The aim is to secure you an equitable settlement as soon as you can to alleviate your financial burden and stress caused by the accident. If negotiations are unsuccessful, your lawyer could file a lawsuit and bring the matter to trial. A trial is a legal proceeding where your injury lawyer presents evidence and arguments to a judge or jury. Your attorney will arrange for the payment should you be awarded a verdict.

Pain and Suffering

If you are injured in an accident, it is not just the physical injuries that you suffer. The emotional trauma can be significant and cause ongoing discomfort. Additionally, you could also have difficulties adjusting a new life, especially when your injury is causing permanent disfigurement. This is sometimes referred as "pain and discomfort."

It is hard to quantify compared to other economic damages, like medical expenses or lost wages, as well as future earnings. However there are ways your attorney can help you establish a fair value for these damages.

Many states, such as, use a multiplier to calculate the amount you should be compensated for suffering and pain. They take your economic losses and multiply the amount by a value between 1.5 and 5. Typically the more severe physical injuries you suffer then the higher the multiplier will be.

Other methods of the calculation of pain and suffering are the per diem method where a certain dollar amount is allocated to each day you are suffering from the injury. Your lawyer can explain these different methodologies and help you determine which is most appropriate for your situation.

Although proving the mental trauma and suffering is harder than proving financial losses, your attorney will work to provide concrete evidence of the pain that you have endured. He or she might request that you keep the track of your emotional and/or physical pain to explain it to the jury.

If your case goes to trial, you can anticipate the jury to spend an extended time deliberating on what they think is a fair amount of money you should receive for your suffering and pain. In certain instances judges may modify a jury's decision, but it is very rare.

Lost Wages

In addition to damages to property and medical expenses victims could also be able to obtain compensation for the loss of wages in a lawsuit filed against the party responsible. This is referred to as loss of earning capacity (LOSC). The damages award covers future earnings a victim may have received from promotions, raises, and bonuses from their job. It also includes the value of any fringe benefits, like gym memberships, or company vehicles.

An injury lawyer can help you prove the full extent of your accident through pay stubs, tax returns, and earnings statements. These documents can reveal how much time you didn't spend at work and what you usually earn per hour. If you were paid on commission, the attorney may collect additional information from your business associates to demonstrate the amount you would have earned if you were capable of working.

You are only entitled to the wages lost which were caused by your injury. This is in contrast to the more speculative kinds of damages, such as emotional and punitive damages.

In the event of a loss of earning capacity, it is essential to obtain expert witnesses who can offer their opinion about your capacity to perform your job duties after the injury. This is a difficult task and requires the use of computer software to illustrate the differences between your current capabilities and those that you were able to do prior to the accident. Your NY injury lawyer will use the testimony of experts to assist you in obtaining the appropriate lost wage damages awarded. They will also respond to arguments that are made by the responsible party, or their insurance company, that your injuries were not severe enough to keep you from working based on data from statistics or general information.