How an Injury Lawyer Can Help

If you're trying to secure compensation for medical bills, lost wages or suffering, an injury lawsuit lawyer can assist. They can also deal aggressive strategies employed by employers insurance companies, insurers, and even healthcare professionals.

Injury lawyers often choose to specialize in a particular area of law. This allows them to gain comprehensive knowledge and expertise in the field.

Damages

When you suffer an injury because of someone else's negligence, the resulting damages can cause physical, financial and emotional strain for your family and you. A personal injury lawyer is able to help you recover the losses you suffered by way of filing an accident claim or lawsuit against the party responsible. Damages are the remedy you have against the wrongdoer and injury can be classified as punitive or compensatory.

Compensatory damages are costs that can be quantified that can be recorded in specific dollar amounts, such as medical bills and lost wages. A judge or jury will look at these costs and determine the amount which is fair to compensate you.

Future medical expenses and loss of quality of life could be assessed using a doctor's testimony or expert witnesses. It is important to keep meticulous documents and receipts when calculating the costs. Your injury attorney may also consult with medical experts to learn about your particular diagnosis and limitations as well as the anticipated consequences for your future.

The assessment of non-economic damages like pain and suffering is more difficult. It's important to work with an experienced injury lawyer who will put an appropriate value to your injuries and needs. This includes mental distress and loss of enjoyment life.

Your attorney can try to settle your case with insurance company of the defendant before trial. The goal is to negotiate an acceptable settlement quickly so that you can be free of the financial burden and stress caused by the accident. If negotiations fail, then your lawyer can make a claim and bring the case before a judge or jury. A trial is a legal proceeding where your injury lawyer presents arguments and evidence to a judge or jury. If you prevail in a court, your attorney will work out a plan to collect the payout.

Suffering and Pain

If you are injured in an accident, it is not just the physical injuries that you are suffering. The emotional trauma can also be significant and cause persistent discomfort. In addition, you might also experience difficulty adjusting to an entirely new life, particularly if your injury causes lasting disfigurement. This is often described as "pain and suffering."

Unlike the more tangible economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages and future loss of earnings, the pain and suffering is hard to quantify. There are several ways your attorney can assist in determining the value of these expenses.

For instance there are many states that use the multiplier method to determine the amount of pain and suffering damages you are entitled to. They take your entire economic losses and multiply them by a figure between 1.5 and 5. The multiplier will be higher if you have suffered a severe physical injury.

Other methods of calculating pain and suffering include the per diem method, where a certain dollar amount is assigned to each day you suffer the injury. Your lawyer can explain these various methods and help you decide which one is best suited to your particular situation.

While proving mental pain and suffering is harder than proving financial losses, your lawyer will attempt to provide tangible evidence of the suffering you have experienced. They may ask you to keep track of your emotional and/or physical pain in order to report it to a jury.

If your case is being tried and you are a victim, the jury will take a significant amount of time to decide what they think is the appropriate amount to compensate for your discomfort and pain. A judge can alter the jury's decision in rare instances.

Lost Wages

In addition to the medical costs and property damage victims could also be able recover compensation for lost wages in a lawsuit filed against the responsible party. This is known as loss of earning capacity (LOSC). This damages award will cover future income from promotions, raises, and bonuses that a victim would have received during their previous job. It also includes the value of fringe benefits like gym memberships, the use of a company vehicle or even company-loaned electronic equipment.

An injury lawyer can help you to prove the full impact of your injury by presenting pay bills, tax returns and earnings statements. These documents will show the length of time you missed at work, as well as the hourly rate that you usually earn per shift. If you were paid commission, the attorney could obtain additional evidence from your business associates to show the amount you could have earned if you were able to work.

It is important to keep in mind that you are only entitled to the lost wages that resulted from your injury. This is different from the more speculative types of damages, including punitive and emotional damages.

In the event of loss of earning capacity, it's essential to have expert witnesses who can offer their opinion on your ability to perform your job after the injury. This is a difficult task and requires the use of computer software to demonstrate the difference 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 counter arguments that are made by the responsible party or injury their insurance company that your injuries were not severe enough to keep you from working, based on data from statistics or general information.