If you are injured and facing medical bills that you have to pay, you're likely wondering what your case is worth. While the direct cost of your medical bills may be quite clear, you're likely to have questions about the total compensation you will receive.
What Types Of Damages Can You Receive?
Injury victims are eligible to receive compensatory damages and punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish the person responsible for causing the accident. Punitive damages are used in cases where there was really bad behavior that led to the accident, such as drunk driving or an assault. In most injury cases that are deemed an accident, the responsible party won't pay punitive damages.
Compensatory damages are what most injury victims are rewarded, and the most common subset of those is special damages. These are damages that have a direct dollar amount associated with them, such a hospital bill or lost wages. There are also hedonistic or general damages, which are awarded for how the injury caused you to lose your overall quality of life.
Will Representing Yourself Lead To Better Compensation?
Some people assume that they will lose a lot of their compensation by hiring a lawyer to fight on their behalf. However, most injury cases should not be taken on without legal help. You could end up receiving less compensation than you deserve since a lawyer knows these types of cases and how much they are worth.
A common problem people run into when representing themselves is in estimating their future medical bills. If you have an injury that will require ongoing treatment after you receive a settlement, you need to estimate how much you could be spending on medical bills. Ask for too little, and you will end up paying for your treatment out of pocket. Ask for too much, and the insurance adjuster can deny your claim. That's why asking for the right amount is so crucial for your case.
If your case ends up going to trial because you cannot come to a settlement agreement with the defendant's insurance company, you will definitely need a lawyer to help fight on your behalf. Not only do you have to make solid arguments on your behalf to convince a judge or jury, but you need to know the courtroom procedure in a personal injury case so that you are doing things properly to help win your case.
To learn more, contact a resource like the Law Offices Of Timothy L Lapointe PC.