Compensation for Personal Injury

 

The party who wins a personal injury lawsuit is entitled to receive money from the defendant. This money is called an indemnity. There are two categories of compensation: damages and punitive damages. Compensation for damages attempts to compensate the victim for the loss suffered and to restore the situation in which they were before the injury. On the other hand, punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for his actions to prevent a repeat of the conduct that caused the injury.

The types of accidents and injuries for which you can get compensation include:

Accidents in the job;

Catastrophic injuries;

Traffic accidents;

Accidents occurring in public places;

Head injuries and head trauma;

Spinal cord injuries;

Child injuries;

Bicycle accidents;

Medical negligence.

Compensation for damages

There are two categories of compensation for damages: special damages and general damages.

Personal injury solicitors in special damages help to get compensation to the victim for monetary loss related to the injury.  Some typical categories of special damages include:

Medical Expenses - These types of damages can include medical expenses incurred in the past and those you anticipate in the future. If it is believed that the victim will need medical care for the rest of her life, the cost of such care is determined by the life expectancy of the victim.

Lost wages - This type of damages can cover income lost due to absence from work as well as the "loss of the possibility of earning a salary", that is, the inability of the victim to generate the same income that was generated before the injury.

Property damage - A victim is also entitled to receive compensation for property damage. Said compensation is determined based on the fair market value of the property at the time the damage occurred.

Special damages can be determined with a fair degree of certainty. In contrast, general damages are less specific and do not have a specific monetary value. Some typical categories of general damages include:

Pain and suffering - This type of damage is intended to compensate for the physical pain suffered as a result of the injury, but can also include the emotional suffering of the victim. However, it is more difficult to obtain compensation for emotional suffering.

Loss of consort - This type of damage compensates the victim's spouse for the loss of marital companionship due to changes in mood, comfort, or sexual relationships.

Punitive damages

The second type of damages that can be awarded are punitive damages. These damages are almost never awarded. Generally, they are only obtained if the plaintiff is able to prove a pattern of repeated misconduct by the defendant or to show that the defendant's conduct was particularly egregious.

In most jurisdictions, the decision to award punitive damages to the plaintiff is made by a jury. If granted, the decision is often submitted to a judge for approval. The judge can increase the sum or, if he considers that the jury's decision is not in line with the facts of the case, reduce it.

Damage reduction

One aspect of health care directly related to personal injury compensation that all plaintiffs should be aware of is the principle of harm reduction. This doctrine states that a plaintiff must take reasonable steps to avoid future injuries after sustaining the injuries caused by the defendant.

For example, suppose Susan breaks her ankle in a car crash in which the defendant was negligent. After the shock, Susana's doctor informs her that she must undergo ankle surgery for it to heal properly. And it warns you that if you don't have such surgery, you will likely feel pain in your ankle for the rest of your life.

Susana decides not to have the surgery and, as the doctor warned her, she often feels pain in her ankle. According to the principle of harm reduction, the defendant is not responsible for the pain that Susana suffers since she decided not to undergo the surgery. If Susana had performed the surgery as the doctor had indicated, she would have fully recovered.

The theory behind the principle of harm reduction is that it is not fair to hold a defendant liable for something that the plaintiff could easily have controlled. Simply put, the plaintiff must undergo a reasonable medical procedure to reduce the duration of the effects of the injury.

Enforce the sentence

Lastly, when a person wins a lawsuit, victory is not absolute. The defendant still has to pay the damages, and this, unsurprisingly, is not always done voluntarily. Generally, if the defendant has a lot of money or is covered by insurance, it is not difficult to obtain payment. This is simply because the defendant wants the lawsuit to end and thus prevent steps from being taken to collect the money.

However, if the defendant refuses to pay or does not have the money, Then solicitors in Dublin suggest some steps that can be taken to achieve payment. In many states, a plaintiff can garnish the defendant's wages (up to a certain percentage) to comply with the judgment. Some states allow a plaintiff to have the defendant's driver's license revoked. If this happens, the license cannot be reinstated until the sentence is served. Also, some states allow the plaintiff to seize certain assets of the defendant, such as bank accounts or accounts receivable, if the defendant is a business.