There are three main types of compensation after a car crash: pain and suffering, loss of income, and medical expenses. You can also recover for property damage and diminished value. Punitive damages compensation is available if the actions of the defendant go beyond mere negligence and are egregious in nature. This blog post discusses the types of compensation available on a personal injury or car crash case.
Pain and Suffering:
This form of compensation includes past, present, and future pain and suffering. You prove pain and suffering to a jury by testimony and evidence. This can be in the form of medical records or a loved one stating on record what you have gone through. If you have a lifetime problems the jury can award a sum of money to compensate you for the remainder of your life. This is often the most difficult type of damages to quantify, but in my opinion is the most important.
Taxes do not apply to this form of recovery. Disclaimer: I’m not an accountant.
Loss of Income:
This type of compensation includes work that you missed and money that you cannot make as a result of the injury. For past compensation you take the amount you were making and time off of work to know the amount. For future loss of income a vocational expert can testify that you would have made X amount of money going forward had it not been for the injury. This type of compensation is taxed.
Medical Expenses:
This form of compensation includes past and future. Hospital bills, doctor bills, MRI bills, surgery bills and all other types of costs as a result of the injury are included. A doctor can also testify that you need future medical treatment.
Punitive Damages:
If the actions of the person that caused the injury are highly egregious you can ask the jury to punish that person and award punitive damages. Drunk driving is a good example. Getting behind the wheel while intoxicated shows a disregard for human life. The law allows punishment. Usually there is a multiplier limit. This means that the court will reduce any punitive damages awards higher than ten times the compensatory damages (three discussed above).
If you have a question about compensation after your personal injury or car crash case email Brian Dettman at bdettman@dettmanlawgroup.com. Consultations are free at Dettman Law.
Advertising Material for www.louisville-injury-lawyer.com Brian R. Dettman and Dettman Law.