When a person is involved in an accident, injured on the job or sustains an injury due to the result of someone else's action, it always pays to contact a personal injury lawyer. While some may believe this is not necessarily the right thing to do, many times insurance companies representing the person that caused the injuries are not going to always do the right thing. Mainly, they are not in business to pay out as much money as possible and while most insurers will be willing to work out a settlement for injuries, they are going to try to pay the least amount they can.
Property damage claims are fairly straight forward as the cost to repair or replace tangible property can be supported by documentation. With personal injuries medical expenses should be well documented as well with very little room for negotiation. The insurer may question certain procedures that were performed but when tests are ordered by a doctor in the emergency room an insurance adjuster will have a tough time convincing a judge or jury they were not necessary.
Where a battle might ensue is then a plaintiff attempts to collect for pain and suffering and, if the accident is caused by gross negligence, they may sue for punitive damages as well. These types of claims are based on subjective criteria and there are no solid rules for calculating the cost of pain and suffering. In most cases where punitive damages are sought, the plaintiff may request that amount be left to the discretion of the judge or jury to decide.
There are essentially four types of damage claims made in accident cases including compensatory damages, future damages, incidental damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are designed to return the person's position, health or property, to a condition equal to what it was prior to the accident, which if properly documented is easy to calculate. Future damages are a little tougher to prove since the cost will not be known until a future date. Anticipated losses that can be determined are commonly included in settlements, but if they considered speculative, they will usually be dismissed.
Incidental damages are losses or expenses that may not be a direct result of the accident such as copy expenses or the expanse of obtaining police accident reports or postage to mail out the notice of filing the suit. Everything being considered as incidental expenses should be accompanied by a receipt or risk having that charged dismissed from the total.
Punitive damages are even tougher to calculate than future charges. These claims are essentially to punish the responsible party for their actions that caused loss or injury to another. Willful negligence, malicious and oppressive behavior are often cited as reasons for seeking punitive awards to prevent the offender, as well as others from acting in a similar manner in the future. In some cases in which the injured party has be given the run around by an insurer or the defendant has acted in a manner that is consistent with bad faith bargaining, the court may agree that punitive action is acceptable. This often happens when dealing with product injuries and in this case it would be your best bet to hire a product liability lawyer.
