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An injury is so much more than just the physical impact on your body. An injury can result in pain and suffering that cannot be easily fixed or repaired. In some cases, pain and suffering can have long-term effects that last well beyond your physical injuries have healed. When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you are not only seeking to recover your lost wages and medical bills. A personal injury lawsuit will also allow you to recover money for your pain and suffering.
Damages in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
After an injury, the person responsible may try and avoid compensating you for the costs you incurred. Alternatively, their insurance company may try and offer you a low settlement and convince you to waive your rights to file a lawsuit. You should not let the insurance company tell you how much your injury is worth. They may be trying to get away with paying as little as possible. Instead, you should talk to an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney who can advise you on your case, and make sure you are fairly compensated.
In personal injury lawsuits, compensatory damages are those that are intended to put you back in the position you were in before the injury. Your injuries in a personal injury action include more than just the economic damages you’ve suffered. Economic damages include the costs of emergency treatment, surgery, physical therapy, medication, hospital care, and other health care costs. Economic damages also include the cost of property damage and any lost wages that you’ve suffered as a result of missing work. However, you may also be eligible for non-economic damages.
Non-economic damages include the types of damages that are not as easily quantifiable but are just as important. As the result of an injury, you may have to endure physical pain for hours, days or weeks. In some cases, your injury may result in chronic pain that you may have to manage for the rest of your life. If damages are supposed to put you in the position you were before the accident, then the compensatory damages should also cover the cost of pain and suffering you’ve endured because of the accident.
The problem with compensating pain and suffering is that it can be difficult for the injured individual to put a price on their suffering. No amount of money may be enough to justify the suffering you’ve had to go through, and no amount of money will take the pain away. However, an experienced personal injury attorney will help the jury understand all that you’ve gone through, so they can award you an amount of money that will attempt to address your pain and suffering.
Some states put a cap on non-economic damages in a personal injury case. This limits the amount of money a person can recover after they suffer an injury. However, Philadelphia personal injury claims do not have a non-economic damages cap. In fact, the courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have found that limits on compensatory damages would be a violation of the state constitution. This means that you can be fully compensated for your injuries, with no limit on the amount you can receive for your pain and suffering.
Personal Injury Compensation Attorneys
The exact amount of pain and suffering damages you may recover will depend on your case. A minor injury may result in limited pain and suffering. However, some cases may result in chronic pain and suffering that an individual will have to deal with for the rest of their life. This could result in a significant recovery from their personal injury lawsuit.
Money damages from a lawsuit settlement may cover the cost of your medical bills, but they do not necessarily take into account all the effects of your injury. Your injuries likely resulted in severe physical pain, emotional pain, and suffering that is just as important as your physical injuries. It is only fair that the person who caused your injuries should compensate you for your pain and suffering, as well as any economic damages.
No two cases are exactly alike. You should talk to your Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free consultation of your case to get an idea of your rights and options when filing a personal injury claim. An experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney will help guide you through the claims process and advise you of your options along the way. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident due to someone’s negligence, please do not hesitate to call Gilman & Bedigian today for a free consultation.