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What You Should Know About Personal Injury Claims

Author: Robert Smith
by Robert Smith
Posted: Oct 18, 2014
personal injury

Personal injury is considered a legal term. It describes any injury to the body, mind and/or emotions.

Personal Injury and Claims

This term is typically used in contexts pertaining to tort lawsuits, otherwise known as civil lawsuits, in situations where the plantiff's lawsuit was caused by another party. Common instances where civil lawsuits seek compensation for personal injury often include negligent and intentional bodily injury and/or emotional distress.

Speaking of personal injury claims, they're perhaps the most common civil lawsuit among people seeking compensation via a legal affair. Since personal injuries often incapacitate people in different ways, compensation helps them restore aspects of their life that were impaired or changed by the situation.

Personal injury claims often apply to outside accidents, home accidents, product defect accidents, work accidents and, commonly, road traffic accidents. This also extends to medical and dental accidents, which includes medical negligence and medical conditions that may be incidentally or accidentally contracted against the wishes of the affected.

The Worth of Personal Injury Claims

Those who might want to file a personal injury claim should think about how much their case might be worth. If you don't seek help from a personal injury lawyer, you could miss out on getting the right amount of compensation afforded to you due to that accident.

Monetary damages are often paid out to injured people by the person or company who are considered legally responsible for the accident. In most cases, the damage settlement – the claim – is agreed upon after a settlement amount is negotiated between both parties. This is usually negotiated between the insurance company, both parties and their lawyers.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages cover most personal injury claims. They mainly compensate the injured party for what they might have lost due to their accident and/or injury.

Some of the most common compensatory damages include:

Income – Reimburses lost salary and/or wages.

Property loss – Reimburses for lost vehicles, clothing or other items; in some cases, the injured party is compensated with the fair market value of the lost property.

Pain and suffering – Reimburses for pain and emotional discomfort suffered during and after the accident or injury.

Emotional distress – Reimburses for moderate to severe emotional discomfort suffered during and after an accident or injury.

Punitive Damages

Some damages are awarded to 'punish' the defendant—the person held legally responsible for causing the accident or injury to the plaintiff or injured party. These damages are known as punitive damages and they're often awarded on top of compensatory damages.

To prevent punitive damages from becoming excessive, many states have a set cap on the amount of punitive damages awarded to a single party.

How Damages Are Affected

In some cases, an injured person's role in an accident may affect the damages they may be awarded.

If they're considered at fault, their damage award may be reduced to reflect that. Many states have a comparative negligence rules that help determine the degree of fault in regards to awarding damages for personal injury cases.

Some states completely disregard personal injury claims if the injured party is considered at fault - this is known as contributory negligence. To find Phoenix local information, you should visit the website listed below:Personal Injury Claims Phoenix

In closing, it's important to get in contact with a qualified personal injury lawyer to learn more information about the value of personal injury claims.

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Author: Robert Smith
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Robert Smith

Member since: Mar 26, 2014
Published articles: 313

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