What is My Case Worth?
If you think you have a valid claim under Georgia law for personal injuries, you are probably also concerned with how much your case is worth. This is important because you likely have expensive medical bills, may need more treatment or surgery and may have missed work.
If you were injured in a car wreck or were in a truck or bus accident, was hit as a pedestrian, or were in a motorcycle accident, you may have a variety of physical injuries. Commonly, people in these types of accidents have back pain or back problems – sometimes chiropractic doctors, orthopedists, and physical therapists diagnose this as cervical strain/sprain (neck), thoracic sprain/strain (upper middle back), or lumbar sprain/strain (lower back). You may have herniations in your back and neck. Herniated discs and bulging discs can cause serious back pain. These can often be seen in an MRI of your neck and back. Victims of slips, trips and falls can sustain back and neck injuries as well. Broken bones, leg and knee, foot, toe and shoulder injuries are all common in slip and fall and trip and fall cases.
Sometimes chiropractic treatment and physical therapy helps people get well. Sometimes just time and rest do the trick. Others need medication. Some people need surgery. Others need regular epidural or steroid injections regularly for years. Some people develop pain that never goes away. People can even become paralyzed or disabled in some way for life and are never fully able to enjoy certain activities ever again.
For personal injury cases, it is difficult for any Personal Injury Lawyer (or doctor for that matter) to know the value of your injury soon after it occurs. Getting better is the most important thing following your injury – whether by seeing your doctor, going to the ER, or just resting at home. When it comes to your case, personal injury cases measure injuries in the form of “damages”. Each case is unique, but generally there are a few different categories of damages.
Compensatory Damages
These are monies to reimburse you for what you have lost as a result of your injuries, doctor's bills, hospital bills, medication costs, ambulance bills and rehabilitation supplies are common examples.
Pain and Suffering
This speaks for itself. In personal injury cases, your lawyer can ask the judge or the jury to award you damages for the harm and pain your injuries cost you and will continue to cost you in the future. Your reduced quality of life comes into play, so does the trauma of extreme pain like being seriously burned or having a limb severed.
Future Expected Medicals
Sometimes the injury you sustained is so severe you will need ongoing medical care for years to come. Injections, future surgeries and rehab are all the basis for an award of future medicals.
Lost Wages
If you had a job at the time of your injury and you missed work because your injuries and pain or had to take time off for doctor's appointments or rehabilitation, you may be awarded lost wages.
Punitive Damages
In cases where the defendant (or party/business at fault) behaved beyond simple negligence, you may be eligible for additional, punitive damages. These are commonly awarded in car accident cases when you are hit by a drunk driver or are the victim of a hot and run driver. In crimes of violence, such as being hit or punched or being sexually harassed or groped, the jury sometimes awards the victim punitive damages. These types of results are also common in cases against companies when the company knew they had a dangerous condition or product yet they exposed consumer to it anyway.
No two cases are created equally. The value depends on how severe and life changing the injuries are. High hospital bills, long term and permanent injuries lead to cases worth more than injuries that heal in a few weeks with little or no doctor intervention. Call our Personal Injury Attorneys today to get a free assessment of the value of your injury case.