Personal Injury Lawyer: How Your Claim Damages are Calculated

How do you calculate the damages incurred as a result of your work injury? It is not only just the doctor visits that you need to pay for when you are injured. There are a number of other things that require money and are considered as damages when you file for work injury compensation.

When you get injured, you will most likely be examined by a doctor who is authorized by the employer or insurance company. This is to avoid any false medical claims.

If it is determined that your injuries are serious and require multiple doctor visits, then your payments increase proportionately. And you are most likely to be out of work for a long period for serious injuries. This is considered as damage due to a work injury.

You have the responsibility to mitigate or reduce your damages (like find reasonable medical treatment and/or find alternate work) even if the injury was caused due to the negligence of a third party. As a plaintiff, if you do not mitigate or reduce the damages then the defendant can reduce the amount he has to pay to you. A personal injury attorney will help you calculate your damages.

Here is a list of damages that is calculated in case of a work-related injury:

Medical Expenses: Your initial visits to the doctor, hospitals and medicines are considered as medical expenses. In case you didn’t seek medical treatment but have still suffered, then insurance companies have a formula to calculate your damages. A personal injury lawyer will help you with the calculation.

Property Damage: This is applicable only in case of damages sustained as a result of automotive damages, like if you were injured in a car accident.

Lost Earnings: You are most likely to miss work if you have suffered an injury. Minor injuries will result in fewer days of loss of pay while major injuries will most likely keep you away from work for a longer duration.

The amount is decided after your benefits (if you have claimed any) are subtracted from your total wages during the period of absence. In case of unpaid benefits, the amount of benefit is added to your loss of wages.

Loss of income in the future: If you have had a severe injury then it is likely that you will have further treatments which will result in you missing work for longer periods. The consequence is that you will have no income for that period of time. This is also considered as damage and is taken into consideration when your benefits are calculated.

Estimated future medical expenses: A slipped disk, a nerve injury or something similar will likely take longer to heal and keep you away from work for a considerable amount of time. It also means that you will require further medical treatment and will have additional medical expenses. This is added as part of damages when you file for benefits.

General damages: Emotional suffering, pain are also considered damages. The more serious the pain and suffering the higher is the damage multiplier.

The final total damage estimate is based on two categories of damages that are a result of your injury.

Special damages: Medical expenses, loss of pay and not being able to work all fall under this category and are easy to quantify and calculate since they have a specific number that can be assigned to them.

General damages: Emotional pain and suffering, mental anxiety, stress and negative effects due to an injury fall under this category and are harder to quantify since a number cannot be assigned to them.

If you or your loved ones have suffered a work-related injury, understandably you're worried about a lot including your current and future pay. A work injury lawyer can help you navigate through the complex process of filing a claim and make sure that you get what you rightly deserve.

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Contact us or give us a call at 844-777-2529 to find out if your case qualifies and the amount you can claim as compensation.