- Personal Injury
If you get hurt in any sort of accident, there’s a good chance you’ll be entitled to damages. It all depends on how bad your injuries were. Since there are so many different kinds of personal injury cases, there’s no way to say for sure what your case is worth. What your Carrollton injury attorney will do is review your personal injury case first. This way, they can give you a better idea of what kind of damages you can demand in your lawsuit.
Here, we’ll talk about the different types of damages that exist in personal injury cases. If you still have questions after reading this article, feel free to give our office a call. We can set you up for a free, initial consultation. If need be, we can even conduct your session over the phone. You don’t want to wait too long before you meet with a lawyer. The last thing you want to do is miss the statute of limitations period.
There Are Several Types of Damages You May Be Eligible For
If your Carrollton injury attorney can prove negligence, you’ll probably be entitled to damages. In personal injury cases, most plaintiffs demand some or all of the following:
Medical Bills
Obviously, your attorney will demand that the defendant compensate you for any medical bills. This includes things like prescription co-pays, hospital stay, and surgery. If you need to go to physical therapy, they’ll be responsible for the cost of that too. In addition to current medical bills, you can also demand future medical bills. If your doctor says you’re going to need surgery in the future, there’s no reason you should have to pay for that.
Property Damage
If you happen to be in a motor vehicle accident, the defendant will also be held liable for any repairs to your vehicle. If your car is destroyed, they’ll owe you the fair market value for your car or SUV.
Lost Income
Defendants in personal injury cases can be held responsible for any lost income you suffer. This includes lost wages and lost future income. Lost wages simply refer to any time you already missed work due to the accident. Lost future income refers to money you would have made in the future had it not been for your personal injury.
Pain and Suffering
Most people who are involved in personal injury cases demand pain and suffering. These damages are meant to compensate you for any mental and physical anguish caused by your accident. The general rule is that your pain and suffering will be about three times your medical bills.
It’s important to keep in mind that you can only receive damages for losses you can prove. If you are not able to demonstrate certain damages, you won’t be able to claim them. Your Carrollton injury attorney understands what it takes to prove each kind of damages. They’ll do their best to get you the compensation you deserve.
There Is a Good Chance Personal Injury Cases Will Settle
Most of our clients come into our office with the idea that they’ll have their big day in court. The truth is that more than 95% of all personal injury cases settle long before trial. Nobody wants to go to trial. Trials are expensive and time-consuming. In many cases, nobody wins at trial. The judge may find that you were equally at fault. Or, the judge may decide that you were at fault. If this happens, you could walk away with nothing.
Both sides understand the risks associated with going to trial. They will both work to settle the personal injury case if they can. In fact, the court will force them to attend a settlement conference. They don’t want to clog up their court docket with personal injury cases, especially if there is a chance they can be settled.
What Happens if You Were Partially at Fault?
Regardless of the type of accident you’re involved in, there is always the issue of fault. Even if your Carrollton injury attorney can prove the defendant was at fault, that isn’t the end of the story. The defendant is going to argue that you were partially at fault.
In most personal injury cases, it’s hard to prove that one party was 100% at fault. Nobody is perfect. Chances are, you contributed to your injury in one way or another. If the defendant’s lawyer can prove you were at fault, your damages will be reduced. This is because Georgia follows the comparative fault rule.
The way this rule works is simple. Your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault. If the defendant can prove that you were 20% at fault, your total damages will be reduced by 20%. So, if you were originally demanding $500,000, this amount would be reduced by $100,000.
Keep in mind – since most personal injury cases in Georgia settle, you probably won’t be in a courtroom at all. The defendant won’t have to prove anything. However, their attorney is going to bring up the issue of comparative fault. Your attorney knows this, so they’ll be prepared to compromise. Just know they won’t encourage you to accept a settlement that they don’t think is fair. Their goal is to make sure you walk away whole.
Call a Seasoned Carrollton Injury Attorney Right Away
If you were hurt in any sort of accident, you may be entitled to damages. The only way to know for sure is to meet with an experienced Carrollton injury attorney right away. Once you know you’re okay, you should consider scheduling your free, initial consultation. The longer you wait to hire an attorney, the longer it can take to get paid. Since your ultimate goal is to be compensated for your losses, the sooner you meet with one of our associates, the better off you’ll be.
Our injury attorneys in Carrollton have decades of combined experience handling cases just like yours. We know how the big insurance companies work. We also know how to prove damages in personal injury cases. If you were injured at the hands of another, you deserve compensation. It’s our job to make sure that happens. All you have to do is call and schedule your initial consultation. It won’t cost you a thing and it gives you a chance to decide how you want to proceed moving forward.
