A personal injury comes with many expenses. Your medical bills are merely the tip of the iceberg. When calculating the full cost of a personal injury and injury lawsuit, you must consider everything from lost earnings to I’m your quality-of-life. Lost earnings cover not only the time you have already missed due to your injury, but also things like lost earning potential due to disability.
A true calculation is difficult to make
Putting a value on your loss due to injury is important but often very difficult. The difficulty grows with the severity of the damage. Adding up your current medical bills is easy and necessary. However, it rarely tells the whole story of what your injury has cost. When filing personal injury lawsuit claims, it is important to first talk to a lawyer who can help you assess how much you will need to truly cover what was lost.
There are some injuries for which no amount of money can ever possibly be enough. Losing a limb or your sight is not something that money can make right. Although, with advancements in medical technology, these losses aren’t necessarily as debilitating as they once were and hopefully one day, the technology will exist to replace these losses.
Until then, the money that people receive for these types of injuries can be used for assistive measures to help them get along without what they have lost.
Lost earnings can be particularly challenging
Lost earnings are often difficult to calculate because they tend to go far beyond the time you have already missed from work. You also have to consider how much more time you will likely miss, whether you will be able to return to work full time or at all, and if your injury will likely decrease your chances for career advancement.
When an injury-caused disability ends your career, you need to receive full compensation for all the future earnings you would have been likely to accrue, including raises and promotions. If you are able to return to work after the injury, but only in a limited role, calculations have to be made to consider how much more money you could have made in your old role.
Pain and suffering is also important
While lost earnings are likely to make up a large part of your personal injury settlement, the largest value will likely fall under the category of pain and suffering. This money is supposed to account for the impact of the injury on your quality of life. Pain and suffering damages are even more difficult to address because they refer to something intangible.
It is impossible to put a value on the ability to run around with your children, go hiking with friends, watch a sunset, listen to your favourite music, or feel the sand between your toes. These gifts of life that you may have lost due to your injury can not be replaced. No amount of money can make them better. However, compensation for these losses does need to be made, and money is the best way our system has found to make this repayment.
While the money can’t make up for what you lost, it can help to provide you with other opportunities to enjoy other things in life that otherwise wouldn’t be an option. It is true what they say about money not being able to buy happiness. However, it is also true that money can help you to enjoy the happiness you already have.
The amount you receive for your lost earnings might not be the only money you get that relates to your employment. If you are unable to return to work and it was a job you loved, the inability to work can also fall under the category of pain and suffering. Anything that you enjoyed before your injury, which you are unable to enjoy afterward, is something your lawyer can point to as a reason for a higher settlement.
Hire a lawyer for your injury lawsuit
Personal injuries can be devastating. It’s important to ensure you receive a fair settlement for your injury so that you can get your life back on track. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and ensure that you receive fair financial compensation is to hire a qualified lawyer with plenty of experience in personal injury law.
A competent lawyer will know how much your case is really worth and will fight to get you every cent to which you are entitled. Don’t put your future at any further risk by trying to represent yourself in a personal injury case.
Wilma Wiliams is a law school graduate and a part-time freelance blogger, focused on various legal topics such as personal injury, and bankruptcy. She’s passionate about educating the public on fighting for their rights, which is why she’s currently collaborating with Ask LLP: Lawyers for Justice, whilst actively sharing a part of her experience as a former lawyer.
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