A personal injury claim is filed when one person alleges that they have been injured as a result of someone else's negligence. Personal injury claims can be related to almost anything, from car and home accidents to assaults, injuries at work, or harm caused by defective products.
If the other party's negligence is sufficiently proven, money is usually awarded to the plaintiff (the person who has filed the claim). The monetary award is commonly called personal injury compensation.
There are generally three kinds of personal injury compensation. They are:
• Compensatory compensation
• Punitive compensation
• Nominal compensation
Compensatory compensation is awarded for the actual and/or expected losses that the claimant has suffered. Punitive compensation is damages that are awarded to the plaintiff that the court feels will make an example out of the defendant. These damages are usually awarded because the court feels that the damages were incurred willfully or maliciously. For example, punitive damages may be awarded in product liability cases. Nominal compensation is awarded after a tort that has been recognized is not considered to have damaged the claimant.
The amount of money that is awarded in a personal injury lawsuit can vary on a case-by-case basis. Let's take a look at what might happen when a personal injury claim is filed following an automobile accident.
After the claim has been filed, the defendant's insurance company will be liable for a number of different expenses if the court decides in favor of the plaintiff. These expenses will include the actual medical expenses, as well as compensation for property loss, any permanent physical damages, emotional damages, and loss of income.
Insurance adjustors will begin by using medical expenses as their base. They will then use a formula to assess what they believe will be the total anticipated loss of income. At that point negotiations for compensation will begin.
Although it is relatively easy to assess income/property losses and medical expenses, it can be more challenging to put a price tag on lost opportunities and the value of pain.
Since there are two parties involved in an auto accident, it's not always immediately clear who would be liable. Insurance adjusters attempt to assign a percentage of liability to the plaintiff and then will reduce the compensation by that percentage.
Because so much can be at stake, most people who file a personal injury claim hire an experienced attorney to represent them. Lawyers who are experienced in this area of the law are more likely to get the largest personal injury compensation for their clients.
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