What Damages can be Recovered for Personal Injury Claims?

Most people know that they can collect money for “pain and suffering” from parties that accidentally or intentionally harm them, but wonder if there are other types of compensation that can be collected.  This will help you get the big picture about the structure of personal injury claims, so that when you consult with your Brooklyn car accident attorney or NYC Construction accident attorney, you will be able to ask great questions.

Future Medical Costs

For most car accidents, first-party “no-fault” benefits will cover $50,000 in medical bills, lost earnings and out-of-pocket expenses.  This fund will usually be sufficient to cover current medical costs, but some types of injuries can cause problems much later in life.   Of course, severe injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injuries and Spinal Cord Injuries will cause lifelong problems, but even relatively minor injuries can often cause problems later in life.  For example, soft tissue injuries to the neck, back and extremities can cause arthritis as a person ages.  This is why juries are asked to consider future medical costs when determining the compensation amount for a personal injury claimant.

Rehabilitative Devices and Services Costs

Some accident victims will need services for the rest of their lives, and these costs are considered when determining a jury award or settlement amount for a personal injury claimant.  This category of compensation includes services for physical therapy, assistive devices or technology that can help an injured person lead a more normal life.  For catastrophic injuries, the costs can be very high for prosthetics and architectural changes to a home, that’s why there are often very high settlements and awards in some cases.  An experienced Brooklyn car accident attorney can help you get a settlement or verdict that will cover the cost of rehabilitative devices and services.

Lost Wages

Lost wages recovery goes well beyond mere repayment for the time a person lost from work.  There can be severe damage to a person’s career that goes well beyond that basic compensation.  For example, an employer may have to replace the person, and they cannot find a comparable job.  Even worse, the injury may prevent the victim from working in their usual profession, requiring retraining in another type of work that may not be as lucrative.  A well paid construction worker, may need to be retrained as a lower paid office worker, requiring their NYC Construction Accident Lawyer to ask for compensation for this permanent reduction in income.

At Wittenstein & Wittenstein, you’ll benefit from our decades of experience collecting the maximum amount of compensation possible for your loss.