If you’ve suffered an injury in an accident caused by someone else, you may be wondering – what can I sue for in a personal injury case? The answer depends on the details of your situation. You can generally seek money for your losses due to the accident and injury.
Discussing your case with an experienced Dallas personal injury lawyer is a good idea to understand your rights and options. They can evaluate your claim and fight to get you maximum compensation.
Why Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Dealing with insurance companies and legal issues after an accident can be overwhelming, especially when you are trying to recover from injuries. An experienced personal injury lawyer levels the playing field and handles all the details of your claim, giving you peace of mind.
Your lawyer will:
Thoroughly Investigate Your Accident and Gather Evidence
One of the first steps your personal injury lawyer will take is thoroughly investigating your accident. They will visit the scene, take photos, and preserve important physical evidence before it is altered or destroyed.
Your lawyer will talk to eyewitnesses and first responders to obtain statements while memories are fresh. If surveillance video of the incident exists, they will act quickly to obtain a copy before anyone erases it.
In complicated cases, your lawyer may hire professional investigators or accident reconstructionists to help uncover what happened and who is to blame. Conducting a prompt and thorough investigation, your lawyer gathers the evidence to build a rock-solid case and prove the other party’s liability for your damages.
Handle All Communication and Negotiation With the Insurance Companies
Another key reason to hire a personal injury attorney is that they handle all the communication and negotiation with the insurance companies on your behalf. This provides several important benefits:
Dealing with insurance adjusters can be stressful and intimidating. They know how to ask questions that can damage your case. Letting your lawyer handle it prevents you from saying something that might harm your case later.
Insurance companies often give lowball offers to unrepresented people, hoping they will accept a quick settlement for less than their case is worth. Your lawyer has the knowledge and skills to negotiate a fair offer based on the true value of your damages.
Let your lawyer advocate with the insurance company so you can focus on your health and recovery with less worry and stress.
Consult With Professionals to Build a Strong Case
In many personal injury cases, Professional opinions prove key issues, such as what caused the accident, the extent of your injuries, your future treatment needs, and how the accident will impact your life.
An experienced personal injury lawyer has a network of respected professionals they can call on to provide compelling testimony to support your case, such as:
- Medical professionals explain your injuries, treatment, and prognosis
- Vocationalists to discuss your ability to work
- Economic professionals to calculate your lost income and earning potential
- Pain management specialists to describe your ongoing pain and limitations
- Psychologists to discuss the emotional impact of your injuries
- Life care planners to estimate the cost of your future medical needs
These professionals help prove damages and increase the value of your case.
What Damages Can You Sue for?
In a personal injury case, “damages” refers to the money the at-fault party must pay you for the losses you suffered. The exact damages you can recover depends on the details of your case, but in general, damages fall into two main categories – economic (financial) and non-economic (intangible).
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the direct financial losses you incur from the accident and injury. One of the biggest expenses after an accident is often medical treatment. Even with health insurance, you may have steep deductibles and copays. You can recover all your medical bills related to the accident, including:
- Ambulance ride and ER care
- Hospital stays
- Surgeries and procedures
- Doctor visits
- Prescription medications
- Medical equipment like crutches or a wheelchair
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
You are entitled to money for your past medical bills as well as compensation for medical care you will need in the future due to the accident. Your lawyer will gather your medical records and bills and may consult with medical professionals to determine your future treatment needs.
Lost Income
You can recover your lost income if your injuries keep you out of work. This includes:
- Missed paychecks for time off work
- Paid time off or vacation days used during your recovery
- Bonuses, commissions, or other benefits you lost
- The money you will have earned from self-employment
You must prove your lost earnings, typically with pay stubs, tax returns, or a letter from your employer. If you need extended time off work or can’t return to work due to your injuries, you can also sue for losing your future earning capacity.
If any of your property, like your vehicle, was damaged or destroyed in the accident, you can recover money for repairs or the property’s fair market value. You can use repair bills, receipts, and appraisals to prove the value of your damaged property.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
You can also receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses related to the accident, such as:
- Transportation to medical appointments
- Childcare costs while at medical appointments
- Modifications to your vehicle or home to accommodate your injuries
- Assistance with household services you can no longer do, such as cleaning, lawn care, snow removal, etc.
Your lawyer will document all your out-of-pocket expenses to ensure you receive full compensation.
Non-Economic Damages
Not all harm from an injury can be easily calculated, such as medical bills or lost earnings. Non-economic damages compensate you for the intangible losses that don’t have a specific dollar value but have significantly impacted your life.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages cover the physical and emotional distress caused by your injuries. Some factors that go into calculating pain and suffering include:
- The severity and permanence of your injuries
- Amount and duration of medical treatment
- Limitations on your daily activities
- Impact on personal relationships
- Emotional distress like depression, anxiety, loss of sleep, etc.
There are no set formulas to calculate pain and suffering. It’s an arbitrary figure based on the details of your case. Generally, the more severe and long-lasting your injuries, the more you can recover.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
When injuries prevent you from enjoying hobbies, exercise, travel, time with family, and other important parts of your life before the accident, You can receive compensation for the loss of enjoyment of life. Your injury lawyer will gather evidence of how your injuries have limited your ability to participate in activities you previously enjoyed.
Disfigurement/Scarring
Permanent scars or disfigurement from your injuries can have a profound psychological impact. You may feel embarrassed or self-conscious. It may affect your self-esteem and how you interact with others. You can sue for the emotional distress and negative impact that scarring and disfigurement have on your life.
Loss of Consortium
Serious injuries affect not only the injured person but their spouse as well. Loss of consortium compensates your spouse for losing your companionship and normal marital relations. Some states also allow the loss of consortium claims by others close to you, like children or parents, in cases of severe injury or death.
Proving non-economic damages can be challenging since there are no bills or receipts to add up. Your attorney will use your medical records, photos of injuries, personal journals, testimony from friends and family, and sometimes professional opinions to demonstrate the extent of your pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. In some cases, they may also look at jury verdicts in similar cases to determine a fair amount for non-economic damages.
Are There Caps on Damages?
Some states have laws that limit or “cap” certain damages in personal injury cases, most commonly non-economic damages. For example, a state may have a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, meaning you cannot recover more than that amount for pain and suffering.
However, the rules on damage caps are complex and vary significantly between jurisdictions. Some key points about damage caps:
- Caps typically apply to non-economic damages only. Economic damages for medical bills, lost income, etc., are not capped.
- Some states have caps that vary based on the case’s specifics, like the injury’s severity or the number of defendants.
- There may be exceptions to the cap for certain cases, such as medical malpractice or gross negligence.
- Some states have ruled caps unconstitutional.
An experienced personal injury attorney will know the damage cap rules in your jurisdiction. By carefully evaluating your losses, they can devise a strategy to pursue maximum compensation within the legal limits.
Factors Affecting What You Can Recover
Various factors can impact the types and amount of damages you can recover in a personal injury case, such as:
Severity of Injuries
The more severe your injuries, the more damage you can recover. Factors that indicate severity include:
- Type of injury (spinal cord injury vs. broken bone)
- Amount of medical treatment required
- Need for surgery vs. conservative treatment
- Length of recovery
- Permanent injuries or disabilities
- Impact on daily life and activities
If your injuries heal completely within a few weeks or months, you will likely recover less than if you have severe, long-term injuries that drastically change your life. A Dallas personal injury lawyer can evaluate your specific injuries and give you a ballpark of what to expect in damages.
Insurance Coverage
Another factor impacting your recovery is insurance coverage. Individuals often don’t have enough money to fully compensate you out of pocket. Collecting may depend on available insurance coverage if you seek substantial damages.
Examples:
- Auto accident cases depend on the at-fault driver’s liability coverage limits. Most states require only $25,000 per person in coverage. If your damages exceed that, the rest may be uncollectable.
- Property owners generally don’t have insurance for injuries unless they have homeowners, renters, or commercial liability insurance.
Your lawyer will identify all possible insurance policies and other parties that may be liable. In complex cases, they often name multiple defendants to access additional sources of compensation. An attorney can advise you on options if the insurance is inadequate, like suing the individual’s assets or uninsured/underinsured auto coverage.
What if the Defendant Claims You Didn’t “Mitigate Damages”?
In any personal injury case, you have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to minimize or “mitigate” the harm from the accident. If the defendant claims you failed to mitigate damages, it can limit your recovery.
Examples of failing to mitigate:
- Delay in getting medical treatment for your injuries
- Not following doctor’s orders during treatment
- Failing to attend physical therapy or other rehabilitation
- Doing activities that make your injuries worse
The defendant must prove you failed to mitigate. However, if they succeed, the court can reduce your damages by the amount you can have avoided with reasonable effort. Some arguments your lawyer may raise in your defense:
- You didn’t know the extent of your injuries right away
- Your injuries made it difficult to follow up with treatment
- You cannot afford the treatment or lack transportation
- Alternative explanations for gaps in treatment
The mitigation defense is very fact-specific. Your lawyer will counter any allegations that you didn’t do enough to minimize your damages.
How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit?
Knowing the statute of limitations or deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss the deadline, you lose your right to sue. Statutes of limitations vary by state and type of case. In general:
- Most states allow you to file suit for two or three years after an injury. Some have longer periods, up to six years.
- The clock usually starts running on the date of the accident. But in some cases, it starts when you discover the injury.
- Some states have different deadlines based on the type of case or defendant. For example, using a city or county may have a short deadline of only six months.
- The statute of limitations may be “tolled” or paused in some circumstances, such as if the injured person is a minor or has left the state for some time.
Statutes of limitations are very strict. If you think you may have a case, consult with an attorney as soon as possible to preserve your rights. Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations and can quickly assess deadlines that apply to you.
Call a Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Suffering an injury in an accident is hard enough. When someone else is to blame, you shouldn’t have to bear the costs alone. Call a Dallas personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to learn what you can recover if you’ve suffered an injury.
You have nothing to lose and potentially lots to gain by speaking with a personal injury attorney about your rights. You can focus on your recovery while your lawyer handles the rest. Call today to get started.
