AUTO ACCIDENT PERSONAL INJURY DAMAGES ATTORNEY
Auto
wrecks are unintentional damaging events involving automobiles. Car
crash can recover damages for autos, people or structures.
There are two types of auto accident personal injury damages available
in a car accident case, compensatory damages and punitive damages where
the victims can claim for compensation with the help of an auto
accident personal injury damages attorney.
Compensatory damages are derived from the word "compensate," meaning
"to make up for" or "to make whole". Generally, these damages can be
broken up into two sub-categories- special damages and general damages.
Special damages typically include medical and hospitalization bills
incurred to treat your injuries; wages lost due to work missed while
you recuperate; and costs of household or nursing help during recovery,
including costs of wheelchair or crutches required.
Special damages seek to reimburse a plaintiff for out-of-pocket expenses incurred,
or financial losses sustained.
Automobile accident injured victims can also sue for general
damages in addition to special damages. General damages include the
things that can't be precisely documented in dollars spent, including
pain and suffering endured due to injuries and any subsequent mental
anguish; disfigurement resulting from injuries; value of medical
expenses you are likely to incur in the future; value of wages you are
likely to lose in the future; permanency of injury and resulting pain
and suffering and loss of opportunity.
In addition to compensatory damages, punitive damages may be awarded in
certain cases. Punitive damages are not based on actual injuries
sustained. Rather, they are a way to punish the defendant for
intentional conduct or gross negligence - behavior that is so obvious
that a civil court penalty is warranted in order to deter the defendant
from committing the same act again in the future.
Awarding monetary auto accident personal injury damages is the
law’s method of putting the wrongfully injured party into a position
equal to that position before he was injured. If you lose work,
sustained injuries or have other losses as a result of the collision,
you may be entitled to reimburse under your insurance policy provided
that the conditions have been met.