If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may have the right to monetary compensation for your losses. The best way to determine eligibility is to call an experienced Ohio personal injury attorney. At Kisling, Nestico & Redick, we will review your situation and determine all of the possible damages you may be entitled to.
When you’re hurt because someone was negligent, you probably know you have a valid claim for compensation through either an insurance claim or lawsuit. But are you aware of all the possible damages involved in a personal injury case? A quick settlement may cover your first round of medical bills, but it likely won’t cover everything you lost or will lose because of an injury.
For more information, call Kisling, Nestico & Redick at 1-800-HURT-NOW to schedule an initial, no-risk consultation.
The assorted economic and noneconomic losses related to an accident that was not your fault are referred to as damages. More specifically, they are your “Compensatory Damages,” and they are intended to provide the victim of a personal injury case with enough money to replace what they lost.
Following an accident, you will encounter a tremendous number of unexpected costs. You are probably already watching these expenses add up and dwindle your savings account. Your economic damages are meant to reimburse you for these expenses during a personal injury case. Economic damages are an objective amount since they can be proven from your paperwork and receipts.
Economic damages include:
While it is obvious to think of recovering the cost of your medical care and lost wages during a personal injury claim, you may not think of many smaller expenses. For instance, if you were hospitalized for four weeks in a facility more than an hour from your home, your spouse may have spent considerable money on gas while commuting back and forth. This is one way an experienced attorney from Kisling, Nestico & Redick, will maximize your potential recovery so you are fully reimbursed.
Noneconomic damages seek to compensate you for your non-monetary injuries. They are subjective, not based on your receipts or credit card bills.
Noneconomic damages include:
How much your noneconomic damages are worth depends on several factors, including the type and extent of your injury, whether your physical injury is visible to others, and whether you suffer from a diagnosable mental health condition. When your personal injury claim goes before a judge or jury, the noneconomic damages are also influenced by factors like where you are from, the economic and political background of the jurisdiction, and whether the jury is sympathetic toward your situation.
In Ohio, noneconomic damages for some personal injury and medical malpractice claims have a statutory limit, also referred to as a cap.
If you bring a personal injury claim for non-catastrophic injuries, then your noneconomic damages are limited to the greater of $250,000 or three times the economic damages, with a maximum of $350,000. Bear in mind this cap does not affect your economic damages. You can always be reimbursed for all the expenses related to the accident and your injuries.
A third type of damages may be available to you if the other party was grossly negligent or intentionally committed a wrong act, leading to your injuries. These are known as punitive damages and are not meant to reimburse or compensate you.
Punitive damages are intended to punish the wrongdoer, discouraging them and potentially deterring others from behaving similarly again. These damages are not typically available for most personal injury cases. However, if the other party’s actions were extreme or egregious, discuss requesting punitive damages with your attorney.
Ohio law limits the amount of punitive damages you are entitled to. If a judge or jury finds you should receive punitive damages because of the at-fault party’s actions, then you are only entitled to up to two times the amount of your compensatory damages.
You may recover compensatory damages if you or a loved one were injured in any type of accident or incident that was caused by another party’s negligent actions.
Some common examples of incidents where recovering personal injury damages is appropriate include.
This list is not intended to be comprehensive. If you believe you or a loved one suffered hardship because of another’s action or inaction, it’s best to speak with a lawyer.
Compensatory damages were created to put accident victims in the same financial position they were in before the accident that injured them occurred. Therefore, clear and detailed documentation of losses is necessary to calculate these types of damages.
Documentation of your damages can include the following:
Compensation can be recovered for expenses that a victim has been left with after an accident and those they sustain in the future because of their accident.
By working with a personal injury lawyer, you can review the full impact of your case and maximize its value by consulting medical professionals and financial experts, who can determine the full value of your economic and noneconomic compensatory damages. This can be used to make sure that you secure the fair and full compensation you deserve.
If you have been hurt in an accident because of someone else’s actions, you should begin working with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Our experienced team of Ohio personal injury lawyers at Kisling, Nestico & Redick understand the nuances of economic, noneconomic, and punitive damages. We will work closely with your physicians and medical professionals to obtain the evidence necessary to request the greatest amount of compensation possible. We know how to explain your injuries’ medical and financial consequences and can help the jury see how they have negatively affected your life. Our goal is to ensure none of your costs go unaddressed.
To see how Kisling, Nestico & Redick can help recover damages in personal injury cases, call 1-800-HURT-NOW.
