What Is Injury Compensation?
Injury compensation is money paid to assist injured people in paying for the losses resulting from their work-related injuries. These losses could include medical expenses, lost wages and future income in addition to loss of enjoyment of life-changing injuries.
There are two ways to obtain this kind of money: a settlement or a lawsuit. A lawyer can analyze your case and tell you which option is best for you.
Medical Treatment
The claim for your injury will include a large amount of medical treatment. The insurance company will pay for reasonable and necessary medical treatment. This includes medical bills for health professionals and specialists. You can also get reimbursed for prescriptions and over-the counter medicines, while you travel to and from medical appointments.
Based on the severity of your injury, you might require assistive devices like wheelchairs, canes or special clothing. You can also claim expenses for home modifications, such as ramps and stairlifts. Medical costs include diagnostic tests to determine the severity of your injuries and to monitor your recovery. You may also be eligible to claim reimbursement for any surgery needed to treat your injury. The workers' compensation board has medical treatment guidelines that doctors are required follow. These guidelines allow your health care provider to carry out most of your treatment without having to ask the insurer for permission.
Be sure to follow your physician's advice will significantly aid your case. If the insurance company or defendant observes that you've skipped appointments or playing tennis on weekends, despite your claimed injuries, they will argue that your injuries aren't as serious as you claim. If injury lawyer orlando visiting health care professionals and receiving intensive medical treatment in the meantime, they might need to admit that your injuries were serious.
Lost Wages
Injuries can be physically painful however they can also be financially devastating. The costs associated with treatment can quickly increase, and injured victims also have to deal with lost earnings while they recover from their injuries. If you've missed work because of an injury, you could be entitled compensation.
Proving the loss of wages is a complicated and time-consuming process that requires specific evidence. It is important to have copies of your previous pay stubs and income tax documentation. These documents can be utilized by your lawyer to show the total amount of lost income due to your accident.
Your lost wages can include your regular hourly earnings or salary, overtime bonuses, commissions, and more. You can also include benefits you no longer receive, like free meals or allowances for cars.
You may also be able to claim compensation for the days that you did not work due to your injury since you were forced to take vacation or sick time to cover the days. Your attorney can calculate the fair value of these days and demand payment from the responsible party. If your injury is lasting, your lawyer can also seek compensation for any loss of future earning capacity. This is a more difficult procedure that requires you to hire an accountant or forensic accountant to show your loss of future earning potential.
Medical Costs
You could be facing high medical bills depending on the severity of your injury. This could strain your financial situation. The seriousness of your injuries may also hinder you from working and earning a substantial period of time, which can put an extra financial burden on your and your family.
You are entitled to reimbursement for all related medical expenses including ambulance rides, doctor visits and x-rays hospital treatments, supplies, medications and orthopedic equipment. You are also entitled to reimbursement for transportation costs to and from medical appointments (including therapy). Keep receipts for any medical expenses. You will be reimbursed on the basis of actual costs.
For negotiating purposes attorneys and insurance companies will often use your billed amounts as the basis for calculating medical special damages. Then, they multiply that amount by a factor of 1.5 to 5 to calculate your general damages. In general, minor injuries will be at the lower end of the spectrum, and serious or long-lasting injuries will be on the higher end.
The Kocian Law Group has the expertise to ensure that you receive the entire amount of medical compensation that you are entitled to. We will fight for insurers to pay the entire amount of treatment your health care providers recommend even if insurance companies dispute the necessity or reasonableness of the treatment.
Pain and Suffering
The injured party has the right to be compensated for the physical and emotional pain and suffering caused by his or her injuries. Physical damage to suffer and pain could be a result of past and future medical treatment. Mental anguish and discomfort and shame, shock and sadness are also taken into consideration.
It is difficult to put a price on the suffering and pain of an accident, especially when it is a result of permanent injuries like being in a wheelchair or blinded. However, it is important that victims of accidents have the support of an attorney when it comes to gathering the necessary evidence to prove their loss.
In some instances, the party injured can reach a settlement agreement to avoid going to trial. In the majority of instances an insurance company is involved in an agreement to settle. The insurance company could use either the multiplier method or per diem to calculate pain and damages.
The courts use the multiplier method as well as the per diem method to determine compensation for emotional and physical suffering resulting from accidents. Both methods have pros and cons to them however the final amount is determined by the jury in the case. An experienced personal injury attorney will assist victims of accidents injured collect the evidence needed to support a claim for fair compensation. The highly skilled lawyers at Adam S. Kutner & Associates can assist you in the investigation and preparation of your case for court or settlement.