The defining purpose of a personal injury lawsuit is based on the idea that you will receive monetary compensation for the damages that the defendant caused you. The two categories of damage are economic damage and non-economic damage. A lot of different types of expenses can fall under economic damage.
#1 Medical Bills
The most common type of damages that are recovered in a personal injury lawsuit concern medical bills. You want to keep track of all of your medical bills, from the ambulance ride to each appointment you make to the doctor to the medication you buy and any support materials you need to purchase to take care of your health. Medical bills can really add up.
You also need to calculate future medical bills if you suffered long-term injuries as well that will require ongoing medical care.
#2 Lost Wages
If you were unable to work, for a day, a week or a year, you can get compensated for your lost wages. To get compensated for your lost wages, you'll first have to show what you were making before the accident, and you will have to demonstrate that you were not able to go to work and therefore lost out on that income. If you suffered a long-term injury, you need to show how the injury impacted your long-term earning potential.
#3 Disability Accommodations
If you now have a disability because of the accident, you can seek damages for any accommodations. For example, if you had to purchase a handicap accessible van or if you had to invest a ramp in your house or a shower that you could more easily get in or out of. Any accommodations that you had to make to your home or vehicle can be included as damages in your lawsuit.
#4 Value of Domestic Services
Taking care of a household is a full-time job. If for any period of time, you were not able to take care of your home and had to hire outside help for things such as cleaning and meal preparation, you can seek damages for those expenses. You can also seek damages for paying for extra childcare if you were unable to take care of your children.
When pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, you want to quantify as much of the damage as possible in straightforward economic terms. When you can show the financial impact the defendant's actions have had on your life, you increase the chance of getting an award that properly compensates you for these actions. To learn more, contact a law firm like Kiernan Personal Injury Attorneys PA.