When filing a lawsuit against a defendant, guilty of negligence, whoever injured you or cost you the life of a loved one, there can be a lot to consider. Your personal injury attorney should help you determine the compensatory damages. That is to say that he or she will help you calculate the costs that have accumulated as a result of the incident. This can include medical expenses, car repairs, or, unfortunately, financial expenses — all on top of your own pain and suffering.
However, there are other damages that could be considered by the court, depending on the circumstances of your case. In some instances, pain and suffering can be taken into account. It could be that you, as the defendant, will face a lifetime of struggles due to new physical limitations or that you have now lost the companionship of a loved one due to the defendant’s negligence. Such losses are difficult to bear and that hardship should not go unnoticed.
In some instances, injuries can leave a person disfigured, can cost him his job, or rob a woman of her ability to bear children. These circumstances are considered by the courts and the defendants may be considered liable for the physical and emotional hindrances that result.
If that is so, your attorney in Saint Petersburg should address the possibility of receiving damages for pain and suffering. There is no clear cut way to determine the price tag to be attached to a person’s broken heart. How much is loss of life worth? Can you put a price tag on your ability to walk, to bathe, to speak without assistance?
Insurance companies have actually devised calculations for this, which most lawyers in St. Petersburg are aware of. In some cases, it is a matter of multiplying the medical expenses by some factor, while in other cases the calculations are more difficult. A good attorney will be able to help you determine an amount likely to be considered fair by the judge and jury of the case.
While it will never be enough to bring someone back to life or undo the physical injuries suffered, the monies awarded can be helpful in other ways and can also be seen as a punishment to those who committed the acts of negligence in the first place.