An award for damages might include lost wages, the money not earned during the claimant’s recovery.
Some personal injury lawyers seek compensation for a client’s lost future wages.
A lawyer’s argument could be based in the fact that the client’s injuries would keep him or her from continuing in the same line of work. In other words, that same client would need to sacrifice time for re-training.
Sometimes the plaintiff in a personal injury case wins punitive damages.
Those are added the monetary compensation. The defendant receives an added punishment, because he or she must pay the amount called for by the court, when the judge chose to award punitive damages.
Damages included in wrongful death lawsuit
Reimbursement for funeral and burial costs
Compensation for distress
In some cases, the plaintiff might seek compensation for loss of the source for the family’s income. At other times, a grieving family might seek compensation for loss of a family member that had helped to provide certain loved ones with childcare.
Assessment of damages that are linked to the claimant’s medical costs
In order to learn the full extent of such damages, an insurance company might schedule performance of an IME (independent medical exam). That particular examination would carry the label “independent,” because the claimant’s regular doctor would not be the medical professional that must perform the IME.
If the plaintiff has failed to undergo a post-accident examination, then there could be no proof of injuries/damages. The insurance company would have the right to allege that the victim/claimant had failed to mitigate the level of bodily damage. For that reason, it would probably make a point of lowering the size of the funds being used to compensate the claimant/victim.
Other possible changes in the funds awarded to an injured victim
The medical report might contain mention of likelihood for development of complications in the future. If that were the case, then the personal injury lawyer in Fort Erie for the injured patient would have reason to request funds for coverage of future medical expenses.
What sorts of complications might be linked to a given injury?
Surgery might be the prescribed treatment for some complications. Sometimes an operation allows some part of the patient’s body to become infected. That would mean that the emergence of one complication might aid development of a second one.
Alternately, an infection might get treated with antibiotics that had to be administered IV. Some antibiotics have an effect on one of the 5 senses. That effect consists of a slow but steady decrease in the ability of the affected patient to hear clearly. A smart claimant would ask the treating physician to mention in the medical report any possible effects from a prescribed medication.