Ensure You Claim Everything You Can in Your Personal Injury Case
Personal Injury Lawyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota
If you are planning to file a personal injury lawsuit, one of the very first question you probably have is what expenses you can claim. Being injured by someone else’s actions can leave you feeling like you have been wronged, and receiving compensation for all your losses is the way to feel like the world is fair. It is actually quite easy to understand what expenses you can claim, and this guide will go over it. Remember, you should always hire a personal injury attorney, rather than trying to represent yourself.
Expenses You Can Claim
Personal injury lawsuits are designed to bring the victim back to the financial situation he or she was in prior to the injury. This means you can claim anything that cost you and was a direct result of the injury. This can include hospital bills, the purchase of a cane, damage to your property, and anything else. The law is very lenient and usually takes the victim’s side to make him or her whole again.
In addition to financial losses, victims can also claim non-financial losses. These are often called “pain and suffering.” Essentially, if you suffered in any way from the injury, you can probably claim it to receive compensation for it. The judge will decide what claims are and are not fair, so it is usually best to claim as much as possible. Unreasonable claims will not affect your ability to receive reasonable claims.
Types of Damages
Anything you could possibly claim will fall into one of two categories. These are called damages. In addition to two types of damages you can claim, there is a third kind of damages that the judge may award, rather than the plaintiff claiming it. The types of damages are:
- Special compensatory damages – These compensate for objective financial costs, such as hospital bills. Special compensatory damages are for losses with an exact dollar value.
- General compensatory damages – These compensate for subjective losses, such as physical pain. The judge will decide how much general compensatory damages are worth, since there is not an exact dollar value associated with them.
- Punitive damages – These are designed to punish the defendant, rather than reward the plaintiff. The judge decides when punitive damages are appropriate.
Punitive damages are actually quite rare in personal injury cases, but sometimes it is seen as necessary to punish especially irresponsible behavior. The other types of damage are much more common. A personal injury lawyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota from Johnston | Martineau, LLP can help you claim all the expenses possible so you can be completely compensated for your losses.
