After you have faced a car accident in Philadelphia, you must concentrate on seeking medical help. However, once your treatment starts, you may be surprised to learn that your bills are increasing. In such cases, you might need financial help. Therefore, it is essential to claim compensation for any medical treatment, injuries, pain, and suffering caused by someone else’s negligence.
The amount of compensation that you could receive will be based on the severity of the accident and how badly you are injured. This is because the personal injury lawyer is designed for victims of car accidents to get much-needed compensation for their losses, but not overcompensation. To know in detail whether you could be eligible for compensation or not, you must consult a knowledgeable Car Accident Attorney.
An attorney will be able to give you a rough estimate of how much money you could receive for your losses after a car crash. This makes legal guidance a primary step for efficient representation in any case.
Personal Injury Lawsuits
Personal injury lawsuits are aimed to help innocent victims in getting the appropriate compensation after a car accident. This will help them overcome the losses that they faced. In legal terms, a personal injury lawsuit means that after a car accident you are seeking financial help for the legal damages that you have faced after a car crash. In a successful personal injury lawsuit, the victim will be awarded damages.
Legal Damages in a Car Crash
Legal damages are the damages that determine how the victims get hurt in a car accident. There are two categories of legal damages:
Economic Damages
Economic damages in car accident cases are the kinds of damages that can be converted into dollars. Some of the common types of economic damages that occur in Philadelphia are:
Medical Bills: One of the ways a victim may suffer after a car crash is the huge medical bills. The cost of the treatment will be listed in the medical bills, which can be shown as evidence so the compensation can be claimed. The medical bills that you have already paid for and the future bills that you will be paying can both be recuperated in the personal injury lawsuit.
Property Damage: In a car accident, the vehicles of both the parties involved in a car accident will be damaged in some way or the other. In many cases, the vehicle gets damaged badly and will cost more to get it repaired. Some people replace vehicles instead, as it might cost less than repairing them. The vehicle damage is included in the economic damages caused by the accident. The repair cost or the replacement cost can be converted into dollars and the party at fault could be ordered to pay it.
Lost Wages: In the process of your recovery, you might not be able to return to your work for some time. This might result in lost income that you would not have otherwise lost if the accident did not happen. As this loss likely occurred due to serious injuries, you can include them in the personal injury lawsuit you will be filing. In some cases, it might also happen that you have lost future earning potential as a result of a disability caused by a car accident. The party at fault could be ordered to pay for that as well.
Non-Economic Damages
Along with the economic damages, there are other damages that an accident can cause such as mental trauma, pain, and suffering that can not be converted into dollars. Some of the non-economic damages are:
Pain and Suffering: Injuries that you have sustained will hurt and cause pain to you. The unbearable pain might have affected the enjoyment of life that you experienced prior to the accident. This is one of your losses due to the car crash. Therefore, you can get compensation for this in a successful personal injury lawsuit.
Loss of consortium for the family: A victim’s family also suffers along with him or her in the event of an accident. The loss may be loss of companionship if your injuries are serious and will take time to heal. In some cases, if permanent disabilities are caused, it can negatively affect the victim’s family members. In this situation, the family is also able to get compensation.
In a personal injury lawsuit, a victim can receive compensation that includes both the economic and non-economic damages caused by a car crash in Philadelphia. To file an action, it is important that you hire a competent attorney who has experience in handling personal injury cases. An injury lawyer will also be able to negotiate on your behalf with insurance companies.
In certain cases, there may be limit to the amount of compensation a victim of a car accident in Harrisburg can receive. If a car accident involves a government employee and the personal injury lawsuit is against the State of Pennsylvania, then only a maximum of $250,000 in damages per plaintiff can be obtained, as stated in 42 Pa.C.S. §8528(b).
If the lawsuit is against the local government, then the applicable recovery cap will be $500,000 as stated in 42 Pa.C.S. §8553(b). Therefore, it is suggested that one take advice from experienced legal counsel to seek maximum compensation.