What type of damages can I recover from my personal injury case

As a result of someone else’s negligence, you are typically entitled to receive the damages you incurred as a result of carelessness of negligence of another. The law on damages, generally speaking, attempts to put the injured person where he or she was prior to the injury. Of course, this is a goal as many medical injuries are "priceless."

The typical recoverable damages are medical expenses, deductibles, recovery for the loss of wages, mental anguish (in many circumstances), punitive damages (in limited circumstances), and actual damages. Normally, attorney fees are not directly recoverable, but are paid from a proceeds of the settlement or recovery.

Mental anguish damages are very fact specific, and the amount is usually speculative until an expert has been retained to render his or her opinion. Only an experienced attorney handling personal injury cases can give you an approximation of what your potential recovery for mental anguish is.

The value of an injury also needs to be evaluated based on the totality of the circumstances. For instance, the hand of a professional guitarist is worth more in monetary terms as that of a lay person.

If you have been injured in an accident and have sustained significant injuries, you should meet with an attorney to discuss your particular circumstances. The personal injury consultation is free.

More Information: For more information, please see our personal injury page
Attorney: Maurice Arcadier
Status: Answered
Date Filed: November 1, 2012