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What Types of Damages are Recoverable in Personal Injury Cases?

If you have been injured in a car accident and are preparing to file a claim and/or lawsuit, you might not be familiar with the types of damages that are available in a personal injury claim. Some of these are rather straightforward, while others may be ones with which you are not necessarily familiar. This is why it is important to retain a skilled Maryland personal injury attorney to ensure you are getting the maximum compensation owed.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the most common type of compensation received as the result of a personal injury claim. These are damages that can be quantified with a dollar amount, and they include physical damage and injury-related costs.

Medical Expenses

If you have been in an injury accident, medical expenses are likely to be your biggest expenditure. Medical expenses can include everything such as emergency room services, surgery, physical therapy, inpatient and outpatient medical services, medical equipment, prescriptions, and more. Some people do not realize that injuries can interfere with daily life, like getting dressed, bathing, and regular tasks like making food. More serious injuries that require the use of a wheelchair or walker may require modification of your home or the services of an in-home nurse, therapist, etc.

Other costs that are sometimes overlooked by a claimant are future medical costs. You may be settling your claim today, but have months or years of medical treatment still pending, or you may require treatment or surgery sometime down the line.

Loss of Earnings

Even a small injury claim can require you to be off work for one or more days, which can cause significant financial strain on a household. Loss of earnings, or lost wages, can be included in your demand amount and can include both wages and benefits from the time you were unable to work as well as the time you took off from work to receive medical treatment or therapy.

Loss of Earnings Capacity

Loss of earnings covers a short, temporary loss of earnings, but loss of earning capacity takes into account what you will lose down the line. If you are permanently injured or unable to work in your same profession after the accident, you may be entitled to a claim for your future loss of earning potential.

Property Damages

Costs associated with repairing or replacing physical property are part of the economic damages claim. In most cases, property damage relates to the damages to your vehicle. It may need to be repaired, or it was totaled, meaning you need to replace the vehicle. There may be costs associated with renting a vehicle as well as costs associated with replacing your original vehicle.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are those that are not tied to a specific dollar amount. This means they are not measurable on paper but can be estimated based on subjective information. These include items like pain and suffering and punitive damages. The non-economic damages are where most settlement offers fall short, very short. Insurance companies try to pay out the least amount possible whereas the injured party feels they deserve a much larger amount. This is why it is important to have the best Maryland personal injury attorney on your side.

Retaining a Maryland Car Accident Attorney

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, contact the Law Office of Robert R. Castro and let us help you negotiate the best settlement possible. Our skilled Personal injury attorney in Maryland is used to dealing with insurance adjusters on a daily basis, and we will help ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

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