What Damages Can You Recover?
When you are involved in an accident and suffer injuries, you may have very high medical bills to pay. Your accident could prevent you from working. You could also be left coping with a significant amount of physical and emotional pain.
If the accident is one that causes a death, then not only do surviving family members have to deal with funeral expenses and the loss of financial support, but they also need to cope with the grief of losing someone they love.
All of these losses can be devastating in any accident situation. It is especially tragic when the accident occurred because of some person or company’s negligence or wrongdoing.
While it may be small comfort, the laws in Illinois allow accident victims and surviving family members to take legal action to make the responsible person or entity pay for losses. The compensation can be obtained through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, or through an out-of-court settlement.
In any case, it is important to get legal help to make sure you get the full compensation available. The Chicago personal injury lawyers at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., are here to represent you and can fight to get you the maximum in monetary damages.
To discuss potential damages in your case and to schedule a free consultation, please call us today at contact us online.
Suing for Damages
Damages Available in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
After an accident caused by the wrongdoing of another person or company, there are a variety of different types of compensation that you may be entitled to receive. The at-fault party could pay:
- Medical expenses – All past and future costs of medical treatment should be fully covered. If you require adaptive medical devices or transportation assistance to get you to your doctor’s appointments, these expenses should be covered as well.
- Lost wages – If you need to take time off from work or go on unpaid leave, you should have 100 percent of your lost wages covered. If you cannot return to the job you had before you got hurt, you should have the difference in pay between your old and new jobs covered.
- Pain and suffering – When you endure discomfort as a result of your injuries, you deserve to be compensated for it. It can be hard to put a price on how significant your pain is, so it is a good idea to keep a journal or record of how your pain interferes with your life. In some cases, insurance companies will use a formula called a “pain multiplier” to attempt to arrive at an appropriate amount to pay for pain and suffering. This usually involves multiplying your actual financial losses times a number that is often (but not always) between 1.5 and 5.
- Vehicle repair/replacement – If someone else damages your property, including your vehicle, you can obtain compensation to either repair or replace the car.
- Punitive damages – In certain cases, it may be possible for you to obtain punitive damages from the defendant. Unlike the other types of damages, these are not intended to cover costs and losses. Instead, punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant when his actions go beyond mere negligence and consist of gross carelessness or intentional wrongdoing.
These types of compensation can make an accident victim “whole” for his or her losses, or put the victim back into the position he or she would have been in if the accident had never happened.
Damages Available in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
When a person is killed by an accident, the victim’s family members can bring a claim for wrongful death damages. Wrongful death compensation may cover:
- Medical bills – Any expenses incurred by the accident victim to treat his or her injuries before death.
- Lost financial support – This compensation includes a lifetime of lost earnings that the deceased would have provided to family or dependents if the victim had not suffered an untimely death.
- Loss of consortium or loss of companionship – Spouses, parents of minor children, kids whose parents are killed and other close relatives will suffer a tremendous loss when someone they love is killed. Wrongful death damages are designed to compensate family members for this tremendous loss. These damages can be hard to calculate, but juries can take into account the relationship of the deceased and his or her family members as well as the age of the victim and expected lifespan.
- Funeral costs and expenses – Those who have lost a loved one due to another person’s wrongful conduct should not have to burden these often significant expenses.
In many cases, wrongful death damages can total in the millions because of the tremendous loss suffered when someone is killed in an accident.
A Chicago Injury Lawyer Can Help You Get the Compensation You Deserve
You should never be left without full and fair compensation if you or a family member is hurt in an accident. Before you sign anything or settle any case, speak with a lawyer to make your rights to this compensation are fully protected.
An experienced injury lawyer at Salvi, Schostok & Prichard P.C. can assist you in understanding the types of damages you are entitled to receive and can help you to determine what a reasonable payout would be for your accident claim. We can also help you to seek maximum damages by negotiating a fair and reasonable settlement or taking your case to court.
We have secured compensation for clients in Chicago and across Illinois in a wide variety of cases, including more than 350 multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements.
To learn more or seek help in obtaining monetary damages after your accident, call or contact us online today. We can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
