How To Calculate Personal Injury Damages in California
Updated: Oct 4
Learn How Much Compensation Can You Get For California Personal Injury Claims
When you get into an accident for someone else's negligence, you should be getting compensation based on the losses you suffer because of it. So, the problem here now is quantifying those losses.
Let's discuss the main factors for calculating personal injury damages and how they are handled by our prescreened California Attorneys For Personal Injury.
1. Medical Bills
Your medical and hospital fees, as well as transportation to and from the doctor, are usually recoverable as long as you can prove that the individual you're suing is at fault. However, if you have health insurance and the insurance company has already paid for your medical expenses, your policy will require you to pay up any money you recover for these expenses to the business.
Insurance firms often don't bother to keep track of or retrieve small claims court judgments since the sums involved aren't worth the effort. Knowing this, many judges are hesitant to give medical bill judgments unless the individual can show that they paid for the treatment out of pocket. However, mention them if you have any uninsured charges or deductible payments.
Most Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers will advise that you keep every receipt and invoice. But, of course, this also means that you have to seek medical attention after the accident to record and address your injuries.
2. Loss of Income
Pay loss or paid time off due to an injury are treated similarly. Any lost wages, commissions, or vacation time are all recoverable.
On the other hand, if your job provides unlimited paid sick time and you don't lose pay as a result of missing work, you have nothing to recover.
3. Pain and Suffering
When you read about multimillion-dollar settlements, this is usually invariably where a large portion of the money goes. Yet, without a doubt, healing from some injuries is a terrible and miserable experience for which compensation is justifiable.
However, there isn't a standard asking price for pain and suffering.
You'll have to persuade the judge that you've endured genuine pain and inconvenience. The most effective approach to achieve this is to provide medical bills. If the court determines that you have sustained an actual injury, they are more likely to include a sum for "pain and suffering." This is why the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Los Angeles frequently advise their clients to get medical attention as soon as feasible.
4. Punitive Damages
If an injury is caused by the defendant's deliberate or purposeful misbehavior (typically a fraudulent or criminal act), formal trial courts have the authority to impose additional damages (over and above out-of-pocket costs and pain and suffering). These damages, meant to punish the defendant, can be in the millions when the defendant is affluent.
Punitive damages (also known as "exemplary damages") are not allowed in small claims in around half of the states. Even in areas where punitive damages are theoretically feasible, the small claims court's low-value cap effectively eliminates them, with the exception of a few cases where precise cash amounts are specified for fraudulent checks or failing to refund a tenant's security deposit on time.
Consult a Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney if you believe you have been harmed by conduct that warrants a claim for significant punitive damages.
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