When filing a bodily injury claim, you might be surprised to find that many areas of damages are available to you, not just the cost of medical bills. While auto insurance claims are one of the most common places that victims file bodily injury claims, our attorneys can also help you calculate your damages in other injury claims such as slip and falls and work injury cases.
Bodily injury claims in Georgia should, first and foremost, pay full compensation for the medical bills you face from the accident. These bills will come along with other costs related to your accident – such as lost earnings – which can also be totaled and added to your claim. In many cases, pain and suffering damages are also available, though calculating these damages is not as simple as calculating most medical expense claims.
For help with your bodily injury claim, whether for an auto insurance claim or another injury claim, call Howe Law today. Call our Georgia personal injury lawyers for a free case review by dialing (844) 876-4357.
How Much Are My Medical Bills Worth in a Georgia Bodily Injury Claim?
Most people encounter bodily injury claims as part of an auto accident claim. In these cases, they will file an insurance claim against the at-fault driver and present their medical bills as evidence. The insurance policy in that case might place limits on what damages are paid, but ultimately, near enough to the full cost of these bills should be paid.
In other injury claims, you might have to go through the courts or other insurance policies to get your damages paid. Our Atlanta personal injury lawyers can file your case with the appropriate court and present your medical bills as evidence of how much your damages are worth.
In either case, there should be other damages that you can claim as well – as we will discuss below.
It is important to understand that “medical bills” in an injury claim can include more than just the cost of doctor’s visits and hospital stays. The cost of surgery or any other procedures, medical imaging, therapy, and more can all be included. Even the cost of mental health care and therapy can be included if this treatment was related to your physical injury.
How Much Are Lost Wages and Other Economic Damages Worth in a Georgia Bodily Injury Claim?
Calculating other “economic damages” also involves presenting the bills as evidence of how much the injury cost you. As long as your other economic damages came about because of the accident, they should be included as part of your claim as well.
Lost wages are one of the most common areas of economic damages paid in an injury case. If your accident keeps you from working, then it will be hard to cover medical bills or any other expenses related to the accident, let alone the day-to-day costs of groceries, gas, and housing. Because of this, lost wages come up as part of nearly every claim involving serious injuries.
If your injuries kept you from working, our Alpharetta personal injury lawyers can use your previous pay stubs and financial records to show how much you usually make at work. Then, we can show that you have faced time away from work and claim the missing wages as your damages. If you are able to work to some capacity but make a lower paycheck now because of your injuries, we can use the difference between the old and new pay rate to calculate damages.
Beyond these economic damages, you could face other expenses and costs associated with the injury. While medical bills and lost wages make up the majority of economic damages, many bodily injury claims involve property damage, replacement services for household chores you cannot perform, costs for childcare needs, and alternative transportation costs. It is important to look into what the insurance policy in your case will cover and speak with our lawyers about potentially filing a lawsuit in court to access other damages if the payments would be limited.
Seeking Pain and Suffering in a Bodily Injury Claim in Georgia
Economic damages are paid to cover the costs and financial harms of an accident, but “non-economic damages” like pain and suffering are paid to cover the physical and mental effects of the accident. Many injury victims face long-term trauma in the mental and emotional sense as well as ongoing pain and discomfort in their body from the accident in question. These harms can also be compensated.
Calculating these damages is harder because there are no financial records or receipts associated with these damages. Instead, your testimony about how the accident affected your life and your day-to-day activities will be vital.
Ultimately, courts and insurance companies often use either a multiplier assigned to the severity of your case or a per diem rate to calculate these damages. Our Union City personal injury lawyers can look into any potential insurance policies involved in your case to determine how the insurance company usually calculates damages. We may be able to petition the court and jury to accept a different valuation of these damages that might be more accurate given the circumstances of your particular case.
Ultimately, the calculation of these damages is left to the jury in a lawsuit. Georgia places no caps or restrictions on these damages, so they often make up a substantial part of your case. You should never accept damages for an injury case without pain and suffering damages, and you should never accept a settlement without having our Georgia personal injury lawyers review the offer.
Call Our Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys Today
For a free review of your injury case, call our Valdosta personal injury lawyers at Howe Law. Our phone number is (844) 876-4357.
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