Thousands of buses take to the streets of Alabama every day. Virtually all bus rides arrive at their destination without serious issues. However, accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. Bus accidents have the potential to injure many people when they happen because buses are so often filled with many passengers. Even worse, if a pedestrian is struck by a bus, they are very likely to suffer serious injuries because of the impact force from a large, heavy bus.
Our lawyers are here to help you after a bus accident. The last thing you want to be thinking about after such a difficult experience is how you are going to get back to normal. We can negotiate with insurance companies, interview witnesses, and prepare a case to fight for you in court to get you compensation for your accident.
Call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357 for a free initial case review with our bus accident lawyers.
The Statute of Limitations for Bus Accident Lawsuits in Madison, AL
You do not have unlimited time to file your bus accident lawsuit in Alabama. There is a law called the statute of limitations that will prevent you from recovering any damages if you wait too long to sue. Therefore, it is a good idea to reach out to our lawyers as soon as possible so that you do not miss the statutory deadline. Per Ala. Code § 6-2-38, the statutory period to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years. After that time, if you try to file a case, the court will not hear it, and you will not be able to be compensated for the harm you faced.
There are some special circumstances that could cause the statute of limitations to be put on hold temporarily. For example, under Ala. Code § 6-2-8, if the bus accident happened to you before you were 19 years old, the statutory timer would not start until you turn 19.
Damages in a Madison, AL Bus Accident Lawsuit
Courts divide damages into three categories: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages. While your damages will be awarded to you as one item, these categories are helpful to the court in understanding why they should give you the compensation you are asking for.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are things that have a discernable monetary value attached to them. The cost of surgery for injuries, hospital stays, and physical therapy sessions are all examples of things you can be awarded economic damages for in a bus accident lawsuit.
Additionally, lost income can be awarded as economic damages. For example, if you missed weeks of work while recovering from your injuries in a hospital, you could be awarded damages based on the money you could have earned during that time. Similarly, if you can no longer work or need to take a less lucrative position because of your injuries, the pay you could have earned were you not injured can be factored into economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-Economic damages are more abstract than economic damages. While economic damages are based on things like salaries, receipts, and medical bills, non-economic damages are based on your experiences of the injuries. Physical pain, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and lost enjoyment of life can all be items you request non-economic damages for. Since it is impossible to put an exact dollar amount on, say, how much a broken bone hurts, non-economic damages will be different for each plaintiff. You and our lawyers will have to decide on an amount to ask for and convince the judge and jury that you are owed those damages.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are different from other kinds of damages. In a personal injury lawsuit, most damages are designed to “make the plaintiff whole” again. In other words, damages are there to put the plaintiff in the same position they were in before an accident. Punitive damages, on the other hand, are designed to punish especially bad actors. Courts reserve punitive damages for only the worst violators of legal duties, so you should not necessarily count on getting awarded them.
Calculating Damages in a Madison, AL Bus Accident Lawsuit
When you plan your lawsuit with our lawyers, you must decide on the damages you are requesting. In essence, you must explain to the judge and jury why you are requesting that specific amount of compensation from the defendant in your lawsuit. Economic damages can be easier to calculate since they have a paper trail, so most of the calculations will be about the value of non-economic damages you have experienced.
Non-Economic Damages Based on Economic Damages
One way to calculate damages is to base your non-economic damages on your economic damages. The idea is that the pain, suffering, and other intangible damages you have suffered are worse than and related to your economic damages. A common way to do this is to multiply your economic damages by a chosen multiple and ask for that number in non-economic damages. For example, if you ask for $100,000 in economic damages and want three times that as non-economic damages, you will ask for $400,000 in damages.
Daily Pain Allowance
Another way to calculate damages is to, with consultation with our lawyers, come up with a “daily pain allowance.” Another way to think of this is that you are coming up with an amount based on how much pain you were in per day and how much pain you are likely to experience in the future, then basing your non-economic damages on that amount.
Call our Madison, AL, Bus Accident Lawyers Right Away
To talk to our bus accident lawyers about your case, call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
