The prospect of getting hit by a car is probably not something most people consider when they start their day. Unfortunately, that does not make people less immune from getting in a car crash, and sadly, countless individuals get hurt in motor vehicle collisions every day. Injuries sustained in car accidents can easily result in enormous medical expenses that can become extremely distressing.
Fortunately, we can help. We have assisted many plaintiffs who were injured in car accidents caused by negligence, so we have the experience, professionalism, and drive to get you the results you want out of a car accident lawsuit.
Contact Howe Law’s car accident lawyers by calling us at (844) 876-4357 to get a free case analysis.
What Do You Need to Prove to Win a Car Accident Lawsuit in Olive Branch
To be successful in a car accident case, you need to show that the defendant was negligent. “Negligence” is a legal term meaning that someone was careless and, as a result, got someone else hurt. You prove that a defendant is negligent by showing that they acted in a careless, unreasonable manner, which led to you getting hurt.
For example, drivers have an obligation to act in a way that is not likely to get other people hurt. In the case of car accidents, this includes following all traffic laws and driving safely. When people fail to drive reasonably, car accidents happen, and people get hurt.
You also have to prove that you were actually injured to win your case. This is accomplished through personal and eyewitness testimony as well as tangible evidence like medical records detailing the treatment and procedures you underwent to deal with yoru injuries.
Damages You Can Be Awarded in an Olive Branch Car Accident Lawsuit
If your claim is successful, the court will award you damages. “Damages” is more or less another term for the financial compensation you get from the defendant based on your injuries. The idea is to revert things to how they were for the plaintiff before the car accident took place, or at least get things to as close to that position as possible. When you outline what you are requesting damages for to the court, it helps to explain why you are seeking certain amounts. For example, you can explain in your lawsuit that you incurred certain medical expenses that the defendant needs to pay for. One way to help in that endeavor is to categorize things into economic, non-economic, or punitive damages.
Economic Damages
This category of damages covers things that can have their monetary value easily displayed to the court, relatively speaking. Economic damages deals with things like medical expenses, property damage, and lost opportunity to earn income – both in the past and into the future.
You can usually demonstrate the extent of economic damages to the court through tangible evidence like invoices, pay stubs, hospital bills, and other documentation of certain expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
By contrast, it can be tougher to establish the value of non-economic damages. This area covers things like physical pain, mental anguish, and emotional distress. Since there is no bill you get for something like “physical pain” or “emotional distress,” you will have to show the value of these things to the court through testimony, evidence, and persuasive legal arguments.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are not like economic or non-economic damages in that they are not intended to offset the effects of the accident for you but to punish the defendant. You will have to prove that the defendants in your case were more than merely negligent in order to be awarded punitive damages, so you should discuss whether seeking them makes sense in your claim with our car accident attorneys.
How Are Damages Calculated in Olive Branch Car Accident Lawsuits?
In addition to explaining the factual basis for damages in your lawsuit, you also have to tell the court how much financial compensation you are actually asking to be awarded. Each case is different, so there is no mandated way to calculate your damages in a car accident case. However, there are methods that are frequently employed by attorneys to figure out how much a case is worth. In addition to comparing your claim to other similar ones, lawyers frequently use either the multiplier method or the “per diem” method to calculate damages in civil claims.
The Multiplier Method
The multiplier method can be considered the simpler of the two methods of calculating damages to understand. This method takes your economic damages and multiplies them by a given factor to determine your non-economic damages. For example, if you incurred $1,00,000 in economic damages and our lawyers settle on a multiplier of 4 as appropriate for your non-economic damages, you would have a total of $500,000 in requested compensatory damages using the multiplier method. The multiplier method is most often utilized when plaintiffs are expected to deal with their injuries in some capacity for the rest of their lives, so non-economic damages may vastly outweigh economic damages when using this method.
The Per Diem Method
On the other hand, the “per diem” or “daily” method takes a different approach. Under this system, you work with our lawyers to decide a dollar amount that represents the one day of dealing with the effects of your injuries sustained in the crash. You then add up that amount depending on how long you are expected to deal with your injuries. Generally, this method is used when there is a definitive end date on which plaintiffs will fully recover. For example, if you are expected to
Our Olive Branch, Car Accident Attorneys, Can Help You Today
Let our car accident attorneys start assisting you with your claim today when you call Howe Law at (844) 876-4357.
