What Is Injury Compensation?

Injury compensation is the money paid to injured workers in order to compensate them for their losses as a result of accidents at work. These expenses can include medical expenses as well as lost wages and future income as well as loss of enjoyment of life-changing injuries.

The money can be obtained by two methods: either through a settlement, or filing an action. A lawyer can analyze your case and tell you which option is best for you.

Medical Treatment

Your claim for injury will comprise the cost of medical treatment. The insurance company will cover reasonable and necessary medical treatment. This includes medical bills from health care providers and specialists. The insurance company will also reimburse you for prescription and over-the-counter medicines in addition to expenses for transportation to and from medical appointments.

Based on the severity of your injuries, you could require assistive aids such as canes, wheelchairs or other clothing that is specially designed for you. You may also be eligible to recover expenses for home modifications, such as stair lifts and ramps. Medical expenses include the cost of diagnostic tests that are necessary to diagnose your injuries and track your recovery. You can also claim the costs of surgery necessary to treat your injuries. The workers' compensation board has guidelines for medical treatment that doctors are required to follow. These guidelines permit your doctor to offer the majority of your care without requiring your insurance company's approval.

Consistently following your physician's advice can greatly help your case. If the defendant or insurance company notices that you've missed appointments or playing tennis on weekends, despite your claimed injuries, they will claim that your injuries are not as serious as you claim. On the other hand, if you're constantly seeing health care professionals and receiving extensive medical treatments, they will have to acknowledge that your injuries are serious.

Lost Wages

Injuries aren't just physically painful, but can cause financial damage too. The costs of treatment can quickly mount up and injured victims may also have to deal with lost earnings while they recover from their injuries. If your injury caused you to not be able to work, you could be entitled to compensation for the time that you've been unable to work.

Proving that you lost wages is a difficult process and requires specific documentation. It's important to include copies of your pay stubs from the past and income tax documentation. Your attorney can make use of these documents to prove the amount of income you've lost as a result of your injury compensation.

The lost wages could include your regular hourly or salaried earnings and overtime potential bonuses, commissions, bonus payments and more. You can also include any benefits you no more receive, like free meals or allowances for cars.

You are also entitled to compensation for the days you've needed to take vacation or sick days to make up for the hours you missed due to your injuries. Your lawyer can calculate the fair market value of these days and demand reimbursement from those accountable. If your injury is irreparable Your lawyer may also seek compensation for lost earning capacity. This is a much more complicated procedure and requires hiring a forensic accountant or actuary to prove the loss of your future earnings potential.

Medical expenses

You may be faced with high medical bills depending on the extent of the injury attorney. This can put a stress on your financial situation. A serious injury can also stop you from working and earning a substantial period of time, which puts an extra financial burden on your and your family.

You are entitled to reimbursement for medical expenses related to the incident, including ambulance rides, doctor visits and x-rays, hospital treatment, supplies, medications and orthopedic appliances. You are also entitled to reimbursement for transportation costs to and from medical appointments (including therapy). You must keep receipts for all medical expenses, as you will be reimbursed according to actual costs.

To help negotiate attorneys and insurance firms will often use your billed amounts as the basis to calculate medical special damages. They will then multiply this amount by the multiplier of 1.5 to 5 to calculate general damages. Most commonly minor injuries will be on the low end of the spectrum, and serious or long-lasting injuries will be at the top end.

The Kocian Law Group is skilled at ensuring that you receive all the medical-related compensation to which you are entitled. We will fight for insurers to pay the full amount that is recommended by your health care providers even if they disagree with the need or reasonableness.

Suffering and Pain

The victim of injury has the right to receive compensation for his or her emotional and physical pain. The physical pain and may be caused by past and future medical treatments. Mental anguish, discomfort or embarrassment, shock or Injury Compensation sadness could also be considered.

It is difficult to put a price on the pain and distress caused by an accident, especially when it is a result of permanent injuries like being confined to wheelchairs or blinded. It is important that accident victims have the assistance of an attorney in order to collect sufficient evidence to prove their loss.

In certain cases the victim will negotiate a settlement without the need to go to trial. This is referred to as a settlement agreement and typically involves an insurance company. The insurance company may employ either the multiplier method or per diem to calculate pain and suffer damages.

The courts employ both the multiplier method and the per diem method for determining compensation for physical and emotional pain suffered in accidents. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages however, the amount is decided by the jury in the case. A skilled personal injury lawyer can assist injured victims of accidents collect the evidence needed to present a convincing case for fair compensation. The highly skilled lawyers at Adam S. Kutner & Associates can assist you with the investigation and preparation of your case for court or a settlement.