Injury Lawyer Medford, OR
If you have been injured by another person’s negligence, you might be facing lost time from work, while trying to cope with excruciating pain. Feelings of distress and anger might quickly set in as you wonder what you can do to improve your situation. Right now, it may be in your best interest to speak with an injury lawyer in Medford, Oregon. Call Andersen Morse & Linthorst.
What Is Your Case Worth?
If you find yourself in a situation where filing a personal injury lawsuit is a possibility, a very reasonable question you may be asking is, “How much is my case worth?” After all, if your case is not worth very much, it may not be worth all the time and effort it would take to file the lawsuit and argue your case in court. This guide will help you answer this question, but you should also consider discussing the value of your case with a serious injury lawyer Medford, OR has to offer to get an answer specific to your unique situation.
What Your Case Is Worth
It turns out that the question of how much your case is worth has some slightly flawed thinking in it. The purpose of the laws surrounding personal injury cases is to return the victim to the financial situation he or she was in prior to the injury. This means that your case is worth exactly how much you lost as a result of being injured. If justice is served, you will not have any net profit at the end of your case. That being said, you can be compensated for non-financial losses, meaning you might have more money than when you began in exchange for the pain and suffering you endured. This profit is exactly proportional to the amount of suffering you endured.
Damages
The exact amount you can receive through your lawsuit depends on the types of damages in the case. There are three types of damages:
- Special compensatory damages – This is the amount of financial losses you suffered. For example, your hospital bill or missed paychecks would fall into this category.
- General compensatory damages – This is the amount of non-financial losses you suffered. For example, pain and suffering and disfigurement would fall into this category.
- Punitive damages – This is an amount the defendant must pay the plaintiff as a form of punishment for the defendant.
As an injury lawyer in Medford, Oregon might explain to you, your case will be worth the sum of special and general compensatory damages, with punitive damages possibly added on top. It is very rare for punitive damages to be a part of personal injury lawsuits, although it does happen occasionally. Generally, you should not expect to receive punitive damages, and should only focus on the compensatory damages when calculating how much your case is worth. An injury lawyer in Medford, Oregon who is familiar with personal injury cases will be able to give you a good estimate for how much your general compensatory damages will be worth, since their values are subjective. For a consultation with an injury lawyer in Medford, Oregon, call Andersen Morse & Linthorst.