Negligent people cause accidents each day, but that does not mean victims must live with the damages. Our lawyers can help victims file a lawsuit to recover compensation for the harm they sustained.
Personal injury victims often have a wide range of damages from the accident and during recovery. You will likely have economic damages in the form of medical expenses, property damage, and lost income. While these losses start piling up immediately, you might also have future damages that should be accounted for, like lost earning potential and additional medical treatment. Our attorneys can also help assess the value of your pain and suffering so your non-economic damages are accounted for in your claim. If the defendant recklessly injured you or was convicted of a crime for the incident, you will likely be entitled to punitive damages.
Get your private, free case review from our Myrtle Beach, SC personal injury attorneys today at Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling (803) 219-4906.
Damages You Can Be Compensated for in a Socastee, SC Personal Injury Lawsuit
When someone injures you through an act of negligence, the losses in the legal claim are referred to as “damages.” Most damages are compensatory, meaning that they are intended to pay you back for the losses caused by the accident. Compensatory damages can be further separated into financial harm from the accident, economic damages, and non-monetary losses, also known as non-economic damages. These collective losses can be difficult to calculate without the help of our personal injury lawyers. We will use medical bills, employment records, repair estimates, and even expert opinions to determine the value of your case.
Economic Damages
You will likely have several categories of economic damages that the defendant should compensate you for, such as medical bills, lost earnings, property damage, and other expenses.
No one plans on racking up significant medical expenses, which suffering a personal injury is likely to do. You might have bills from an ambulance ride, the emergency room visit, hospitalization, and continued care to recover your full strength or as much as possible before being injured. Those with injuries that will heal with treatment will likely still have weeks or months of physical therapy to improve and might discover they need surgery or other treatments in the future. Serious injuries, like spinal cord damage, often require injury victims to invest in extremely expensive daily care, equipment, and modifications to their homes and vehicles.
Your injuries might also force you to call out from work while you heal or even put you out of work permanently. In other cases, victims can return to work but in a different position that accommodates their injuries. Our team can determine the amount of lost income you should recover based on your daily wages. We can also get the help of experts to determine what value should be assigned to your lost earning potential if your injuries prevent you from doing the same job as before.
You likely have other costs stemming from the accident that might not be as impactful at first but are just as deserving of compensation, like damaged property. Perhaps you needed a rental or replacement car after a vehicle accident, or your phone was crushed in a slip and fall. We can use current market estimates to evaluate these losses.
Injury victims are often surprised to learn that they can also recover out-of-pocket expenses associated with getting treatment and handling their legal claims, like childcare and transportation costs.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for harms other than the money spent because of the accident, hence the more commonly used term “pain and suffering.” Victims usually experience physical pain from their injuries in the accident, as well as treating and living with them afterward. These damages also include psychological and emotional harm you have suffered, like a heightened sense of anxiety and depression.
While these damages cannot be added up with receipts and bills, they can still be calculated accurately. In some cases, we use a multiplier approach, whereby we assign a value, typically between 1.5 and 5, to your injuries based on their severity and multiply it by your economic damages. In others, we use a per diem method, designating a daily value for pain and suffering and multiplying it by the number of days you are likely to experience it.
We can also enlist the help of expert witnesses to help prove your non-economic losses. Medical experts can explain how your injuries will cause long-term pain, while psychological experts can discuss how the accident impacts your mental health. You, your family, and friends can also provide insights into the changes in your mood and quality of life.
Damages the Court Can Award for Personal Injuries Caused by Willful Misconduct in Socastee, SC
Punitive damages are another type of damages that courts can award plaintiffs, but not as compensation for harm like those mentioned above, but as a punishment and deterrent. Some defendants act so heinously that paying normal damages is not enough. Perhaps you were injured by a drunk driver, or a family member was wrongfully killed. Or, a manufacturer might have made a product with dangerous materials available to customers in violation of the law.
Our team can request that the court grant punitive damages if the circumstances of your injuries call for it. However, we need evidence of wanton, reckless, or willful misconduct that meets the “clear and convincing” burden of proof standard under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-32-520(D), which is higher than what we need to prove common negligence. For instance, a conviction for drunk driving would likely suffice. We can also show it by proving the existence of similar behavior in the past.
While punitive damages are generally capped at either $500,000 or triple your economic losses, whichever is more, there will be no cap if the defendant was convicted or pleaded guilty to a felony or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to § 15-32-520.
Contact Our Socastee, SC Personal Injury Lawyers for Help with Your Case Today
For a free review of your case from our personal injury attorneys, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (803) 219-4906.