If you have suffered property damage, injury, or any loss, as the plaintiff you can seek compensation from the responsible party who caused or contributed to those losses. This is a personal injury case, and the compensation is referred to as “damages.” Compensatory and punitive are two types of damages awarded in a personal injury case. It is important to note that Chicago personal injury lawyers can assist you with these damages.
Compensatory damages have two subsets, general and special damages. These damages seek to reimburse the injured party for their suffering. General compensatory damages include slip and fall cases, medical malpractice, and auto accidents. Special compensatory damages seek to reimburse monetary expenses incurred by the injured party. They vary between each unique individual party. The purpose of special damages is to make the defendant pay an amount that covers the expenses incurred by the victim or for money lost due to the incident that caused the injuries. There are many types of special damages that the injured party can claim; here are a few of the most common:
* Medical bills
* Cost of future medical care
* Loss of earnings
* Household expenses
* Costs of altered plans or cancelled trips
Punitive damages are awarded in special case scenarios. These damages are considered when the plaintiff’s injury is caused by the defendant’s despicable behavior. They seek to punish the person responsible for causing the injury or suffering for such behavior. A common situation that arises is when the defendant is guilty of malicious acts or fraud such as sexual assault, aggravated assault, or fraudulent behavior that causes financial harm to others. In high profile cases, things like health risks of prescription drugs and defective products can be charged for punitive damages since they are companies or businesses that have money to pay for their wrongdoing.
Finding Chicago personal injury lawyers to discuss what damages you may claim of the person responsible for your injury or suffering is essential so that you will have someone on your side fighting for your cause. It is the insurance adjustor’s job to protect the financial interests of the insurance company. Meaning they will seek to pay the lowest amount to the injured party as possible. This is why you need to have competent lawyers on your side to help settle your case and ensure you are fairly compensated.
The Shea Law Group has Chicago personal injury lawyers that can assist you with virtually any kind of personal injury case you have. If you have questions regarding your case, contact them today.
