The victim of an accident experiences some unmistakable losses. The legal system seeks to ensure delivery to that particular victim of a fair compensation for those losses. A personal injury lawyer refers to that compensation as compensatory damages.
Major concerns of legal system, during a determination of the appropriate size for the compensatory damages.
• Who should be held liable? Who should be held responsible for the victim’s expenses and losses?
• What is the nature of the victim’s accident-caused injuries?
• How much did the prescribed tests and treatments cost?
Other factors considered, if the court must determine the size of a fair compensation:
• The victim’s age: It normally takes longer for an older adult to recover from any accident-acquired injuries.
• The nature of the injury: It takes longer to recover from a severe injury.
• Was there evidence of contributory negligence on the part of the victim?
• What was the cost of the prescribed treatment? A defendant should not have to cover the costs of some experimental treatment.
• How did the victim’s injuries affect his or her ability to earn a salary?
• What was the extent of the victim’s loss of wages, as the victim’s body approached the point of full recovery?
• Did the victim’s injuries force him or her to lose an appreciation for the enjoyment of life?
• To what extent was the victim’s life altered by involvement in an injury-causing accident?
The over-arching purpose of money for compensatory damages:
Those funds are supposed to help a victim return to the point where he or she as at the moment of the impact. That is why the court needs to examine both the victim’s past life and any prospects for a return to the major aspects of that same life.
For instance, the court looks at the opportunities for pursuit of or advancement in the victim’s chosen career. If the defendant’s action abolished that opportunity, then the defendant should be held responsible for payment of a large package of compensatory damages.
On the other hand, if the victim’s own actions helped to create an accident-prone situation, then the extent of that contribution should match with the percent of the award that gets denied to the victim/claimant. Usually, the judge calculates the amount of the award money that might get taken from the victim, in order to be fair to the defendant.
Understand that the law does not take sides. It wants to be fair to both the defendant and the claimant/victim. The judge tries to base his or her decisions on an awareness of those aims. Personal Injury Lawyer in Lindsay know that the victim needs a compensation that covers all of the victim’s losses. Only coverage of all known losses can ensure delivery of a fair compensation.
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