Almaden Valley Lawyers®
Compensation for personal injuriesQuestionA few months ago I was in an automobile accident. Because of this, I had medical bills of $5,000, was off work for three months at $4,000 per month and am left with permanent scarring on my face. I need plastic surgery at a cost of about $10,000 and I will need to change jobs in the future and earn less because of this. Needless to say, my car was a total loss. How much can I recover from the other side? Peter J. Dear Peter:First of all, let’s assume that the other party was 100% at fault. If the accident was partially your fault, then your recovery may be reduced. The law provides that you are entitled to reasonable compensation, which includes many different items. You may recover the reasonable value of medical, hospital and nursing care services and supplies reasonably required and actually given in your treatment to the present time. That should include the $5,000 in medical bills. You are also entitled to the present cash value of the reasonable value of similar items reasonably certain to be required and given in the future. This should include your plastic surgery procedure that will cost $10,000. You may also receive monetary compensation for the reasonable value of working time lost to date. This should present no difficulty in your recovering your $4,000 per month for the three months that you were off work due to the accident. (Even if you were not working, your ability to work may have a monetary value even though you were not employed by another at the time.) The law also provides that you may be awarded by the jury the present cash value of your earning capacity reasonably certain to be lost in the future as a result of the injury in question. Therefore, if you can prove that you will need to change jobs because of the accident and if your earning capacity is reduced in the future, you may be able to receive compensation for that. Of course, you are entitled to receive a monetary award because of the permanent scarring on your face and other reasonable compensation for any pain, discomfort, fears, anxiety and other mental and emotional distress that you suffered and that you are reasonably certain to suffer in the future because of the accident. This figure is a jury question and depends upon a variety of factors. Clearly, the figure would probably be a substantial one.
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