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Personal injury cases sometimes get a bad reputation, with some people suggesting that they are baseless attempts to get money by people who don’t deserve it. However, the reality is that many injured plaintiffs rely on these cases for fair financial compensation, without which they might never financially recover because they were injured by someone else’s carelessness. If you’ve been hurt, you should contact an attorney about your case as soon as possible to determine if you have a legal right to receive money compensation.
Damages in personal injury cases can be quite significant when severe injuries and large economic losses are on the line. Hospital bills, property damage, intense psychological trauma, and more might be worth very valuable compensation. To prove your claims and get these damages covered, we need to prove how the defendant’s negligent actions caused your injuries. This requires strong supporting evidence, which is not always easily obtained. The road ahead may be extremely difficult on your own, and your lawyer can guide you through this difficult time.
Reach out to our personal injury attorneys at Wruck Paupore for a free initial case review by calling us at (219) 322-1166.
At the heart of a personal injury case is the plaintiff’s damages. These reflect your losses, injuries, and emotional and physical pain from the accident. In less typical cases, punitive damages may be awarded to punish defendants for their bad actions. You might have a good idea of what your damages are worth, but our personal injury attorneys can review the details of your case and determine the true extent of your damages.
A bad accident can take a significant toll on your mind and body, and many people spend years reeling from the effects of the accident and their injuries. Non-economic damages represent these painful experiences, and they may be financially compensated even though they might not have come with a monetary cost. The greater the impact on your daily life, the greater these damages should be.
The emotional and psychological turmoil after being severely injured can last a long time, and many victims are left with PTSD or similar symptoms. Some people are deeply humiliated by their accidents, such as being in an accident in front of their professional colleagues. Still, others live with intense pain. For some, their injuries never fully heal, and they might live with complications like chronic pain for years or even forever.
Economic damages involve injuries and losses that cost plaintiffs money. One of the most significant sources of economic damages is hospital bills. Even minor injuries treated in the emergency room can lead to enormous bills that injured victims cannot afford. The more care and treatment you need for your injuries, the more medical debt you may accumulate, and the higher your damages should be.
You should also consider the time you lose at work because of your injuries. If you cannot work, you cannot earn a living. You should be compensated for the wages you lose from being unable to work. If you cannot work for a long time, or perhaps ever again, your damages might be substantial.
Not all damages are meant to make up for something you lost or injuries you endured. Punitive damages are intended to punish defendants if their behavior is extremely egregious. Punitive damages are not available in every case, and they tend to be hard to prove, making them rather rare.
Punitive damages may be available in cases where the defendant deliberately caused harm, acted with malice, or acted with gross negligence. Under I.C. § 34-51-3-2, plaintiffs must prove the facts necessary to support punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence. This is a challenging burden of proof, and you should speak to your attorney about what you need to prove these kinds of damages.
Many personal injury cases are based on accidents that occur because of the defendant’s negligent behavior. Negligence is more than just careless behavior. It is a legal concept that must be proven in court. Negligence involves legal elements of duty, breach, causation, and damages. We must prove every single element for your claims to succeed.
Duty refers to the defendant’s legal obligation of care they owed the plaintiff at the time of the accident. The exact nature of this duty may vary, and even strangers may owe a duty to one another. For example, drivers have a duty to drive with reasonable safety under the circumstances while obeying traffic laws. The breach element is whatever the defendant did to violate their duty. Continuing with the driving example, a breach might involve running a red light or speeding. Causation is the connection between the breach and the accident. In short, the breach must be the direct cause of your accident. If not, the defendant cannot be held liable. Finally, we must offer evidence about your damages and how much they are worth.
In some cases, the defendant might try to argue that you are the one who is liable, not them. They might claim that you did something to cause the accident or make your injuries worse. This is known as contributory negligence, and it might lead to a reduction in your compensation. According to I.C. § 34-51-2-5, if the trier of fact – usually the judge or jury – finds you contributorily negligent, your damages are reduced according to your share of fault. If you are 20% responsible, you lose 20% of your damages. Under § 34-51-2-6(a), recovery may be totally barred if your responsibility is more than 50%.
While no law requires a personal injury plaintiff to hire a lawyer, doing so is probably in your best interest. Case preparation takes a lot more time and effort than people realize, and doing it alone might be insurmountable if you have little legal training or experience. Often, attorneys spend more time working on a case than arguing it in court.
Your attorney can help you prepare your case by assessing your damages, finding evidence, and drafting the legal paperwork needed to get your case off the ground. They may also assist you in navigating complex court procedures, hearings, and motions. Perhaps most importantly, your lawyer can work on your case while you focus on healing from your injuries.
Reach out to our personal injury lawyers at Wruck Paupore for a free initial case review by calling us at (219) 322-1166.
Don is a founding partner and one of the nation’s top-ranked personal injury litigators. He is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes less than 1% of the nation’s trial lawyers, and awarded the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbel and AVVO.
More importantly, Don understands representing personal injury victims is about more than recovering the best settlement: it’s about helping clients get back on their feet and supporting them in every aspect of their recovery.
In nearly all cases, our clients seek compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurance company. Before forming Wruck Paupore, Jason worked for a prominent law firm representing some of the world’s largest insurers. This experience gives Jason a deep understanding of the insurance industry and the strategies it uses to pay injury victims as little as possible.
Jason -- and our entire team -- put this inside knowledge to work to force insurance companies to pay what is actually owed. Often, we use the insurance company’s own tactics against them as we fight for the full compensation our client deserves.
For more than four decades, Keith has been fighting for injury victims. During that time, he’s watched the insurance industry change, with insurers now more interested in protecting their stock price than treating injury victims fairly.
Since the beginning, Keith has put people first. From his childhood in Gary, Indiana during the 1960’s and working his way through law school, Keith has risen to become one of the Midwest’s most respected trial lawyers. He has never forgotten that being a lawyer is about helping people -- and seeing injury victims through struggles in a way that could change their lives forever.
Over the decades, Keith, Don and Jason have fought relentlessly for clients, even when other lawyers have said the case was impossible to win.
Contact Us:
Wruck Paupore P.C.
Injury Lawyers
275 Joliet St. Suite #250
Dyer, IN 46311
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