Nobody can deny the fact that personal injury claims are very complicated. It is so easy to become overwhelmed, especially when it comes to understanding what people around you say. One of the important reasons why people hire injury attorneys like truck wreck lawyers is that they do know the terms and can explain them to you. Even if you decide not to hire one, you still have to be aware of terms like the ones mentioned in the following lines.
Causation
When saying causation, we practically mean exactly what caused your injury. Two types of causation exist. The first one is actual cause. It is also known as cause-in-fact and it refers to the injury’s exact reasons. For instance, when texting as a person drives, and that person hit you, texting while driving is the cause.
The second causation type is proximity cause. This is more complicated. It refers to foreseeable injuries. With the texting and driving example, it means that the individual at fault should have realized that they could end up in an accident because of what they were doing.
Punitive Damages
The settlement can include fines meant to cover several damages. One of them is “punitive damages”. These are not created to help the victim. They are utilized to further punish a defendant. Courts can determine whether or not they are appropriate. These are basically charges that are put into place when the party at fault exhibited very damaging careless action.
What should be mentioned is that these damages are quite rare. Only 5% of the personal injury verdicts award them.
Pecuniary Damages
These are the damages that can easily be measured. For instance, the cost of a medical procedure can easily be calculated since there is a medical bill that shows it. Pecuniary damages can include practically anything that can be financially calculated, including property replacement costs, and practically the value of anything physically damaged.
We can also highlight that being injured can mean you will not be able to continue working for some time. In this case, lost wages will be added to the personal injury claim as pecuniary damages. You can easily prove them with proof of salary.
Non-Pecuniary Damages
These are damages that are much harder to properly mention. They tend to stem from mental and mood state. For instance, the personal injury settlement can include pain and suffering. It can also include payments to cover for anxiety, depression, and practically all mental alterations appearing because of accidents.
Conclusions
The four simple terms related to personal injury law highlighted above are just some of the hundred that could be mentioned. The truth is most people have zero true legal knowledge so when they need to negotiate insurance claims or go to trial, they cannot understand what happens. You have to understand all the terms, which is close to impossible. As a result, one of the best things you can do if you are injured because of the actions of someone else is to hire an experienced personal injury attorney who could explain everything and represent you during the process.
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