A personal injury lawsuit occurs when you have been injured at the fault of someone else. The aim of a personal injury lawsuit is to receive compensation from the other party to cover any medical bills and to address any further suffering you have faced. These cases can either be formal and settled in court or they may be informally settled before reaching court.
Force Change
According to FindLaw, part of the reason you would file a personal injury lawsuit is to encourage some type of change. When you are injured at the fault of someone else, you want to make sure that what happened to you does not happen again. These cases come into play because they call attention to whatever caused the injury. For example, if you were injured due to some type of negligence in your workplace, your case can point out this negligence and require a change to be made. The faulty party will likely not want to cause any more problems and they will make changes or adjustments to prevent further issues.
Receive Compensation
In addition to making changes that prevent more accidents or injuries, you also want to make sure you are fairly compensated. In these cases, you can receive some sort of payout to cover anything you have gone through. According to Ahlander Injury Law, the payout can help with medical bills, lost wages, and any additional pain and suffering. This can include compensation for any emotional suffering, long lasting pain/injuries, and even compensation for damaged relationships. In many cases, the faulty party will choose to reach a settlement before going to court. This is usually so they can avoid any heat from the situation, so it is likely you will be compensated before a court hearing.
Penalize Defendant
In some cases, according to NOLO, you can receive payment beyond regular compensation. These payments are known as punitive damages. Often, these payments are required simply to penalize the defendant especially if they were extremely negligent or their actions are deemed rather appalling. Punitive damages are designed to “hurt” their pocketbook and to deter the defendant from making a similar mistake in the future. These charges can often be very expensive (in the tens of millions) so some states have a cap on punitive damage charges.
There are many reasons to file a personal injury lawsuit. They aren’t ideal for every situation, but if your situation is fairly serious it might be the right choice for you. Make sure you understand what you hope to get from the lawsuit and make sure the law will be on your side of the situation.
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