What Compensation Can Pedestrians Seek After Being Hit by a Vehicle in Parkville?

What Compensation Can Pedestrians Seek After Being Hit by a Vehicle in Parkville, MO?

Economic Damages

The first thing you can ask for are your economic damages, which are all the quantifiable monetary losses you’ve sustained. Most notable among these will be your medical bills. You can seek compensation for all medical treatment you’ve had, including follow-up treatment, physical therapy, and all the medications you’ve had to pay for. If your own insurance company has paid for these, be aware that some of your settlement will then go to reimburse them, but your lawyer will help you work this out and make sure your insurance company doesn’t take more than they actually paid.

Your economic damages might also include lost wages if you couldn’t get to work and compensation for other work-related losses. For example, if there are bonuses that you were working towards but are no longer eligible for, or overtime that you can prove you normally would’ve taken and which was available while you were laid up, you may be able to claim for those. Finally, if you sustained any property damage, such as if a computer or mobile phone was destroyed in the accident, you can claim compensation.

Non-Economic Damages

Most people refer to these by the colloquial term “pain and suffering.” These damages are compensation for what you’ve suffered and how your life has been affected, but you can’t actually quantify them with a receipt or a bill. This includes compensation for your pain and suffering but also emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and more.

It can be tough to figure these. Your lawyer will help you do so effectively and prove the full extent of what you’ve suffered. In general, the most common way to figure these damages is to calculate all your economic damages and then multiply that by a number between one and five. Whether you choose one, five, or a number in between depends on how badly you were injured and how long it takes to recover.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are extremely rare. They don’t reimburse you; they punish the responsible party to deter them and others from behaving in that way in future. Punitive damages are only awarded where the responsible party’s behavior was wildly egregious or if they deliberately tried to hurt you.

Talk With an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer

If you’ve been injured as a pedestrian, don’t go up against the insurance company alone. Talk to us today at Spooner & Perkins Attorneys at Law here in Parkville, MO.

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