Why Should I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
Being injured is a serious matter that should be taken care of properly.
One of the worst things after an injury is not knowing how long you will
suffer for. A seemingly minor injury can turn into something serious or
even lead to additional medical complications down the road. You cannot
be sure of what the future holds, and when that injury is the fault of
another person, they should be held accountable for their actions.
We offer a free consultation to discuss your case and do not accept a penny
of your money unless we win your case. That means that speaking with our
firm is of no cost to you, and there is no risk when we accept your case.
You have nothing to lose!
Don’t Let the Statute of Limitations Run Out!
According to the Florida Statutes Annotated section 95.11(3) the statute
of limitations for personal injury cases in Florida is four years. This
means you have four years from the date of your injury to file a claim
or you may lose your right to pursue compensation. Florida does recognize
some exceptions to this four-year law, taking into account the injury
victim’s age and the date of discovery. An attorney from our firm
will be able to let you know whether or not you qualify for an extension
to the statute of limitations.
What Damages Can You Recover in a Personal Injury Case?
There are three types of damages injury victims can pursue in a personal
injury case, economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.
Economic and non-economic damages are both “compensatory damages,”
this means that the main purpose of these damages is to compensate the
injured party for a specific loss.
Economic damages compensate for financial losses such as medical expenses
and missed days at work, while non-economic damages compensate for more
abstract losses such as pain and suffering and mental anguish. The last
type of damages, punitive, differs from compensatory damages in that their
main purpose is to punish the negligent party for their actions. As such
these types of damages are not often awarded.
How To Calculate Pain and Suffering for Your Compensation
After you are
involved in an accident, it is easy to prove the expenses of your damages by simply providing
hospital and repair statements. It’s often much more difficult to
prove the amount of pain and suffering that you experienced as a result
of your accident. Our Tampa injury attorneys at
Smith & Stallworth, Attorneys at Law can help you through this process if you have questions about how to calculate
damages after an injury. To help you get started, there are a few ways
that you can calculate your damages and see things through the lens of
an insurance company.
Pain and suffering represents the emotional distress or anguish that an
individual suffers from after they are involved in an accident due to
the negligence of another. Pain and suffering may refer to physical pain,
depression, anxiety, memory loss, physical limitations, and many more.
Insurance companies use two basic methods for calculating pain and suffering:
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Per Diem- This method assigns a dollar value for one day (usually the amount of
a party’s wages) and then multiplies it by the number of days that
the injured party was affected by the injury.
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Multiple- This method is more common and is made by creating a total of the injured
party’s economic damages and then applying a multiple from one to five.
Regardless of the method that is used, seeking compensation can be a strenuous
and complicated process. Our Tampa personal injury attorneys have the
experience you need to seek financial compensation with peace of mind.
Contact us today to discuss your case in more detail!
