When you are injured in an accident on someone else’s property or a car accident, you might be entitled to sue the at-fault party for damages. These and other accidents often settle out of court or before the case ends at trial. Those settlements may be worth a substantial amount of money, but calculating the damages you could be entitled to for a broken bone is difficult without consulting with an attorney first. Always discuss your personal injury case with an experienced personal injury lawyer before accepting a settlement for your injuries. For help with your broken bone case in South Florida, call Miami personal injury lawyer Prosper Shaked today at (305) 694-2676.
Calculating Broken Bone Settlements in Florida
When you take a personal injury case to court, you are usually entitled to certain categories of damages. First, the court works to compensate you for any financial harms you faced because of the injury. This includes compensating you for the cost of medical expenses and any wages you missed because of the injury. Along with other damages, such as property damage, these damages can make up the majority of your case. In addition to these damages, you may also be entitled to other payments to make up for intangible harms. This primarily covers damages for pain and suffering and mental anguish caused by the injury.
Calculating the damages that account for financial harms is often straightforward. Many broken bones require some sort of imaging, such as X-Rays or MRIs to determine the full extent of the damage. Afterwards, doctors may simply cast the broken bones or set you up with a splint or immobilizers. In other cases, the bones need to be re-set. Setting the bones for a serious injury could require surgery and medical implants, such as screws, rods, and pins. These procedures, no matter how much you need them, still come with a cost. Your hospital bills reflect the cost of these damages, and a settlement should fully reimburse any medical expenses you faced. Generally, a broken bone requiring a surgical repair will be worth substantially more than a broken bone that heals on its own.
If you had to miss work, calculating your lost wages is possible. In most cases, you can return to work after your injuries heal, and any missed wages will have occurred during your recovery period. For more serious injuries, you may be unable to return to work. This could mean you have a reduced earning capacity going forward if your injury’s permanent effects keep you from making as much money. Financial experts can calculate the lost earning potential in addition to the wages lost during recovery, which should be included in full in a proper settlement.
Calculating pain and suffering is more difficult. There are no prices or costs associated with specific injuries. However, more serious injuries are usually worth more money. Broken bones widely range in severity from simple injuries to extremely complex injuries requiring surgical intervention and intense rehabilitation. More serious injuries come with more pain, more painful rehabilitation, and deeper emotional distress from the accident.
In rare cases, you may also be entitled to “punitive damages.” These are additional damages paid to victims to punish the at-fault party for especially negligent or repetitive conduct.
Should I Accept a Settlement for a Broken Bone in FL?
Cases focusing on broken bones and other injuries often settle. Cases settle for many reasons, but the primary reason is to get the money right away and avoid the time and expense of going to trial. However, if you accept a settlement, you might not get all the damages you are entitled to.
Many insurance companies, such as homeowner’s insurance, business liability insurance, or car insurance, may not fully cover damages. The at-fault party’s insurance policy might not cover pain and suffering damages at all, and it might only cover a partial amount for medical expenses and lost wages. In most cases, settlements will never include punitive damages. If you take your case to trial, you might be able to get additional damages that the settlement will not include.
In other cases, the settlement offers may simply be too low to cover your needs. The at-fault party and their legal team do not have your interests at heart. Especially in cases where you are suing a large company, like a products liability case, commercial truck accident case, or suing for injuries from a bridge collapse, big legal teams may try to pressure you into accepting a low settlement offer by telling you your case is weak or that you don’t have a case. In many cases, these parties are simply trying to shut down legal claims to avoid paying trial costs and eventual damages.
Never Settle Your Case Before Consulting a Personal Injury Lawyer
Miami personal injury lawyer Prosper Shaked of Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA represents victims of serious injury cases. If you broke a bone in a slip and fall accident, car crash, or another accident, call our law offices for a free consultation before accepting a settlement offer. Work with an experienced personal injury lawyer so you aren’t left wondering where your injury settlement money is. For your free consultation, call our law offices today at (305) 694-2676.