It’s no fun being injured because of someone else’s negligence. Hand injuries, in particular, can be a serious obstacle to continuing your daily routine. If you think you are eligible to receive compensation for your injuries, you should be sure to keep thorough records pertaining to both economic and non-economic damages. You should also consider whether there are any long-term losses incurred by the injury.
Monetary Losses
The first step in tallying up the total costs associated with the injury is to determine your pecuniary losses, including medical expenses, lost income and other incidental costs.
Hand injuries tend to vary in terms of medical expenses, as different treatments have different price tags. According to CostHelper.com, if you lack health insurance, the total cost of diagnosis, treatment, and fees (including x-rays) can be over $6,000. And if you end up needing surgery, it can be even costlier – anywhere from $7,000 to $15,000. And even if you happen to be insured, you could end up reaching your out-of-pocket maximum.
Reductions in Income
When it comes to hand and wrist injuries, it’s very possible that you could spend time away from work, at least for a short period of time, while you recover. If this is the case, you should be sure to keep your paystubs, so that you can substantiate the amount of money you lose in income as a result of the injury.
The Long-Term
One way to ensure you obtain the proper compensation for your injury is to calculate your long-term losses, which could include money lost in future income and future expenses. If you lose your job because of the injury – maybe because you were forced to miss too much work –you definitely want to maintain thorough records of your income, so you can calculate how much money you lost in potential future income. Additionally, if your injury causes you to need long-term treatment – such as weekly physical therapy sessions – you should add up the long-term costs associated with that treatment. Losses in future income and future medical expenses can add a lot to the final sum.
Hidden Expenses
It is very common to spend money on the way to the hospital or while you’re staying at a medical facility. This type of spending should be included in your tally. Remember, when determining your compensation, you should include all expenses that would not have emerged, but for the injury. This might include meals, parking, entertainment – any purchases you make at or on your way to a treatment facility.
Non-Economic Damages
It’s also important to consider any non-economic (or pain and suffering) damages that you may have experienced as a result of the injury. This type of damages includes intangible effects of the physical injury such as emotional turmoil, life-altering pain and public shame.
Proving that you suffered in this way can be very difficult, but not impossible. To that end, it is very important to show concrete proof of pain and suffering damages. This could include a note from a mental health professional stating that you have a diagnosable mental condition that was caused directly by the accident.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider. That’s why it’s advisable to seek the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney. He or she can help guide you through all the nooks and crannies of this complicated process.
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