Damages are a form of compensation given to a victim involved in a crime or accident. These accusations are filed in a civil court and usually settled with money. If you have lost a friend or family member or been the victim of a crime below, contact a lawyer for more information. You may be owed money by the perpetrator.
1) Personal Injury
Damages are commonly associated with personal injury cases. Whether it be a car crash, abuse or defamation, these negligent or intentional actions can cause a person to have serious mental or physical injuries. If they are bad enough to affect the victim’s day to day life, damages can be collected from the other party.
The longer recovery period you have or the longer you take medication for the effects, the better chance you have at winning the lawsuit. The victim can receive money for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of reputation and much more. A judge will determine the impact on the victim’s life to decide how much they will receive.
2) Wrongful Death
You may be wondering, what is a wrongful death case? It is the ability for the survivors to a victim of a murder to file a civil action against them for compensation. No matter if the death was an accident or on purpose, they or the estate can claim damages. Examples of these damages may include funeral and medical expenses from the death, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship.
Because the victim has tragically died, the court must look at many factors when determining the amount money that should be rewarded. Life expectancy of the person who died and the survivor, support or services the deceased would have given, and relationship to the survivor are all factors that the judge might look at.
3) Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is the negligence of a doctor or medical provider to treat their patient with an accepted standard of care. Errors can range from botched surgeries, wrong anesthesia dosing, delay or failure to diagnose a sickness, or lack of treatment. Improper care like those situations can result in injury, lifelong problems or death.
When putting your life in someone else’s hand you expect they will do everything in their power to help, but that does not always happen. Damages to collect from this type of injury can include medical expenses, pain and suffering, funeral costs, or even loss of life enjoyment brought on by the defect. These would most likely be compensated with money.
4) Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment and abuse go hand in hand in some situations. These situations can unfortunately happen from someone you know or from a complete stranger. Sexual harassment tends to cause emotional damage where the abuse will most likely be physical issues.
These are both cases where it is possible to receive compensation for these problems. Possible damages to claim would be pain and suffering, medical bills and loss of reputation. These are punitive which mean the perpetrator acted in the situation in reckless or malicious manor.
5) Property Damage
This one is pretty evident. If someone has destroyed your property and you have the evidence to prove it was them, they are going to have to pay for the repairs. Depending on what was damaged you could be entitled to other things. If it was part of a business and impeded sales, you could receive damages in loss of anticipated business. You might also be affected mentally if it was a robbery. You should get money to replace your belongings and to compensate for the emotional scarring.
Bottom Line
Some people may not know that what they endured qualifies them to get compensation. If you were affected in any way by a crime committed by someone else, it is important to speak with a lawyer. You deserve justice for your suffering.
