Minnesota law allows for additional compensation to punish certain defendants. These are called punitive damages.
Minneapolis, MN – People who have been injured in a motor vehicle accident will want to contact their insurance company to report the incident and then speak with a lawyer. This is the best way to try to receive compensation for various losses associated with the collision. However, it can also be difficult for someone who has never been involved in a car accident before to try to determine the value of their injuries and other losses. Minneapolis accident attorneys should be contacted to get more specific figures about the value of any motor vehicle collision, but there are some general principles that apply.
Specific and known losses can always be added to damages
When a car accident lawyer in Minnesota files a case on a client’s behalf, they ask for financial relief in the documents that begin the lawsuit. This type of compensation is commonly known as economic damages. This is essentially a way for the person who was harmed by another negligent driver to state all of the costs that they have had to sustain because of the accident. Common forms of economic damages include medical and hospital bills, lost income due to time away from work, property damage repairs, and future losses that are based on things like the person’s earning potential and medical conditions. A consequence of this way of estimating damages is that people who were seriously injured are generally likely to have many more expenses that they can list in a lawsuit when compared to those who only have minor problems related to their injuries.
Pain and suffering damages
Lawyers also have the ability to ask for the defendant to pay non-economic damages for pain and suffering. While these types of compensation can be more difficult to estimate, they are meant to factor things like quality of life problems caused by physical pain, trauma, and a person’s inability to function normally after an accident. Similar to economic damages, these are likely to be much larger when a person was seriously hurt and their ability to live as normal is affected.
Punitive damages
Minnesota law allows for additional compensation to punish certain defendants. These are called punitive damages, and they are allowed when there is clear and convincing evidence of a disregard for the safety of others. Punitive damages are only available in certain cases, as this standard is different from merely showing negligence or fault for an accident.
Additional information about civil lawsuits for compensation
USAttorneys.com is a service that works with people who are looking for a legal professional in their city. Anyone who needs to find the right lawyer after an accident can call 800-672-3103.
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