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As a victim seeks compensation in a personal injury case, the amount of that compensation should reflect the extent of the damages. The cost of some damages should be rather clear; those would include each damaged section of the victim’s automobile or other item of personal property. Added to that would be the cost of physical and mental harm to the person that has been victimized.
When does the damage award become available?
Sometimes that award gets sent to the victim after a series of negotiations have been completed. Those negotiations have aided attainment of a settlement. The monetary amount agreed to at the time of the settlement gets sent to the injured victim.
At other times the size of the award gets decided by a judge. That is what happens when the two parties cannot reach a settlement. After making his decision, the judge orders presentation of the award to the deserving victim.
What are the different types of damages?
A reward for compensatory damages covers the costs of a personal injury. Its purpose concerns restitution of an amount of money that can make the victim “whole.” In the eyes of the law, a victim’s life becomes “whole” when that which was lost has been regained.
If a listing of a victim’s losses includes the inability to enjoy certain previous pleasures, then that fact alters the value of the same person’s injury case. Some losses are emotionally taxing. In that case, the victim’s emotional distress could increase the value of the monetary award, the one that should allow the victim to become “whole.”
In addition to compensatory damages there may be punitive damages. A minor accident seldom pushes a judge to order payment of punitive damages. Still, if a defendant’s behavior has been especially egregious, a judge may feel inclined to punish that same defendant, the person that has caused a given accident.
How the damage award might be affected by the plaintiff’s (victim’s) actions
While respected insurance companies do not try to get free of their responsibility to cover a policy holder’s claim, the same company might investigate a victim’s actions. The insurer would want to know if the victim/plaintiff made any attempt to mitigate the effect of the injuries that he or she sustained. For example, did the plaintiff/victim go after the prescribed treatment? Did the victim/plaintiff deny the ability to perform some action, one that he or she was seen doing in a picture that has been posted on a social media network?
Some victims do things that they should not; others refuse to undertake the actions that are best for them. For instance, some just sit back and hope that their compensation comes soon. If an insurance company becomes aware of such behavior, it might lower the amount of money that it plans to make available to that same policy holder/victim.That is why it is important for the victim to hire the expert services of a personal injury lawyer in Orillia.