Did you suffer a catastrophic injury after an accident? The immediate expenses you need to worry about include medical treatment and your loss of income. In legal terms, these expenses are called economic damages. It is usually easy to calculate these damages and send a demand letter to your insurance company.
Catastrophic injuries can also cause non-economic damages or indirect losses. Depending on the circumstances, physical injury may play a role in non-economic damages calculations. If you suffer from distress, depression, or anxiety, you can include this in your demand.
When an injury is severe, it may leave you disfigured or with PTSD. If the injury was caused by malice or gross negligence, you may be able to demand punitive damages as well.
Getting an insurance settlement for economic damages is less complicated than non-economic damages. If you experience chronic pain, loss of enjoyment of life, and mental health decline, you should consider suing for non-economic damages. But you will only be successful if you can prove your suffering.
Proving Distress After a Catastrophic Injury
Feeling distressed after a major injury is normal. Yet, it does not mean you should not be compensated for it. Catastrophic injuries have a massive psychological impact. This is especially true if they result in amputation or disability.
Do you believe you are suffering from emotional distress while recovering? Then, it is time to start a personal injury journal. Keeping a journal is one way to prove your distress if you want to sue for non-economic damages. Your journal should note the following:
- The dates and times you feel anxious, sad, or depressed. You should also write down anxious thoughts about your recovery and persistent worries.
- Make a note of any flashbacks or nightmares you experience. These will inevitably be related to your accident and injuries.
- You should also note whether you struggle to fall asleep or sleep too much. Insomnia, in particular, is a common sign of emotional distress.
Sometimes, emotional distress manifests itself in physical pain. In addition to your chronic injury-related pain, you may experience headaches, stomach pain, or digestive issues.
Unfortunately, it is not all that easy to prove emotional distress. This is true even if you have a journal full of notes. You must take extra steps to ensure you get compensation for all non-economic damages.
These steps may include:
- Speaking to a professional. If you are suffering mentally, you need to speak to a psychologist or psychiatrist. This will allow you to overcome your distress and help prove your non-economic damages.
- Ask your loved ones to testify on your behalf. Your spouse, children, and co-workers can attest to your struggle. They will have first-hand experience with how your life and mood have changed since your accident.
- Work with a lawyer to establish a link between your accident, injury, and distress. Without this link, you will find it hard to convince an insurer to pay you a settlement. You must prove that your accident caused your catastrophic injury. You must also demonstrate that the injury is directly to blame for your declining mental state.
Claiming Compensation for Non-Economic Damages in Las Vegas
You must highlight your damages in your demand letter if you want to be compensated for them.
For example, if you are in immense pain daily, you can claim it as part of non-economic damages. The same applies if you can no longer continue your hobbies like you used to or if you no longer enjoy life as you used to.
Your demands can also include payment for disfigurement. Looking in the mirror will always be a reminder of your accident. Disfigurement often plays a big role in emotional distress, especially when it involves the face.
A catastrophic injury can also mean permanent mental health damage. You may never quite overcome anxiety, fear, or depression. Your settlement should, in all fairness, reflect this reality.
There Is No Upper Limit for Non-Economic Damages Settlements in Nevada
The zero upper limit, according to Nevada law, is good news. The only state requirement is that the final settlement is fair to all parties involved. It also means that you will likely get a much higher payout if your injuries are severe.
Settlements tend to increase when there is scarring, disfigurement, disability, or amputation. They also increase when the recovery is long and medical bills escalate.
If your injuries are due to medical malpractice, your non-economic damages payment is capped at $510,000.
How Do Insurers Calculate Non-Economic Damages Settlements?
An insurer will use calculation methods to determine how much your settlement should be. The most common is the multiplier method. This means multiplying your actual damages by a number between 1 and 5. The multiplier depends on how catastrophic your injuries are.
If your injury is permanent or will cause you pain and suffering over the long term, the higher the multiplier will be. You need physical proof of your injuries if you want to increase the multiplier to up the payment. This means photos taken at the accident scene, test results, and expert medical opinion.
The other way to calculate your damages is using the per diem method. Per diem means ‘per day,’ which means you will receive a specific amount for each day of pain and suffering.
No matter the method used, your lawyer will still have to negotiate the final payment. They will argue about your out-of-pocket costs and your injury severity. Your lawyer will also focus on the negligence of the other party.
If your lawyer cannot get a fair settlement offer from the insurer, they will inform them that the case is going to court. In most cases, this will be enough to secure a settlement. If not, your lawyer can file an official personal injury case, and you will attend a trial.
Why You Need to Hire a Lawyer
You must hire a lawyer to help you demand compensation. When an attorney is fighting on your behalf, you can direct your energy into recovering from your injuries. So, trust your lawyer to get you the settlement you deserve. This way, you can focus on moving forward with your life.
