Special Damages and General Damages
What damages can you pursue after an accident? Typically, two types of damages can be pursued after an accident. They are special damages and general damages.
General damages include pain and suffering, lowered quality of life, physical disability, and more. These types of damages don’t have a specific financial value attached to them. For example, mental pain and suffering can be things like PTSD, loss of energy or appetite, mental anguish, and other consequences of your injury.
Special damages include things like lost wages, medical treatment costs, or property loss. Most of these can have a specific dollar amount attached to them.
What Happens After a Settlement is Reached?
Typically, after a settlement is reached, an Order of Settlement is issued. You will have 30 or 60 days to complete all paperwork required by the Order of Settlement. This ensures that you will not pursue further damages in the future. Your attorney can review the document with you and help to ensure that the proper steps are taken within the timelines expected.
Once a release form has been signed that stipulates the terms of your settlement, the appropriate insurance company will release the check. Generally speaking, the check will be made to you and your attorney. Your attorney will typically deposit the check into an escrow account until it has cleared. If there are any outstanding liens due to the accident, these will need to be paid first. Any attorney fees will also come out before the balance of the funds is released to you.
Can I Do Anything to Shorten the Process?
We understand that waiting on these funds can make a difference for you and your family moving forward after the accident. An experienced attorney can help you to expedite mail so that documents are received more quickly than regular mail. They can assist you in determining whether or not liens are present so you can be proactive in handling them, and in some cases, they can help you to draft a release form before the conclusion of your case. Though none of these options will provide an immediate solution, they can help speed up the process.
Can I Afford An Attorney?
It can seem counter-productive to hire an attorney and spend money to obtain the compensation your family needs to recoup expenses. It can be crucial, however, to have an experienced attorney on your side to assist you in making sure the process is handled accurately from the beginning, that you are settling for less than what you are entitled to in damages and more.
Contact our office today to learn more about your options and how we can best assist you in obtaining the compensation you are entitled to.
