People often say that accidents are simply a fact of life. However, an experienced accident Lawyer in New Orleans knows that many of these mishaps are borne from negligence, as when a tenant slips and falls on a stairwell because the landlord did not install sufficient lighting fixtures.
If you were injured because of someone else’s negligence, you know that the experience is not only emotionally and physically painful, it’s financially draining as well. Fortunately, you can file an injury claim against the guilty party to gain compensation for the damages you received. Of course, many clients—including those at Lambert Zainey—wonder how much they should ask for.
The first step to determining the size of your claim is to understand how insurance companies compute injury compensations. The first thing insurers consider are your medical bills, which they refer to as “medical special damages” or simply “specials.”
Then it will look at your lost wages or the income you could not earn because you were injured and thus unable to work. Naturally, the graver your injuries, the longer you will need to recover, and the bigger your lost wages will be.
Next, insurers determine what’s called “general damages” or the nonmonetary losses you’ve incurred. These include things like the physical discomfort you’ve suffered, the emotional toll the accident has caused (anxiety, depression, stress, etc.), lowered quality of life, and permanent disability or disfigurement.
The final component of the formula is the so-called “percentage of fault” or your level of culpability for the accident. For example, they may argue that you tripped on the stairs because you were rushing and not mindful of your surroundings—aside from the stairwell being insufficiently lit. If the total settlement package is valued at $10,000 and you are deemed 20% responsible for the accident, the payout will be reduced to $8,000.
Get Help from a Louisiana Accident Attorney
As you might expect, however, insurers want to pay the smallest amount possible to claimants, and they will use every strategy available to arrive at a lowball offer. To get the justice—and recompense—you truly deserve, it is best to contact a trusted New Orleans personal injury lawyer to handle your claim. Thankfully, Lambert Zainey is well versed in this area of the law, and has successfully defended and won many lawsuits on behalf of clients.