What Legal Options Exist for Victims of Catastrophic Injury?

Victims of catastrophic injuries in East Hartford, CT do have some important legal options, primarily through the civil justice system. A personal injury law firm can help you explore all your options and take the lead in getting you the compensation you need.

Legal Options for Victims in East Hartford, CT

For personal injury claims in our state, we have a fault-based system that allows victims to pursue a civil claim against the at-fault party (or their insurer) even if they are partly at fault for the accident themselves, so long as their fault isn’t 51% or more.

Personal Injury Claim

The primary path for getting compensation is to bring a claim against the responsible party. This is whoever is responsible for the accident, and there can be multiple negligent parties in certain accidents. Most of the time, the individual or entity themselves will not be the one paying, but their insurance company, which means that you will have to negotiate with an insurer.

Personal Insurance Lawsuit

If the other party will not come to a reasonable settlement with you based on your losses and their responsibility, then you may have to bring a lawsuit. Lawsuits are fairly rare in personal injury, as it’s usually in everyone’s best interests to settle out of court. However, there are times when a lawsuit is the best way to get compensation.

Pursuing Compensation

There are three types of damages you can pursue:

• Economic
• Non-economic
• Punitive

Economic

Your economic damages are all those for which you can produce a receipt or a bill. Most notably here would be all your medical expenses, reimbursement for whatever you’ve lost through being unable to work, modifications you’ve had to make to your home or vehicle, in-home nursing care, etc. For catastrophic injuries, there can also be ongoing care, sometimes for life, that needs to be estimated.

Non-Economic

Your non-economic damages are the intangible losses you’ve suffered. This would include mental anguish and emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. That last refers to compensation you deserve for being unable to do things that you once could due to your injury.

Punitive

Punitive damages are very rare, and your lawyer can tell you whether it’s appropriate to ask for them or not. Punitive damages do not compensate you for any loss. They are only designed to punish extremely reckless behavior or intentional misconduct on the part of the at-fault party.

Be aware that while you are not taxed for your other damages, since you are being reimbursed for losses, there is a tax on punitive damages. Be sure to talk through this with your lawyer so you know what to expect.

Talk to a Personal Injury Law Firm

If you’ve been injured, call us today at the Adler Law Group LLC in East Hartford for help. We can advise you, ​take on ​all the paperwork and negotiations, and fight to get you the compensation you deserve so you can concentrate on recovery.

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