5 Reasons You May Need To File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

It is important to seek the full compensation that you deserve after being seriously injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another party. In some cases, you may not be able to settle your accident claim without filing a lawsuit. There are many reasons for filing a lawsuit. Five reasons are discussed below.

Obtaining Compensatory Damages

Seeking to recover the costs incurred by an accident or other personal injury is the most common type of compensation sought. An accident can significantly impact your life. You deserve compensation for your past and future medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, and pain and suffering. In order to get the maximum compensation that you deserve, you may need to file a lawsuit and let the jury award the damages you are entitled to.

Obtaining Punitive Damages

Accident victims are sometimes entitled to punitive damages. This type of damage is awarded when the responsible party’s conduct was egregious. Punitive damages aim to compensate the injured person above and beyond the losses they have suffered, in order to punish the party whose bad conduct caused the injury and to deter future bad actions. Courts typically look at whether the injurious actions were intentional, dangerous or outrageously careless when considering whether punitive damages are appropriate. Your Los Angeles accident attorney can advise whether you may be entitled to punitive damages.

Prompting Settlement Talks

In some cases, an injured party may need to file a lawsuit in order to motivate the other party (or their insurance carrier) to engage in more productive settlement negotiations. Filing a personal injury lawsuit can preserve your right to recover damages you are owed, if settlement talks are unproductive.

Taking a Stand

Punitive damages are awarded when courts want to deter the responsible party and others like it from engaging in the harmful conduct in the future. By exercising your right to seek compensation for an injury, you can help deter future harmful acts.

Restoring a Reputation

In some personal injury cases, parties seek to reverse the actual harm caused. In defamation cases, for instance, parties may hope to obtain a public ruling that a written or spoken statement was factually untrue or malicious, in addition to receiving damages. A defendant may be ordered to apologize or publicly retract a statement, in hopes of restoring the injured party’s reputation.

Call Us Today!

For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with an experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorney, please call the Law Offices of Samer Habbas at 888-848-5084.