Norwood, MA Personal Injury Lawyer
When people go about their day, they do not plan on getting badly hurt. Sure, individuals doing riskier activities, like hiking or skydiving, may make plans and preparations in the event that they get hurt, but injuries are never part of the expectation and certainly not hoped for. Someone else’s negligence can lead to injuries that require hospitalization and long-term treatment, which can easily end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If you find yourself injured and in need of help, we are here to assist. Our legal team knows personal injury lawsuits like the backs of our hands, so we know how to fight effectively for you and get you the best possible outcome for your claim.
To get an overview of your case, call (617) 925-6407 and talk to the personal injury attorneys from The Law Office of John J. Sheehan.
What Kinds of Injuries Can You Sue for in Norwood, MA?
People file personal injury lawsuits when they get hurt due to another party’s negligence. Negligence is simply the legal way of saying that someone else was careless, and you got injured as a result. Many different negligent acts can lead to personal injury cases, including:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Crashes and collisions involving cars, buses, and other motor vehicles are a very common cause of personal injury cases. Negligent drivers, unfortunately, injure countless people every day.
There are many different ways that a driver can be negligent. First, if they are acting unreasonably—as determined by a jury of your peers—they can be negligent because they acted in a way that was likely to injure others. Second, if a driver ignores a traffic rule or law, they can be considered negligent. Examples of that kind of negligence would include speeding and drunk driving. Finally, commercial drivers can be negligent if they ignore certain industry rules. For example, truckers cannot drive for extended periods of time because of the dangers of fatigue, so it is negligent for a trucker to stay behind the wheel for too long.
Premises Liability
If you get hurt because a property owner did not take care of their premises, you can file a lawsuit against the property owner. You can file a premises liability claim for something as simple as slipping on a wet floor or as involved as a building collapsing because of poor construction or maintenance.
Workplace Injuries
Injuries due to your employer’s negligence can also result in personal injury cases – depending on the circumstances. In many instances, the correct route to take is to bring a Workers’ Compensation claim. However, in other circumstances, you may need to sue your employer or another party. Either way, our attorneys can help you determine the correct course of action to get you the help you need.
Wrongful Death
In the tragic event that someone you care about dies due to their injuries, you will be able to file a claim on their behalf so you can get financial compensation to offset the loss of a loved one.
Damages in Norwood, MA Personal Injury Lawsuits
When you file a claim in civil court, the goal is not to lock the defendant behind bars. Instead, it is to get them to pay you financial compensation for your injuries in the form of damages. This is how courts try to place the plaintiff back in the financial and physical state they were in before they got hurt. Of course, getting a plaintiff financially back to “square one” is often easier than undoing the effects of injuries, so financial compensation often gets used as a substitute in those cases.
When you seek damages in your claim, it is helpful to the court when you explain what you are basing your damages on. Generally, this is done by breaking down damages into certain categories.
Economic Damages
Economic damages come from things that can have their worth more easily displayed to the court when compared to other kinds of damages. Items for which you may request compensation that fall under this category include medical expenses – both short- and long-term – property damage to a vehicle, building, or something else, and lost potential income. Lost potential income can take a couple of different forms. First, income you did not earn because you were taking time off work to recover from your injuries can be factored into damages. Second, if you have to switch jobs to one that pays less because of your injuries, you can get damages based on that difference in pay. Finally, if your injuries are such that you are not able to work at all anymore, you can get damages based on what you would likely have earned for the rest of your career.
Non-Economic Damages
By contrast, non-economic damages are based on things that cannot have their value as easily displayed as economic damages. Items that fall under this category include things like pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress. So, while you may ask for economic damages for the cost of surgery for your injuries, you ask for economic damages for the actual pain you experienced because of your injuries and the impact the longer-lasting effects have on your life – both physically and mentally.
While economic damages can have their value measured through receipts, invoices, and other records, non-economic damages do not have such documentation. Accordingly, you will need to work with our personal injury attorneys to figure out a value that makes sense for you in your claim.
Punitive Damages for Wrongful Death
Economic damages and non-economic damages make up what are called “compensatory damages.” That is to say, damages that are meant to bring you back to where you were before you got injured. Punitive damages are different. They are meant to punish the defendant for especially bad acts that go beyond mere negligence. In Massachusetts, however, you can only get punitive damages in wrongful death claims pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 229 § 2.
That being said, you should not feel out of luck if you believe that the defendant has acted in a way that merits a higher financial award. If a defendant has acted in a way that would warrant punitive damages in another jurisdiction, our attorneys can likely argue for a greater amount of financial compensation in non-economic damages for pain and suffering or similar.
Talk with Our Norwood, MA Personal Injury Lawyers Right Away
The Law Office of John J. Sheehan has personal injury attorneys ready to help you with your case when you call our office at (617) 925-6407.
