Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog
When you are injured in an auto accident, and you decide to pursue a personal injury case, there are several things you likely want to achieve. One of these is to make sure that the damages award you get represents everything that the law truly says you are entitled to receive. Doing so may involve several steps, including making sure that the award reflects the full extent of the suffering that you endured. An experienced Louisiana car crash attorney can help you as you seek justice for the harm you experienced.
In one case, an injured man had to take his case to the Court of Appeal to get the full recovery that he deserved. The injured man, Courtland, was traveling with another man, Leonard, through Shreveport when they were involved in a rear-end accident. Leonard came to a sudden stop due to traffic in front of him. The driver behind Leonard, Nicky, rear-ended Leonard’s vehicle. Courtland suffered neck and back injuries in the collision and, as a result of those injuries, experienced headaches after the crash.
Courtland sued Nicky and his auto insurer. In some cases, there may be certain factual issues on which both sides can agree. The two sides can record this agreement and submit it to the court in a document called a “stipulation.” Doing this can save time and money for you. In Courtland’s case, he and the defendants stipulated that the sum total of his past medical bills was $6,027. That allowed Courtland to bypass having to prove the extent of his past medical expenses damages and focus on other aspects of proving damages in his case.
At the trial’s end, in addition to the $6,027 in medical expenses damages, the jury awarded Courtland an additional $5,000 in general damages, for total compensation of $11,027.
Courtland appealed, and he won his appeal. The appeals court opinion increasing Courtland’s general damages award is an important one when it comes to obtaining a fair award of damages in your auto accident case. When you’ve been hurt in an accident, and you’ve shown that another driver was at fault, the goal of your trial becomes obtaining an award that fully compensates you for the harm you suffered.
In Courtland’s case, the trial court awarded him $5,000 in general damages based upon the duration of the time during which he underwent medical treatment, which was three months. The appeals court explained that the length of time an injured person spends undergoing medical treatment is only one of several things that should influence the award of general damages. For instance, the court should also look at the length of time the injured person experienced symptoms. In Courtland’s instance, he testified that he suffered symptoms as a result of the wreck from the date of the accident until the date of his trial, or a period of more than two years. Considering that 26-month period of time alongside Courtland’s three months of medical treatment cast his injuries in a different light. Based upon that, the appeals court doubled the amount of Courtland’s general damages to $10,000.
If you’ve been hurt in an auto accident, contact the skilled Louisiana car crash attorneys at the Cardone Law Firm. Our lawyers have spent many years fighting for injured people as they seek to obtain successful results by using the legal process to obtain full recoveries for the damages they suffered.
For your confidential consultation, contact us online or phone Cardone at 504-522-3333.
More Blog Posts:
Injured Louisiana Passenger’s Post-Trial Motion Nets Increase from $58K to $500K in Damages Award, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, May 10, 2017
Louisiana Pedestrian Recovers $80K Damages Award Despite Stepping in Front of Flatbed Truck, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, March 6, 2017