When you suffer a personal bodily injury, especially the kind causes by someone else’s negligence or recklessness, the law is designed to help you become “whole again” or as close to it as possible. Legally, what this means is: you are entitled to compensation for all your economic and non-economic and if you area awarded the full amount, the law suggests you have been made whole again. But in real terms, most persons who suffer personal injuries are never really whole again. Here’s what you should know about being whole again in the State of California after you suffer a personal injury caused by another person.
Being Made Whole Again Legally in California after a Personal Injury Accident
As mentioned, according to the law, you are legally made whole again if you recover all your economic expenses and non-economic damages. Economically, this includes things like:
- Lost wages
- Medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Loss of earned capability
- Future loss of wages and benefits
- Some household services
- Out-of-pocket expenses, like prescription medication or wheelchairs
- Burial and funeral expenses (in cases of wrongful death).
Non-economically, this means recovering monetarily for your pain and suffering, loss of consortium, mental anguish, and other abstract and not easily quantifiable damages.
When you have been recompensed for proven damages in their monetary form, the law deems you whole again. This, however, is far from the whole truth. For many of you, you will never physically be whole again. Likewise, many of you will never be emotionally or mentally whole again. Some accidents take a serious and deep toll on the lives of victims (and the families and friends), and some things money simply cannot bring back so as to make you whole again.
Being Made Whole Again Physically in California after a Personal Injury Accident
When the accident is a minor one in nature, bodily injuries will usually heal without much hassle. If you have a treatment plan, you should always follow it to ensure your injuries heal properly and as soon as possible. For some of you, though, the accident may have been severe, and these accidents can be caused by:
Injuries like head trauma, spinal cord, amputations, or multiple bone fractures can lead to life-long complications and can even be life-threatening. What was once normal will no longer be normal again for you, meaning you will not actually physically be made whole again. You may have been compensated for these injuries by being compensated for loss of future earnings and long-term medical care, but you will have to learn to live your life in a different way. Money can’t change that.
Being Made Whole Again Emotionally & Mentally in California after a Personal Injury Accident
The emotion and mental aspect of a personal injury is just as problematic as serious injuries. If you have suffered head trauma, spinal cord injury, an amputation, or some kind of disfigurement, then your pain and suffering will be long-term. Flowing from that pain and suffering is the materialization of emotional distress and mental anguish. Depression can be destabilizing. Depression can alter your life in many different ways, all of which are to your detriment and to the detriment of your family and friends.
In many ways, being made whole again is dependent on your emotional and mental well-being. Without the latter, you will never be whole again.
The Role of a Personal Injury Attorney & Being Made Whole Again
As you may know, money cannot make you whole again necessarily, but it can help. The important issue is making sure you have an attorney who fights for you and doesn’t settle for a settlement not in your favor. The compensation must consider all that you have been through and all that you may go through. At The Ledger Law Firm, our personal injury legal team at the Newport Beach and Rancho Mirage offices are here to fight for you. We can empathize with your pain and will do all within the law to help you get back to being whole as much as possible. Contact our office today to learn more about our approach to representing our clients and their personal injury claims.
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