Expenses

The first category of expenses you can recover is present medical expenses, which include the cost of medical care from the time of the accident until your trial or settlement. These include doctor’s bills, medication costs, ambulances, and other related costs. You are also entitled to recover future medical expenses, which are the expenses you will continue to incur in the future as a result of your injury. For example, if you were burned in a fire, you might need reconstructive surgery over a period of years. If you suffered a spinal cord injury in a diving accident, you might require ongoing care for the rest of your life.

You are also entitled to recover other kinds of expenses. These might include hiring people to help you with what you usually do. You might need someone to shop, cook, clean, drive, or provide other services for you and your family while you are injured. If you are disabled, you might need a personal attendant on a long-term basis.

Lost Wages

You are entitled to recover wages lost while you were injured, and future wages, if you can show that your inability to work will continue beyond the trial or settlement period. The amount depends on the duration of your disability. If you are unable to work for a long period of time, or are permanently disabled from work, or forced to change to a different kind of work, you can recover earnings you expected to receive from your pre-injury job. Calculating these damages is difficult and often done by an expert witness.

Pain and Suffering

Physical pain is typically classified as severe, moderate, or slight/minimal, as well as periodic or chronic. Severe chronic pain brings the largest amount of damages, but any form of pain expected to last a long time can bring a large damage award.

Suffering also includes emotional pain. If you are troubled or become depressed due to your injuries or how they affect your life, your relationships, or your family, you may be entitled to additional damages. Your family may also be entitled damages for the emotional pain they suffer as a result of your injuries. If you would like to have your case evaluated by an experienced Tennessee premises liability attorney, fill out our case evaluation form at no cost or obligation.