How Much Is My Claim Worth?

If you have been injured in certain accident or because of the negligent behavior of a third party, you might actually be wondering whether or not you are entitled to compensation and how much is it. If you have sustained serious injuries, you are probably thinking how to proceed further on and what are your legal options to get the maximum compensation that you are entitled to.

The answer to this question, however, is a bit more complicated than what a lot of people tend to believe. There are numerous factors to be accounted for and it’s impossible to properly enlist them all. Let’s have a look at some of the most important ones.

Was someone else responsible for causing the injuries?

Now, in order to be entitled to claim damages for a certain injury, someone else must have been at fault in full or partially. Of course, there are certain exceptions to this rule – auto cases as well as different no-fault benefits and Worker’s compensation injuries. So, if you have been injured in a car accident, for instance, you might be entitled to compensation if someone else caused or contributed for it. You might also be entitled to damages if it was caused by product design and by the manufacturer – these are the product liability claims. If you have catastrophic injuries, your claim amount will be much higher than if you just had a fracture.

Important considerations

As we mentioned above, there are quite a lot of important things which need to be taken into proper consideration in order to ensure that you get properly compensated or to determine the value of your claim case. You need to know that there are two types of damages in the eyes of the law. These are:

·         General damages. These are also commonly referred to as non-pecuniary or non-economic damages. These are also known as damages which are entitled for pain and suffering. They are designated to provide certain alleged compensation for losses which can be categorized as intangible.

·         Special damages. These are also commonly referred to as pecuniary damages – they provide alleged and effective compensation for your out of pocket expenses. For instance, when you’ve been injured you will have to pay for treatment, medical bills, medication and what not – these are the pecuniary damages.

Of course, there are certain specifications which are closely related with the types of damages that you are filing for. For instance, when it comes to general damages, the Supreme Court of Canada has set a maximum cap that cannot be exceeded. As of now, it’s about $360,000. This is something that you need to account for when it comes to it. It’s best if you get a lawyer to help you sort things out if you want to file a claim to the court – this is going to ensure that you get the compensation that you are actually entitled to.