Personal injury damages include the following: lost earnings, lost earning capacity in the future, past medical expenses, future medical expenses, along with non-economic damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress, impairment/disability and disfigurement/scarring. In the event that a health insurance company or governmental agency has paid an injured person’s medical expenses, they may claim reimbursement or subrogation from any award.
- Steve Wahlberg
The laws surrounding uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can be tricky. Did you know that you may be entitled to damages even if you were hit by a driver that carries no or very little insurance? If you have purchased uninsured/underinsured coverage on your automobile policy you can seek damages from your own insurance company and they can’t raise you rates.
- Michael Nimmo
My practice is representing people who have been injured by another person’s negligence. Sometimes this involves a car accident. Sometimes it involves medical malpractice. My clients didn’t cause their injury. My clients were not at fault. Yet I repeatedly hear expressions such as “I’m not a litigious person”, “I never thought I would do anything like this”, or some other expression bordering on guilt that they are even considering retaining a lawyer to assert a claim. I always ask them why they feel that way. I ask them who is going to stand up for them if they do not stand up for themselves. They always agree with me but usually can’t shake a feeling about how others are going to perceive them because they are, in fact, standing up to an insurance company.
Why do people feel this way? The insurance industry and the business community, with a great deal of money and propaganda, have created a picture in the media, in advertisements, and in other ways that we are a “sue happy” society. They have been very effective in doing this. They have distorted the truth about our judicial system and how it works. They have successfully portrayed insurance companies and big business as the victims rather than the real victims of other’s negligence. They have successfully portrayed anyone who stands up to them as greedy people who are looking for an easy buck. They have successfully portrayed legitimate claims as “frivolous”. My own profession has contributed to this by conduct by some which appears to be just what the insurance companies want the public to believe about lawyers. The media reports on cases that involve days and weeks of testimony and evidence and summarize the entire case in 2 paragraphs that can’t begin to tell the true whole story.
As a consequence of all this the general public looks with some disdain on lawsuits. In my experience this is true until it happens to them or a family member. Then the terrible consequences of being seriously injured or a loved one killed comes home. The cold indifference of an insurance company becomes apparent. The assumption that they will be treated fairly disappears. Reality sets in. They realize, if they don’t stand up for themselves or their family, nobody else is!
- Neil Hillyard
Colorado allows non-economic damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress and a completely separate category for impairment – what is the difference? Impairment could be described as the “Can’t Do’s” or the “Don’t Do’s”. People who used to enjoy golfing, bowling, skiing, bike riding, hiking and other recreational activities but are no longer able to as the result of an accident are said to be suffering impairment. An injured person is entitled to a separate award for their impairment or disability. Pain and suffering is the natural consequence of an injury and can be projected over the life of an injured party when there are permanent injuries. Juries are asked to consider an award for pain and suffering, emotional distress and disability/impairment in every case involving a serious personal injury.
- Steve Wahlberg
One of the most frequent injuries from an automobile accident is neck pain or a neck injury. Often neck pain or neck injury will resolve in a very short period of time; however, frequently injured individuals suffer from chronic neck pain and neck injury and, ultimately, headaches that result from neck injury. When neck pain or neck injury, with or without headaches, becomes chronic, it is often due to a more serious injury to the cervical ligament structure of the neck. The cervical neck ligament structure is comprised of the tectorial membrane, the alar ligament and transverse ligaments. Until recently the vast majority of upper cervical ligament injuries have gone undiagnosed due to limitations in technology. There are now a limited number of MRI machines in Colorado capable of imaging the upper cervical ligaments, and it is estimated that perhaps up to 50% of individuals who have sustained neck injuries in automobile accidents have some damage to the upper cervical ligaments. The ability to view the cervical ligament structure is an important part of determining a patient’s treatment and recovery and should be properly explored and evaluated before resolving an injured person’s claims.
- Dan Sloane