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If a driver fails to pay attention to the road, they can hit and severely injure pedestrians. Those involved in a pedestrian accident should seek legal help as soon as possible. With the help of a pedestrian accident attorney, you may be eligible to recover compensation for your losses and injuries. This could include compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and all medical expenses relating to the incident. A dedicated lawyer could review the evidence, calculate your losses, and help you get the money you need. Turn to an experienced attorney to learn about the various types of damages in a Pascagoula pedestrian accident case.
Damages are classified as economic and non-economic in Mississippi, economic being damages that are easily quantifiable such as medical expenses, lost wages, and any kind of property damage associated with the accident. Non-economic are those damages that are not easily quantifiable, such as pain and suffering and loss of household use or services, meaning they are unable to do those things around the house that they could before.
In the case of death, there is the loss of companionship or loss of consortium, terms used in the legal world to describe that pain or that loss of the loved one.
Economic damages are pretty easily calculated, simply by looking at the medical bills and having somebody total them up. Attorneys also may retain an economist prepare a report and provide testimony at trial as to what the lost wages will be. If that person already has missed a week or two of work, sometimes an economic expert can be retained, but the more lost time that person has, the more difficult it is to quantify. Non-economic damages are very hard to quantify, and a judge or jury would be in the best position to do that.
Non-economic damage caps cannot be above $1 million in Pascagoula, so no person can get more than $1 million for pain and suffering, for instance. There is no cap on economic damages, so medical bills, lost wages, and other easily quantifiable damages do not have a cap.
Punitive damages come into play when a person acted grossly negligently or with intent to harm, but those are very rare cases. Gross negligence is defined as negligence, so grievous the person could not help but injure someone. For instance, if a person was traveling well over 100 miles an hour on a roadway, they are more likely than not going to be held grossly negligent for grossly exceeding the speed limit. If that person intentionally meant to cause harm, punitive damages would also come into play, and there certainly are cases in which vehicles are used as weapons to injure people.
Pedestrians are at risk of devasting injuries when walking alongside motor vehicles. If a motor vehicle driver hits a pedestrian, they could be held liable for damages. You may be eligible to recover compensation for a wide range of damages. Learn about the types of recoverable damages in Pascagoula pedestrian accident cases. Call today to get started on your case.