Is Psychological Injury Considered Personal Injury?
In a personal injury claim, many types of psychological damage count as injuries. Since psychological injury is considered personal injury, you can recover damages to compensate you for your losses.
Injuries that are emotional or psychological in nature often fall under the umbrella of non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are not easily quantifiable in dollar terms. They differ from economic damages, which include hard costs like the price of replacing a totaled car or a hospital bill for a broken arm.
A personal injury lawyer Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., can evaluate your claim and determine the damages you might be eligible to receive for your psychological injuries. Call us today at 800-550-0000 for a free consultation.
What Are Psychological Injury Damages?
When you suffer adverse psychological effects from a personal injury, it can affect your ability to work, carry out daily living activities, and enjoy life. Though such losses can be difficult to think of in dollar terms, you deserve compensation for them. This payment comes in the form of psychological injury damages.
Personal injury claimants often receive damages for the following psychological injuries.
Emotional Anguish
This refers to emotional suffering following an injury, including grief, fright, and depression. It is an intentionally broad umbrella, covering many types of psychological effects. If you are not feeling like yourself after an injury, you might be suffering from emotional anguish. We can help you pursue damages for it.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a recognized medical condition in which a traumatic situation results in lasting psychological damage. A serious accident, such as a severe car crash, could cause PTSD.
Fear, Anxiety, and Avoidance
A traumatic injury can often generate irrational fears or anxieties that cause the sufferer to avoid certain behaviors or situations. For instance, a car accident victim might refuse to drive or ride in a car as a passenger because they are afraid of getting into another crash. Such avoidance behaviors can have significant negative effects on your ability to lead a normal life.
Humiliation
Even humiliation and severe embarrassment can have negative psychological effects capable of disrupting your life. You might be able to recover non-economic damages to compensate you for this.
How Do I Document My Psychological Injury?
To win compensation for psychological damage in a personal injury case, you need detailed, thorough documentation of what you have been through. The best ways to document your psychological symptoms are you tell your doctor exactly what is going on and to keep a daily journal of your experiences.
Tell Your Doctor
The best proof in a personal injury case is medical evidence. In other words, testimony from a doctor or medical professional is much more valuable than testimony from the accident victim, even if the two statements say virtually the same thing.
By visiting your doctor and telling them what is going on, you can transfer your own thoughts and struggles to an official medical record. We can use that medical documentation to support your right to compensation when we file your personal injury claim.
Keep a Journal
Even though your own testimony is not always as valuable as your doctor’s, it is still helpful to keep a detailed daily journal of your psychological struggles. If your case ends up going before a jury, such evidence can have a powerful emotional effect and work in your favor.
How Much Can I Win in Damages for My Psychological Injury?
The amount of damages you can recover through your personal injury claim depends on the severity of your injuries and the details of your accident. The methods we use to recover compensation differs based on how your accident occurred and the identity of the at-fault party. We would pursue a motorcycle accident claim differently than a medical malpractice case, for example.
In some cases, there may be damage caps on the amount of compensation you can recover for your psychological injuries. Our attorneys can review your case and determine if these caps apply.
Do You Need Help With a Personal Injury Claim? Call 800-550-0000 for a Free Attorney Consultation.
The attorneys at Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., focus on personal injury, including psychological and emotional damage. We can help you receive full compensation—including non-economic damages—after an accident. To schedule a free consultation today, call us at 800-550-0000.
My Child Was Injured At School – Can I Sue?
If My Child Was Injured at School, Can I Sue the School District?
From the age of five until 18, children spend many of their waking hours at school. As parents, we expect our kids to enjoy a rich learning environment free from dangers or hazards. When something happens to one of our children while under the care of the school, it natural for a parent to want to hold someone responsible. Due to government rules, though, it is often difficult to sue a school district after an accident on school grounds or on a school bus. However, that does not mean it is impossible.
One of the school accident lawyers at Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., can examine your case and let you know what your options are to recover damages on behalf of your child. Call 800-550-0000 today for a free consultation about your case.
Why Is It Difficult to Sue After a School Accident?
Through a concept known as sovereign immunity, the government prevents citizens from suing most government entities, including at the federal, state, and municipal level. The idea behind this concept is that the government’s main source of funding is tax revenue. Accordingly, if a government agency faces the legal costs of a massive lawsuit, all citizens will share the burden of paying—even those of us who had nothing to do with the reason for the suit.
As a result of sovereign immunity, it is difficult to sue if a government employee caused an accident or if you suffered an injury on public property. Sovereign immunity may protect, for instance, a police officer who strikes your vehicle in traffic, the city or county if you sprained an ankle on a public basketball court, or the school where your child’s injuries occurred.
However, there are exceptions to sovereign immunity. These exceptions, known as waivers, can apply if we can demonstrate the school or one of its employees behaved in a grossly negligent manner, leading to your child’s injury.
What Kind of Suit Can I File Against the School?
For most children hurt at school, the injury occurs because:
- There was a defect or hazard on the school grounds, such as a broken or rusted chain on a swing set; or
- Ateacher or staff member failed to supervise the child adequately.
In either scenario, you potentially have a valid lawsuit against the school system, even in spite of sovereign immunity laws.
Premises Liability
If your child suffered injuries due to a hazardous condition at school, you may be able to file a premises liability suit. Under premises liability laws, the owner or manager of a piece of property—in this case, the school district—has a duty to keep the property free from hazards and to protect visitors from any dangers that emerge. If the school district failed to protect your child from a property hazard, you may qualify for compensation.
School hazards that might injure a child include:
- Broken playground equipment;
- Wet floors;
- Loose stairs;
- Missing or defective handrails;
- Uneven pavement; and
- Other slip and fall
We can let know you whether the circumstances of your child’s accident qualify for a lawsuit. If so, we can investigate what happened, including visiting the scene and documenting all hazards the school district should have dealt with before an injury occurred.
Negligent Supervision
A negligent supervision lawsuit claims that if a teacher or other school employee had properly supervised your child, he or she would not have suffered injuries in an accident.
Adults must supervise the safety of schoolchildren at all times. If your child suffered a neck injury after going headfirst down a playground slide—and the closest teachers were more than 100 yards away at the time of the accident—you may have a strong claim for negligent supervision.
What If the School Has Insurance?
If the school has insurance that covers the type of injury your child suffered, you are much more likely to get an out-of-court settlement. Usually, you can file an insurance claim if the school system has coverage.
Speak to one of our attorneys as soon as possible if you plan to file a claim. We will begin the process of investigating your injury and determining the best route for getting a settlement from the school district. Whether that means suing the school or filing an insurance claim, we will pursue the compensation you deserve.
For a Free Consultation With a School Accident Lawyer, Call 800-550-0000 Today.
At Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., our attorneys focus on personal injury cases, with a special emphasis on children injured on school grounds. We know the laws in these cases are complex, and we want to help families get the compensation they deserve. We offer free consultations and claim reviews, so call 800-550-0000 today to schedule an appointment.
Should I Settle My Personal Injury Case or Take It to Trial?
In New York, you have the option to settle a personal injury case or take it to trial. When you have an experienced, dedicated personal injury lawyer on your side, settling your case before it goes to trial can offer several advantages. If you can obtain fair compensation for your injuries and damages through a settlement with the at-fault party or their insurance company, you have little reason not to accept the offer.
Many cases, including car accidents, medical malpractice, slip and fall accidents, and offshore injuries, settle before they ever get to trial. If the insurance company offers an equitable settlement, both sides save time and money. However, if the insurance company refuses to negotiate in good faith—and if your lawyer believes you have a strong case—you may have no other choice than to pursue a lawsuit.
The personal injury attorneys at Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., can help you decide whether to settle your case or take it to trial. Call 631-600-0000 today to set up a free case evaluation.
When Should I Settle My Personal Injury Case?
Typically, you should accept an out-of-court settlement when you and your lawyer agree that the at-fault party or their insurance company has made a fair offer of compensation for your injuries and damages.
Sometimes, clients must make difficult choices about accepting a settlement. If, for example, you need immediate funds to get treatment and pay your bills, you may be more anxious to settle.
If our lawyers believe you have a strong case, accepting a lowball settlement offer may mean leaving money on the table. However, clients sometimes prefer having that peace of mind now, rather than taking a gamble with a trial.
Ultimately, the decision to settle—or not—is yours to make. We understand the legal complexity of your case and always have your best interests in mind. If we recommend accepting a settlement offer, it is likely because we believe that will bring you the best outcome for your case.
When Should I Take My Case to Trial?
If you have a strong case, but the insurance company refuses to negotiate in good faith or make a fair settlement offer, you should seriously consider taking your case to trial.
If the negotiation process is dragging on, we may recommend filing suit to motivate the insurance company—especially if the statute of limitations is almost up. After that deadline passes, we will not be able to file suit to get you compensation.
Personal injury lawyers often discuss whether a given case is “winnable.” Although having a strong, well-documented case does not guarantee you will prevail, we will not recommend going to trial unless we are confident that you have a good chance of winning.
How Long Will It Take to Get a Settlement?
Once we agree to represent you, we will begin working up your case.
This process consists of gathering key information and evidence about the accident or incident that caused your injuries. For example, if you sustained injuries in a car accident, we will obtain the police report, photographs or video of the crash, eyewitness statements, your medical records, and testimony from doctors and other subject matter experts.
We will document your claim and make a demand to the insurance company. Ideally, their lawyers will respond with an offer, initializing the negotiation process. Depending on the value of your claim and the strength of the evidence, they may offer a reasonable settlement in a few weeks. However, as the time it takes to reach an out-of-court settlement varies with every case, estimating how long you may have to wait for a check would be little more than a guess.
How Long Does a Personal Injury Trial Take?
Many clients have reservations about going to trial because they fear that the process will drag on for many months or even years.
This hesitance is understandable. People who have suffered significant injuries due to someone’s negligence may need money to pay for their medical care and household expenses—especially if they cannot work due to their injuries.
Many lawsuits work their way through the trial process fairly quickly, especially with help from our proactive attorneys who are ready to present your case in court. However, you always face the risk that the at-fault party’s insurance company and their lawyers will attempt to drag the process out.
If we have strong evidence to prove the at-fault party’s negligence, your trial may conclude in just a few months—especially if you are not seeking an especially large settlement. If you are seeking a significant amount of compensation, or if establishing negligence will be more difficult, the process could potentially drag on for a year or more.
How Can I Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer in New York?
The personal injury lawyers of Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., can help you negotiate a settlement or take your case to trial. Call 631-600-0000 today to discuss your case.
