What Does ‘You May Be Entitled to Compensation’ Mean?
If you have been injured in an accident, you may have heard the phrase “entitled to compensation.” While often used in law firm advertisements, it is rarely explained. In everyday language, it may sound like a promise of fairness, but in legal terms, it refers to a specific legal standard.
To get compensation, you must meet certain legal rules that make another person responsible for your losses. The following explains what this means, how it works, and how compensation is decided under the law.
The Core Legal Elements of Being Entitled to Compensation
You are not automatically entitled to compensation after a car accident or other injury. To have a legal claim, you must prove that another party was responsible by showing four elements of negligence:
- Duty of Care: You must show the other party had a legal duty to act safely. For example, drivers must follow traffic laws and pay attention on the road.
- Breach of Duty: You must show the other party failed to meet this duty, such as running a red light or breaking traffic laws.
- Causation: You must prove their actions directly caused your injury.
- Damages: You must show you suffered real harm, such as medical bills or injuries linked to the accident.
These four elements must be proven with enough evidence to show your claim is more likely true than not. Insurance companies also usually require similar proof when reviewing claims.
What Compensation Are You Entitled to?
If you can prove that you are entitled to compensation, the legal system allows you to claim compensatory damages. The goal of these damages is to restore you as closely as possible to the position you were in before your personal injury. These are divided into two main categories, economic and non-economic.
Entitled to Economic Damages
Economic damages cover direct money losses from an injury or accident. These are costs you pay because of the accident, as well as costs you may have in the future. They are usually proven with receipts, bills, pay records, and other financial documents. These can often include:
- Medical expenses: This includes costs for the emergency room, hospital stays, doctor visits, surgery, medicine, and physical therapy. It can also include future medical care if you need treatment later.
- Repairs and replacements: If your car or personal items were damaged, you may get money to repair or replace them. This can include vehicles, phones, or other belongings. Proof often includes repair bills or receipts.
- Lost wages: If you miss work because of your injury, you may get back the money you would have earned. This includes wages, salary, or other income you lost while recovering.
- Loss of future income: If your injury stops you from working like before, you may be able to recover future lost earnings. This applies if you cannot return to your job or must take a lower-paying job.
While economic damages are easier to calculate, you should still talk to a California personal injury lawyer. At Curtis Legal Group, we know how to build a full calculation that includes future needs. We also work with experts when needed to show future medical costs and adjust lost earning ability for inflation and expected work-life years.
Entitled to Non-Economic Damages
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment in life
- Damage to relationships
The pain from your accident can be measured by how much it hurts and how long it lasts. California personal injury law does not use one fixed formula for non-economic damages. Instead, it may use the multiplier method, which multiplies your economic damages by 1.5 to 5 based on how serious the injury is, or the per diem method, which gives a daily dollar amount for each day you are in pain.
How Negligence Affects Entitled Compensation
The amount of compensation you are entitled to receive may vary depending on whether you shared any blame for the accident. California law follows a pure comparative negligence system, meaning that if you are partially responsible for an injury, you may still recover damages, but the final payout will be reduced by your percentage of fault. Under this system, even if you are primarily responsible for the accident, you may still recover compensation.
For example, if you got in an accident while speeding and someone ran a red light, you may both be considered negligent in the resulting settlement. Based on how your evidence is presented, the insurance company or court will judge what your exact percentage of fault is in the accident. If you are deemed 30% responsible and your total damages equal $100,000, your final compensation will be $70,000.
If you are partially responsible for an injury, you may still recover damages, but the final payout will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
The Time Limit on Being Entitled to Compensation
Your right to compensation after a personal injury does not last forever. Under California personal injury law, you typically have two years from the date the injury or accident occurred. This statute of limitations has some exceptions, but generally, you lose your right to sue after this deadline has passed.
Insurance companies know this and will often try to drag out settlement negotiations. Once this deadline has passed, you lose all negotiating power. Working with a personal injury attorney can help apply pressure to help get your settlement payout as quickly as possible.
Speak With a Lawyer Today to See if You Are Entitled to Compensation
If you believe you are entitled to compensation after a personal injury, speak with an experienced California personal injury lawyer today to evaluate your claim. We will help you create a solid body of evidence to show negligence, track down medical records, and quantify your losses.