Loss Of Limb: What The Typical Compensation Package Looks Like For A Semi Truck Accident
When you get into an accident with a semi truck, you can consider yourself very lucky if you can walk away from the scene and not end up in the morgue. However, walking away injured may not seem as lucky, especially if you have lost a limb. You can sue the driver and/or the trucking company. Here is what a typical compensation package looks like when your semi truck accident lawyer files the suit and the request for court-ordered compensation:
Loss of Physical Capacity/Limb: Max Allowed Within Your State
Losing a limb, such as a hand or foot, means that you are unable to function at your fullest potential. Compensation for this is whatever the law allows, to a maximum amount. The loss of a foot garners less because you do not need it as much as you need your hands and arms.
As such, you can receive your expected loss of pay for up to ten years, and the amount requested is often double if the lost limb is a hand or hand and arm. For instance, if the maximum in your state is $100,000 on average, it could be $200,000 for the loss of an upper body limb, since special circumstances in a case would persuade a judge to reward more than the law typically governs. Usually, the maximum or less is awarded, but if the truck driver was drunk or under the influence of drugs (i.e., those special circumstances previously mentioned), the judge may award more. Your lawyer will always ask for more in order to settle for the appropriate amount..
Medical Expenses
Clearly, you have medical expenses, and you will continue to have medical expenses because you will now need a prosthetic limb to get through your day. Prosthetics are costly, and they have to be custom-fit to the missing limb. These expenses and bills will go on indefinitely, so your lawyer will attempt to request a thirty-year maximum based on estimated per annum (annual cost). The state may set an average amount per annum, or you sue for your current medical bills plus the annual expected amount of continued care for both physical and mental/emotional healthcare combined. An example would be an estimated $25,000 per annum, multiplied over thirty years, equals $750,000.
Pain, Suffering, Loss of Wages, and Loss of Your Car
The kind of force it takes to remove a limb is intense. It means that your car took the brunt of some of that force, but you took almost as much. All the wages you lost from being in the hospital and rehab, plus pain and suffering, plus a new car that may have to be adapted to your missing limb, plus your wages if you were also fired (if applicable) can be filed as part of the compensation you are requesting in your lawsuit. The amount can be up to a million dollars in some states. Check with your lawyer to see what the law allows in your state.
