Car accidents happen all the time, and some accidents leave the victims permanently disabled and injured for the rest of their lives. If you are now permanently disabled from the car accident you were in, you will need to fight for compensation for this, and there are several things to understand about this.

You Get One Settlement

Before you rush into settling your case, you must realize that you get just one chance to do this. If you sign an agreement for a settlement right away, you will only get that amount, and you will never have the legal right to collect money for the accident again. The bottom line with this is that you will need to make sure you fully understand your injuries before you seek compensation. If you believe you have permanent injuries that will leave you disabled for the rest of your life, you should take that into account when settling your claim.

Your Settlement Should Include All Compensatory Damages

There are several types of damages you can seek compensation for, and the first is called compensatory damages. These are damages that relate to what you have lost from the injuries you now have. For example, the damage to your car is a compensatory damage. Your medical bills are compensatory damages, and your future medical bills are too. Additionally, the money you have lost from working or that you will lose in the future are also compensatory damages. If you will never be able to work again, due to your injuries, you will need to make sure you ask for enough money to cover all the income you would have made during the rest of your lifetime.

Your Settlement Should Also Include Punitive Damages

There is also a good chance you could seek punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded on top of compensatory damages, and you can typically seek these in major car accident cases. The point of punitive damages is to compensate you for things in life you may lose, and an example of this is loss of consortium. Loss of consortium refers to the inability to love your spouse after an accident because of the injuries you sustained from it, and this is just one example of a punitive damage you could ask for.

Having to live a completely different life after an accident is unfortunate, but you can seek compensation for this. To learn more about your rights, you should schedule an appointment with a local car accident lawyer at a place like the Alexander Law Group.