Is your case worth filing a claim? Would the damages be worth the legal and court fees? Besides financial costs, there are many different challenges and obstacles you may face in your case. With the answers to just a few questions, we can let you know how strong your case is, what issues may arise and, most importantly, if it’s worth filing a claim.
Breaking Down the Value of Your Jones Act Claim
- Medical Expenses-Your lawyer will obtain all of your medical invoices and receipts to total up your medical costs to date. If your injuries will require lifelong care, an expert may be called upon to calculate estimated future health care costs.
- Lost Wages-You are allowed to collect damages to account for past and future wages that are lost as a direct result of your offshore injury, but you’ll need an expert to forecast this. It could include the pay raises you would have received had you continued to work. Fringe benefits, including meals at sea, insurance benefits, health insurance and disability coverage, may reach a significant total.
- Pain and Suffering-Compensation can vary greatly depending on your injuries, but damages for pain and suffering hinge on being able to prove your current and future likelihood for physical and mental anguish.
Specific Items Covered Under the Jones Act that Your Claim May Include
When you’re calculating the value of your Jones Act case, there are many individual items to consider when you think about medical costs, lost wages and benefits, and pain and suffering.
To assess the full value of your claim, the following are just a few individual items that may be assigned a dollar value:
- rehabilitation costs;
- prosthetics costs;
- medication costs;
- re-training expenses;
- lost household help (child care, meals, cleaning, etc.);
- disfigurement; and
- loss of quality of life.