Mitigating Damages in Personal Injury Cases
When someone’s negligence causes an accident, it can leave victims with serious injuries. Personal injury lawyers can help recover compensation for injuries and other damages while holding negligent parties liable.
Some accident victims think that if they treat their injuries and recover quickly, they won’t get the compensation they deserve. This can lead to skipping doctor’s appointments or not seeking medical attention. While this can make injuries worse, it actually won’t increase their settlement due to the duty to mitigate damages. The Daytona Beach, FL, and Palm Coast, FL, attorneys of Chanfrau & Chanfrau explain mitigating damages in personal injury cases.
What Does Mitigating Damages Mean?
In simplest terms, mitigating damages in a personal injury case means that the injured party has taken reasonable actions to minimize their injuries. An example of this is promptly seeking medical attention.
Mitigating damages is a way to try to prevent an injured party from allowing their injuries to get worse in an effort to recover greater compensation for their injuries.
Why Try to Mitigate Damages?
When another person’s negligence results in an accident with injuries, it’s normal for the injured party to recover as much compensation for their injuries as possible. Some may want to let their injuries get as bad as possible to try to increase the amount they can recover.
Although it may be tempting, failing to mitigate damages can actually result in less compensation for injuries. It could also lead to severe medical complications if a catastrophic injury is not treated in a timely manner, putting your life and livelihood at risk.
Failure to mitigate damages, like seeking prompt medical attention, following through with medical care, and taking other precautions during recovery, can end up reducing the defendant’s liability and shifting it to the injured party. As a result, the injured party’s compensation for damages will also be reduced.
Possible Ways to Mitigate Damages
Mitigating damages is important for recovering the maximum compensation for injuries after an accident. Taking reasonable steps to treat your injuries after an accident has happened can help mitigate damages and aid in a faster recovery with fewer long-term health issues.
Some possible ways to mitigate damages may include:
- Seeking prompt medical attention for injuries
- Scheduling and attending follow-up medical appointments
- Attending physical therapy or rehabilitation appointments as required
- Following medical advice during recovery
- Wearing a support brace or other support garments if needed
- Keeping wounds clean and changing any bandages to avoid infection
- Avoiding strenuous activities or other types of activities during recovery that could make injuries worse
- Taking other reasonable steps to aid in recovery and prevent further injury
The Bottom Line: Be Sure to Seek Medical Attention
If you have been injured in an accident, it’s important to seek medical attention and properly care for your injuries. Not only will it help with recovery, it could help you maximize your settlement.
Schedule a Consultation at Chanfrau & Chanfrau
After an accident, a personal injury attorney can help you mitigate damages and get you the compensation you deserve. To speak with one of our personal injury attorneys, please call our Daytona Beach law office at (386) 258-7313 or schedule a consultation online.