Grace
You should be aware of every issue that can have an impact on your case and compensation if you have a personal injury claim. In this manner, you can take advantage of the variables to increase your chances of winning and receiving recompense.
One of these variables, age, can have an impact on the following elements of your injury case.
Do Claim
Adult injury victims do not need to consult anyone else in order to file a claim. A minor victim, however, cannot make an injury claim. Instead, the claim must be made on behalf of the kid by either the parent or legal guardian.
Also, the parent or legal guardian represents the child in any subsequent legal proceedings from personal injury lawyers , including any agreements.
Settlement Acceptance
You can negotiate your injury claim and accept the settlement on your own as an adult. A parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor victim cannot take the same action. Instead, even with the guardian’s approval, the representative needs the court’s permission to accept any settlement offer. Through a guardian ad litem, the court expresses its endorsement or rejection.
Application of Comparative Negligence
One of the elements that affects damage compensation is liability. Sometimes both the plaintiff and the defendant are liable for the harm. To establish compensation in certain situations, West Virginia applies modified comparative negligence laws. Modified comparative negligence limits your ability to receive compensation to cases in which you bear a maximum 49 percent of the blame for the mishap.
In the case of juveniles, the law is not likely to use comparative negligence statutes. The court is less likely to find that the child’s behavior caused the accident the younger the youngster is.
Let’s say a shopper trips and falls while jogging on the wet floor. The victim’s jogging may have contributed to their injuries, according to the court, if they are an adult victim. For example, if the youngster is six years old, the same determination is unlikely. So, the negligent party is likely to pay the whole cost of the harm to the child.
Damages
Age also has an indirect impact on how damages are calculated. These are some of the harms that aging may cause.
lost revenue
If wounded, you might not be able to work and earn your regular income. You should be made whole for these damages. Nevertheless, a lot of kids don’t participate in jobs that pay well. As a result, they won’t be compensated for lost pay.
Lost Earning Potential
Future losses resulting from your inability to make money are considered to be losses in lost earning capability. Those who sustain lasting injuries or who experience a slow recovery are subject to the damages. The length of time that a permanent injury will have an impact on your income depends on how long you have left to live. A young plaintiff who has a long career ahead of them is therefore likely to receive a sizable award.
Living Quality is Decreased
Your quality of life may be impacted for the rest of your life if you have a permanent impairment. Partial paralysis, for instance, can make it challenging for you to engage in hobbies or play with your children. Again, younger plaintiffs are more likely to receive financial support for a lower standard of living than older ones.
The Impact of a Senior’s Age on a Lawsuit
An individual has a right to compensation for their accident-related injuries when they suffer a personal injury. This implies that individuals are not eligible to receive compensation for pre-existing ailments, such as wounds or illnesses they had before the event. In these cases, the defendants’ insurance firms frequently try to claim that most or all of the plaintiff’s ailments were pre-existing in order to get them to pay a smaller settlement.
The insurance company and the attorneys will attempt to argue that all of the ailments a senior has were pre-existing when the senior suffers a personal injury. This is true because older people are more prone than younger people to have more pre-existing conditions. Yet, they are also more likely than a younger person to have more severe injuries; an accident that may result in relatively mild injuries in a young person may result in catastrophic injuries in an older person.
Due to the increased likelihood of both pre-existing conditions and more severe injuries, insurance companies and attorneys will often try to argue that an elderly person’s injuries existed prior to the accident in order to avoid having to pay a higher settlement sum. Yet, a skilled personal injury lawyer could argue that the senior’s injuries were actually brought on by the accident, negating the need for the scheme to succeed. In some circumstances, a senior may have pre-existing ailments, but the accident aggravated them. In some circumstances, the injured party may still be entitled to compensation for the deterioration of their condition.
Age May Impact a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Other Ways
One of the damages for which a victim of an injury may be compensated is pain and suffering. Due to the belief that they will continue to experience it for a much longer period of time than older plaintiffs, younger plaintiffs frequently receive higher awards for pain and suffering. In personal injury cases, the loss of income or ability to earn a living is also taken into account.
A person will not be compensated as highly as someone with a full-time job if they are retired or have a reduced work schedule due to age. Despite all of this, there is still a chance that a senior could win a sizable settlement if their personal injury case goes to trial because jurors frequently show sympathy for the elderly.
Final Thought
If you were hurt because of someone else’s negligence, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can, regardless of your age. If you are older, you shouldn’t be concerned about how your age will impact the case; instead, you should let your lawyer assist you in filing your injury claim so that you may obtain the compensation you are entitled to.
