The Ins and Outs of Personal Injury Law

Personal injury law is referred to the legal remedies and defences involved in the civil lawsuit. The personal injury lawyer is the one who legally represents the client who have to claim for injury, physical or psychologically injuries due to the negligence or wrongdoings of some other personal. The injury can be physical or psychological but to be actionable, it has to occur due to negligence or unsafe actions of employer or manufacturer. 

Types

Road traffic accidents, accidents at work, tripping accidents, accidents in home, product defect accidents, holiday accidents, etc., are some of the type of personal injuries. All these injuries are covered under the personal injury law. The dental and medical injuries like occupational stress, occupational deafness, contact dermititis, industrial diseases, etc., fall under this category. 

Settlement

Depending upon the intent or negligence, the compensation differs i.e. it can either be resolved by settlement or by judgement.  The settlements can either be either paid in lump-sum or as a structured settlement in which the payment is made over a period of time, as agreed by both the parties. 

Personal injuries i.e. bodily injuries are covered under liability insurance terms. This covers auto accidents, product liability, public liability, etc. In such cases, the insurance company will provide the legal assistance and settle the case with the victim.

Taxes

When we talk about the compensation money in personal injuries in the United States, the money is not taxable. There is an official statement from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),  “If you receive a settlement for personal physical injuries or physical sickness and did not take an itemized deduction for medical expenses related to the injury or sickness in prior years, the full amount is non-taxable. Do not include the settlement proceeds in your income.”

Exemptions

If in case the settlement is said to replace victim’s income, it will be taxable. Similarly, if the victim claimed some part of the compensation under medical expenses, and the money was reimbursed later on. This amount will be taxable.

Victims who want to claim their compensation or want an judgement in the trail, should appoint a personal injury lawyer, to avoid any compensation delays.