When you are injured in either an accident or by a doctor during the course of a surgical procedure or as a result of the doctor’s failure to act either promptly or at all you suffer harm.
The harm which is suffered referred is as a consequences of the injury or the physical damage directly caused by the incident or accident.
In order to determine the extent of the impediment and how it will affect your day to day activities , a medical expert in the field will be appointed. The purpose of the investigation is also to determine whether treatment will be required into the future and for balance of one’s life.
The claim formulated in South Africa allows for the recovery of all medical and hospital expenses which have been incurred directly as a result of the incident concerned. The recovery of the medical and hospital expenses relates to both the past expenses i.e those incurred prior to the matter being resolved and the future medical and hospital expenses i.e those that will be required for the duration of our client’s life or for the duration that the impediment continues.
However the claim for damages does not stop there. Many people as a result of the injuries they sustain are no longer able to be employed and do the work which they used to prior to the injury for example: a builder may not be able to continue with his work if he suffers an injury to his shoulder which prevents him from working above shoulder height. A lawyer or a doctor may not be able to continue his work if he suffers an injury to his head which results in poor concentration and memory difficulties and which in turn effect the day to day mental functioning. As a result of the inability to go to work every morning and generate the income which would otherwise have been earned, our client’s are now in a worse off position. We investigate and claim those lost earnings. We can recover both the past and the future loss of earnings i.e for the duration of our client’s career.
Finally, we are able to claim general damages which is an amount of money representing the pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life which our clients experience as a result of the injuries they sustained. The general damages figure is usually a conservative one and dependent on the injury which had been suffered.
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our offices to discuss how damages are calculated and what your likely damages may be.