Do I have a personal injury case against the police department if I am injured during an arrest?
Sometimes. These types of cases are governed by a Federal law that lawyers who handle these cases call a “1983” action, named after a particular section of the Federal statutes pertaining to Civil Rights violations upon individual citizens by municpalities, police departments, and individual police officers. A “1983” action can occur from a vast array of circumstances involving Civil Rights cases, including prisoner rights.
What are “damages” in a Pennsylvania personal injury case?
To sue for ‘damages’ is to attempt to recover compensation for a loss and/or injury. The injury can take many different forms such as physical injuries that are immediately noticeable (scarring, broken bones), as well as those that cannot be seen. These types of damages are typically “past” damages by the time your case goes to trial since they are damages that have already occurred. These non-visible injuries include:
• pain and suffering
• the inability to perform your usual work, social, and recreational activities
• physical pain and anguish
You are also entitled to be compensated for your medical expenses, and lost wages.
There is also a claim for “future” damages. If future expenses are foreseeable as a result of the incident, those ‘damages’ can also be recovered. For example, if it has been reasonably stated by your medical doctor that further treatment will be needed in the future, or that due to your injury you will no longer be able to work, those expected expenses/losses would be included in the ‘damages’ in your case.