When an individual suffers a personal injury in the City of Buffalo or elsewhere in New York State, the defense for the person or business that caused the injury may ask if the injured party is receiving compensation from any “collateral sources.” Broadly speaking, the term collateral sources in a personal injury case refers to other sources of payment for items such as medical care or lost wages.
The defense will usually inquire about collateral sources because, in some cases, these collateral sources may result in a reduction to the damages received by the injured person. If, for example, you are receiving reimbursement of lost income through workers’ compensation, in many cases you cannot then recover these same lost wages through a personal injury lawsuit. The purpose of this law is to keep injured parties from receiving double compensation for the same injuries.
Fortunately for injured individuals, the collateral source reduction usually applies to economic losses only, such as lost wages or medical payments, not to awards for pain and suffering. Also, collateral source reductions only can be applied to payments that correspond in purpose to specific damage awards. In other words, if a collateral source reduction is being applied for lost wages, only that portion of the damages awarded for lost wages is impacted, not the whole award.
{ 0 comments… add one now }