Life does not remain the same for car accident victims. No matter how big or small the mishap may be, you can expect your finances to go topsy-turvy after being injured. There are medical expenses to deal with, particularly if the treatment is expensive, complicated and time-taking.
Further, you may lose your wages or even your job if the injury leads to temporary or permanent disability. Other expenses in such circumstances include costs of rehab treatment, lifestyle adaptations at home, vehicle repairs and alternative vehicles. Obviously, these can add up to a considerable amount and topple your financial position completely.
Things can get even tougher if you have a family to support with your income and you lose it for good. You will surely need money to get things back on track for yourself and your loved ones.
Fortunately, personal injury law comes to your rescue and provides compensation for the injuries and other financial losses as well. But it is essential to be aware of the damages you can claim so that you are able to get a settlement value you deserve.
A skilled attorney can help you come up with a smart money strategy by ensuring that you claim the right set of damages and get them too. Here are the ones you should go after with your compensation claim.
Economic damages
As the name implies, economic damages are the direct expenses that you have to incur as a result of the injuries sustained in the mishap.
Since these expenses are measurable and documented, they are easy to prove and claim under personal injury law. Typically, economic damages for a car accident claim include:
- Medical bills for regular and ongoing treatment and rehabilitation
- Medical devices or equipment
- Transportation expenses to reach doctor’s appointments and therapy
- Vehicle repair
- Lost wages and earnings
- Loss of future earning potential
- Costs for household services
Injuries often make these expenses hard to manage because they inhibit your ability to work and earn. In worst case scenarios, people end up filing for bankruptcy after accidents because they are unable to sustain financially.
However, your rightful compensation can save you from such adverse circumstances and even get your finances on track sooner than you expect.
Non-economic damages
These damages are the ones that are not directly measurable in terms of money buy affect the quality of life of the victim. Obviously, they get tricky to prove and claim in comparison to the economic damages that are easily quantifiable.
The non-economic damages that you can claim from the negligent driver are typically associated with pain and suffering and mental anguish. These are related to the following situations:
- Serious or permanent loss of bodily function
- Scarring
- Permanent disfigurement
- Permanent injury
These types of damages are meant to compensate the victim for the inability to perform the daily tasks and basic functions, such as housework, personal tasks and childcare.
Collaboration with car accident attorneys with over 30 years of combined experience is a smart approach to sort out the situation. These professionals can help you with the calculation of these complex damages and their recovery as well.
Punitive Damages
Apart from the economic and non-economic damages for an accident, an additional form of compensation you can claim is punitive damages. Essentially, this is compensation given for a malicious act of the defendant that led to your injury.
For instance, you can claim punitive damages if you were injured in a road rage incident, where the other person caused harm to you intentionally. The objective of these damages is not just to increase the value of compensation for the victim but to punish the other person for their wrongful act, negligence or recklessness.
This is a rare form of compensation but its purpose is to set an example for the others to ensure that they would think twice before committing such an offensive or wrongful act.
The purpose of compensatory damages is to support the accident victim and bring their finances and life back on track. They go a long way in covering your physical suffering, mental stress and emotional trauma as well.
More importantly, they can help you keep your family in a comfortable financial position, even if you lose your capacity to earn in the present and for the future. Getting the legal support you can rely on is, therefore, the best thing to do for accident victims who want a compensation value that they rightfully deserve.