Car crashes are costly, painful, and stressful. Even minor crashes can leave someone with a lot they may need to handle. However, if the accident wasn’t your fault, then you might be able to get compensation for your damages.
Experienced car accident attorneys know all the common damages typically involved in such scenarios and how to help collect them for their clients after the accident. Remember, you should never settle your car accident damages out of your own pocket. Instead, always try to get the most you possibly can.
With that said, here are the damages one can recover through a car accident claim.
Medical Costs
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in America, residents of the United States spend over one million days in healthcare facilities and hospitals because of motor vehicle accident injuries.
Accident victims can get compensation for all stages of their recovery, including
- Doctor visits
- Surgeries
- Diagnostic tests
- Hospital stays
- Future medical costs
- Follow-up treatments or appointments
- Medications
- Costs incurred to buy or rent medical equipment
- Ambulance rides
Property Damages
It’s not uncommon for a car accident to cause some damage to the victim’s vehicle. Filing a car accident claim might get you some monetary compensation you can use to settle either structural or cosmetic damages to your vehicle.
Additionally, the car accident victim can also recover damages for rental car bills accrued during repairs and tow truck expenses.
Property damage claims and personal injury claims are usually handled separately. However, you’d still need to go after the insurance company of the at-fault driver. You might be able to recover the repair costs or your vehicle’s fair market value if you need to replace the car.
Lost Wages
Most car accident injuries typically force the victim to take some time off work. This can be very stressful for anyone because you’ll probably lose some income in the process and worry about all the increasing costs and charges accrued because of the accident. Fortunately, you can collect damages for lost wages in a car accident claim.
Lost wages also include any bonuses or career advancement opportunities you may have otherwise received if you had not missed work because of the car accident. You may also be allowed to recover for reduced earning capacity if your car accident injuries hinder you from earning any future wages.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering fall under non-economic damages. They refer to the mental and physical distress the victim experiences because of their car accident injuries. The compensation one can recover for this kind of non-economic damage depends on how serious the injuries are, how their quality of life is affected because of it, and how long it takes for the victim to return to a normal life.
Some of the other common non-economic damages in car accident claims include:
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Embarrassment
- Therapy costs for problems like depression or anxiety
Furthermore, the amount you can collect usually differs from state to state, meaning what might be applicable in one state may not be the same in another. It is for reasons like this, you need the assistance of a local car accident lawyer to understand the complexities involved in estimating and collecting non-economic damages.
Wrongful Death
If the car accident resulted in you losing a loved one, then you can file a lawsuit for wrongful death damages. Some of the damages you can recover include:
- Funeral costs
- Medical bills
- Loss of consortium or companionship
- Loss of enjoyment
Car accident attorneys can help you determine and calculate all the damages mentioned above.
