I Was Severely Injured in a Car Wreck. What Type of Damages Am I Entitled To?
If you have been injured in a car accident, chances are you have a mass of expenses piling up. From medical bills to property damages to lost income, there are many factors that contribute to your financial hardship. Bottom Line. There really isn’t an exact formula to determine how much you can recover. Everyone’s case is different.
What Am I Entitled To?
There are a number of different types of damages you can recover when you are the victim of a car accident. To provide some guidance, here are the major areas to consider after your accident:
✓ Medical expenses
✓ Loss of income
✓ Pain and suffering
✓ Emotional distress
✓ Loss of consortium
✓ Loss of enjoyment of life
✓ Property loss
While medical and property damages are fairly easy to calculate, determining how much you should receive for your pain and suffering and inability to enjoy life is very hard to quantify. This is where an experienced personal injury lawyer comes into play. The insurance company involved will often attempt to prove that your pain and suffering just isn’t as bad as you claim. The reality is that injuries from a car accident can linger for a long time, and your permanent physical limitations can be worse than what you originally expected. It’s important to have the assistance from a lawyer to make sure you recover the maximum amount of damages.
Different Damages
Medical Expenses: You are entitled to reimbursement for all the money you spent on medical treatment to treat your injuries related to the collision. This includes past, current and future treatment. In some cases, a person’s pain may get worse with time, requiring additional treatment down the road. Remember, it’s extremely important to see a doctor as soon as possible to determine the extent of your injuries.
Loss of Income: If your injury causes you to miss work, you should be compensated for your loss of income. Every situation is unique. You may have been up for a raise or big promotion but your injuries have prevented you from returning to that type of work. You have a right to recover compensation for not on the days of work you have missed, but also the money you would have received in the future had you not been hurt in the first place. Loss of income may be a substantial part of your claim.
Pain and Suffering: Determining the amount of compensation for pain and suffering is difficult and it is something that is argued heavily in a lawsuit. A skilled personal injury lawyer can help you maximize a recovery for pain and suffering.
Emotional Distress: If you were involved in a serious accident, you may be experiencing the psychological effects that go along with a major injury. Examples of psychological problems that can occur are ongoing fear, anxiety, nightmares, and sleep loss. These types of psychological issues can lead to compensable damages.
Loss of Consortium: Loss of consortium refers to payments you receive from losing a close family member, such as a spouse, in a serious accident. A loss of consortium claim will be brought along with your primary injury claim or wrongful death claim. Losing someone close to you obviously causes you a lot of hardship, so it is often another means for recovering money to compensate you for your losses. You will want to talk to a lawyer and find out exactly how your state awards loss of consortium.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This type of claim is based on the changes you had to make to your lifestyle as a result of the accident. Your lifestyle cannot be measured by an exact dollar amount and will vary from person to person and case to case. Because of this, the amount of losses you can claim for loss of enjoyment will be unique and much like pain and suffering. You will want an experienced and dedicated lawyer to help you argue for as much compensation as possible.
Property Damages: You are entitled to reimbursement for all your property that was damaged in your wreck. For example, you are entitled to payment for the damage to your vehicle, whether it be replacement or repair, in addition to any belongings that were inside your car at the time of a car accident.
In a small number of cases, an additional category of recovery called punitive damages may be awarded. You can only bring forward a claim for punitive damages if the person who caused the injury was acting outrageously careless. Punitive damages are awarded to prevent the defendant from acting the same way in the future.
Contact an Auto Accident Attorney Today
As highlighted above, the amount you will recover in your car accident case will be a unique dollar figure depending on the facts of your individual case. At Wall Huntington, we have over 50 years of experience in pursuing compensation for client’s who were injured in car accidents. If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, give us a call for a free consultation at 316-265-6000 or contact us online. We look forward to assisting you with your case.
