You probably have heard an insurance adjuster asking to calculate the damages when seeking compensation after an accident. When you sustain injuries in an accident, you will require payment from the at-fault party. Your lawyer should prove the defendant’s negligence that led to the accident to recover the compensatory damages you deserve.
What Are the Types of Economic Damages in a Personal Injury Claim?
After the accident, it is critical to understand the types of damages you can recover. The damages in a compensation claim could be economic or non-economic. Monetary damages are the compensation received for the financial losses you encounter after an accident.
An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you account for your financial losses. Here’s a list of some of the following economic damages in a personal injury claim that you can recover:
1. Past and Future Medical Bills
Medical bills include treatment costs, the cost of care you received, and future care costs. Other medical-related expenses that you encounter, such as over-the-counter drug purchases, are also medical bills. The jury will assess the medical bills and determine whether to award damages.
Future medical bills apply where the plaintiff proves that they will need extra medical care due to the accident. Your physician will need to provide expert testimonies to prove that you need further treatment. Some insurance companies require you to surrender a portion of the recovered health expenses they were paying for you before the settlement.
2. Repair and Loss of Property Damages
Property damages are the damages to your vehicle or any other valuable items in the accident. The accident may result in damages to your car, which may require repairs or replacements. It would be best to get an insurance adjuster to value your losses for repair costs to present to the defendant.
If the damage is irreplaceable, get a reasonable market price or replacement costs to cater to the property damages.
3. Wages Lost Because of the Injuries
After sustaining injuries in an accident, you may either miss work for some time or be unable to return to work at all. Losing income makes it hard to keep up with the after-accident expenses, not to mention your regular bills to maintain your quality of life. Your injury lawyer will help you evaluate your regular wages to determine what the defendant owes you based on the time you missed from work.
The tips, bonuses, and allowances you were earning before the accident also factor in when calculating the lost wages.
4. Future Lost Earning Capabilities
Future lost earning capacity involves the economic damages you would encounter if you missed making a living in the future. An occupational expert will help you calculate an accurate figure for future lost earnings. If you are transitioning to a new field or miss promotions because of injuries, the resulting income will be critical when calculating your future lost earning capacity.
5. Household Service Expenses
After the accident, you may need extra help taking care of the household chores you would normally do before.The recovery period is critical, and you may need extra help while you are on a break from regular duties.
You should prove that the household service expenses are for the services you would typically do without help before the accident.
Compensation for Economic Damages Result in Your Economic Recovery
After the accident, you encounter economic losses, which may set your financial capacity behind. To recover these monetary damages, you must understand what type of economic damages there are. Hiring a good personal injury lawyer will help you assess your damages and identify which ones result in financial losses.
