With an estimated 6 million car accidents taking place every year, some 3 million of those accidents result in injury and 2 million of those injuries are permanent. With those kinds of numbers, it’s important to know what your rights are, who you can turn to, and what you can expect when you are in a car accident.
You also need to know how and why your car accident is unique, as well as what sets you apart. While it may feel overwhelming when you try to figure out how to proceed with your car accident claim, you need to know that you’re not alone. Expert car accident lawyer are just a phone call away to help you determine damages and the next steps right now.
To get you started, here are the damages that a car accident attorney can help you seek.
Medical Expenses
While you may have sustained minor injuries, the car accident may have caused much more severe damage, which will require extensive therapy. A car accident attorney can help you to seek ambulance fees, health care consultations, physical therapy, permanent disability, and in-home care.
To prove your claim of medical expenses, you’ll need to gather details on your hospitalization, diagnosis, and treatment, including bills, medication, therapy sessions, and any other documentation that involves interactions with doctors or medical staff, which may be related to your claim.
Property Damages
The car accident undoubtedly involved damage to your car or truck, but it might involve other personal property if you had a laptop, car seat, textbooks, or other property of value in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Proof of property damage can be accomplished via photographs of the car at the scene of the accident, as well as photographs of other damaged property and witness statements.
Property damage can involve any object or item physically present in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Depending on the state, you may also have a time limit on pursuing property damage claims. Property damage could involve costs associated with repairs, rental car expenses, towing costs, etc.
Lost Wages
While you’re recovering from the injuries sustained in the car accident, you’re missing work. So, you can determine the measurable losses from absence from work based on your paystubs, and loss of future earning potential if your doctor determines that the car accident caused a permanent disability.
Measurable losses can include childcare, house cleaning, and upkeep costs if they are tasks that you can no longer perform because of the accident. So, the economic damages can be much wider and more encompassing than you might have imagined. It could include lost advancement opportunities if you’re able to prove that you were in line for a promotion, etc.
Pain and Suffering
Many of the costs associated with the car accident are economic in nature. In other words, you can produce the doctor and medical bills. You can calculate the measurable losses for lost work, etc. It’s more challenging to determine the true cost in damages of the other person’s negligence.
Pain and suffering is a broad category that includes all the emotional stress, physical pain, disfigurement, lost or damaged relationships, disability, and other losses that are only relevant in an individual’s particular situation.
Punitive Damages
If the other driver in the car accident is clearly at fault due to negligence, the court can award punitive damages as a punishment and deterrent. A common car accident that might involve punitive damages could be a case where the other driver was drunk when he hit your car.
Punitive damages could come into play for other clearly negligent behavior like speeding or erratic and dangerous actions as well. It is a way to punish the person who did wrong while offering some small measure of compensation for what you went through in the accident.
Next Step: Consult with a Car Accident Lawyer to Learn More!
While you can clearly determine many of the standard damage claims in your personal injury case, you still need a lawyer to walk you through the entire process and help you understand what steps you need to take in your case.
Since every personal injury case is as unique as a thumbprint, you need an expert who can work with you to determine the extent of your injuries, what paperwork and medical records you need. You need the dedicated car accident attorneys in Daphne, AL. Make sure to explore your legal options.