A serious car accident can change your life—often for the worse. While you may feel helpless and overwhelmed after a crash, there are certain things you can do to recover from a financial standpoint after a collision.
A Long Beach car accident attorney can help you determine what your legal options may be to recover money damages after a crash. Of course, you should also take care to follow your doctor’s orders to heal physically, emotionally, and mentally from an accident too.
Several types of damages may be available to you after a car accident. Every case is different, so it may be difficult to determine how much those damages may be or what type of compensation is available to you. Your car accident lawyer will be able to take a close look at the facts of your situation and determine if you can get any of the following categories of damages.
Medical Expenses
Medical costs can be extremely high in serious accidents. Thankfully, you can recover expenses related to your medical care as long as the care you received was directly caused by the crash. This can include further aggravation of old conditions, but you can only recover the expenses for the aggravation—not for medical care that you would have had even if you were not involved in an accident.
While your case is pending, your health insurance will likely pay for some of your medical costs. When this happens, your health insurance carrier will often assert a lien in your car accident case. That means that if you recover any money, some of it should go to the health insurance company to reimburse them for the costs that they paid on your behalf.
Lost Wages, Loss of Future Earnings, Decreased Earning Capacity
If you are out of work while you are recovering from a car accident, the wages that you would have earned if you were working will often be compensable. If your accident changes your working life in the future, you may be able to get money for that type of loss as well.
In serious cases, car accident victims may not be able to work any longer. You may also be able to get compensation for the inability to work for the remainder of your working life.
Pain and Suffering
While other categories of damages are based on quantifiable loss, pain and suffering costs are not. It is impossible to put a price tag on the physical or mental pain and suffering that you endured due to your accident. However, money damages are the only way that the law can attempt to make up for your losses.
Pain and suffering losses vary a great deal from case to case. They will depend on how severe your injuries may be as well as how likely you are to recover completely. In some cases, pain and suffering recovery can be extremely high.
The type of compensation available to you after a car accident will depend on your unique situation. The only way to know for sure what kind of recovery you may be entitled to receive is to speak with a Long Beach car accident attorney. Call the team at JML to learn more!
