Economic Damages
(or Special Damages)
Without prior experience in the practice of law, it is difficult to estimate how much a personal injury lawsuit may be worth. At the end of every successful personal injury lawsuit, the plaintiff is awarded a certain amount of money made up of two different kinds of expenses or losses: economic or special damages, and noneconomic or general damages.
Economic damages are the ones you can assign a number value to. They are the kinds of losses you can verify with receipts and keep track of with a list. For the most part, these kinds of claims are objective, because you can prove how much something is worth or how much was paid for a specific service. Here is a list of the different kinds of economic damages you can claim in California:
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- Medical expensesmay include everything from your ambulance ride to your medications to your follow-up doctor visits. Medical expenses include not only ongoing medical care, treatment, therapy, diagnoses and various tests, prescriptions, medications, medical devices, over-the-counter medicine, transportation costs to and from doctor appointments, but also future medical expenses. Your insurance may pay some of these costs upfront, but if your injuries were caused by the negligence of someone else, your insurance company will try to get the money back from the negligent party. You should not personally be paying any of these expenses out of your own pocket if you were the victim of an accident caused by someone else, so your claim will also include any continuing treatment you will continue to need in the future. In case you paid for any of the above medical expenses, the insurance carrier of the at-fault party should reimburse you for the out-of-pocket expenses you have incurred.
- Lost wagesrefers to the time you have missed from work because of the accident, including the time you missed because of doctor’s appointments or therapy. You can document your lost time at work with paystubs or, if necessary, a letter from your employer. In addition, you are entitled for reimbursement not only for your lost wages and/or salary, but also for the lost income and any benefits you lost because of your personal injury case.
- Along those lines, you can claim lost earning capacityif, because of the accident, you are no longer able to perform the same job as before, or if you cannot perform at the same level. This may happen because of a disability caused by an accident, such as a shoulder injury that makes certain movements painful.
- The repair and/or replacement of propertyis also important. For instance, if your vehicle was damaged in the accident, the negligent party is responsible for fixing your car or paying off the value of the car it was totaled. In the meantime, if you need a rental vehicle you can claim that from the responsible party, too.
- In the case of a loss of life, the family can claim burial costs. Funerals are expensive, and the last thing the family needs is to worry about the expense at that difficult time.
- One important claim that most people don’t realize is available is the cost of obtaining substitute domestic services, household help or assistance with daily activities. Whether or not you have a job outside the home, there is probably a lot you do to help take care of your home and family. If you can’t clean the house, take care of the children and pets, mow your lawn, or whatever else you normally do, you may be forced to get outside help so all those tasks are accomplished. You can claim any domestic services you are forced to get because you cannot do what you need to.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses actually refers to your “pocket” – namely any expenses you spent from your wallet or savings, whether cash or from your bank account, which is related to the damages and injuries you sustained. For instance, this can be your deductible payment, towing or storage fees, pharmacy receipt or other medical expenses, payment for renting a car or other transportation expenses, cost of replacing your child’s damaged booster or car seat, or any other expenses you actually incurred because of the accident in issue.
Evaluating a personal injury claim is a complicated process, but an experienced personal injury attorney can help you assess your situation and understand all your options. Call Legal Passkey today for a free consultation so you can get started on your claim.
