Injuries from a car accident might be minor and require a trip to the emergency room and a short course of physical therapy or chiropractic treatment. They might also be severe requiring surgery, or they might even be fatal. If you’ve been the victim of a car accident in Thousand Oaks because of the carelessness and negligence of somebody else, you’re eligible to seek compensatory damages for the injuries and other damages that you suffered. Those would be sought through a personal injury claim or lawsuit. They’re often categorized as special or economic damages and general or non-economic damages. The two most common types of special damages that we see as personal injury lawyers are medical bills and lost earnings.
- Medical Bills: Past and current reasonable and necessary medical bills incurred as a result of the injuries sustained in an accident are typically sought. If it’s shown that within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, future medical bills will be incurred, those can be awarded too.
- Lost Earnings: If the nature and extent of your injuries affected your ability to work for a period of time, you can be compensated for that at your usual and customary rate. Sometimes, an injury victim’s future earning capacity has been diminished as a result of their injuries. If that can be shown within a reasonable degree of economic certainty, an accident victim can be compensated for diminished earning capacity.
General or non-economic damages operate as compensation for the damages that an accident victim has suffered that aren’t monetary in nature. So long as there is sufficient proof, general or non-economic damages might consist of the following:
- Permanent Disfigurement: This is often seen in the context of visible permanent scarring or bodily distortion.
- Permanent Disability: In most cases this disability is partial, but the victim must still live with it, and it is indeed compensable.
- Pain and Suffering: Most accident victims experience pain and discomfort from the instant of an accident. Past pain and suffering are compensable elements of personal injury damages. If it can be shown that within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, pain and suffering will continue into the future, compensation can be awarded for that too.
- Wrongful Death: If an accident caused the death of a victim, his or her survivors become eligible for damages pursuant to California’s wrongful death laws. Wrongful death compensation is almost always substantial.
It’s not at all unusual for the victim of an accident resulting in severe injuries to feel overwhelmed. His or her income has been cut off, and medical bills grow with every treatment or doctor visit.
Contact us as soon as you can after your accident, and we’ll be pleased to arrange for a free consultation and case assessment. We can talk about what happened, how it happened, and how it has affected you and your family. We promise to answer your questions truthfully too. After that, we’ll advise you on what we believe should be your first step. If we’re retained to represent you, we’ll begin helping you rebuild your life right away.
Learn more on our Thousand Oaks Auto Accident page or contact us today!
