Types of Compensation for Car Accidents

There are different kinds of compensation which you lawyer may be able to get you depending on the facts of your car accident case.  Every state has different standards and limits on types of compensation and what you need to prove in order to receive it.  The list below is only a sampling of what is available in many states.  Please consult an attorney in your area regarding your specific state’s laws. 

The following is a list of the most common types of compensation for car accidents:

Pain and suffering

Some injuries from an accident are not physical and cannot be seen on an x-ray.  Some victims suffer post-traumatic distress syndrome after a car accident.  Some people can no longer get in a car.  Some cannot perform daily household chores because of the pain from their injuries, even though they may be able to go to work and sit at a desk.  Some people suffer serious mental injuries after a car accident and there is compensation for their pain and suffering.

Replacement Services

If you have to hire someone to do the things around your house that you can no longer do because of your injury, you can be compensated for that expense.  You may need to hire a cleaning service, or send your laundry out because you cannot carry it up and down the stairs.  If you are the primary caretaker of the home, you may be able to receive compensation if other members of your household had to perform the chores you would do if you were not injured, even if you do not pay them to do that work.

Future wage loss and future medical treatment

If there is a possibility that your injury will keep you from work in the future, or if you might need surgery sometime down the road, you may be compensated for that possible loss.  Each person can only file suit once on an accident.  If an injury gets worse over time, and your case has been decided or settled, you cannot come back later and sue again.  The fact that you only get one chance to recover all possible losses allows you to make a claim for possible future wage loss or medical treatment.  You may end up needing more money than you receive, and you may not need it at all.  Due to the guesswork involved in this type of compensation, it is very fact-specific and will be up to the jury to weigh the evidence in making a determination of future losses.

Loss of Consortium

In most states, this claim can only be made by a spouse.  When a spouse is injured and cannot participate in the marriage in a normal, physical way, the non-injured spouse can be compensated for her loss of companionship and a sexual partner.

Punitive damages

Similar to all other forms of compensation, different states set different standards and limits on punitive damages.  Punitive means to punish.  These are damages that a jury might award a car accident victim if the person who caused the accident did so in such a manner that it was careless, grossly negligent, or intentionally reckless and they think a financial punishment is in order.

• If you need legal assistance with an Auto Injury Claim, please consult with a Car Accident Lawyer near you to discuss the details of your case. The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only.