While most of us will be involved in a car accident at one point or another, usually the injuries involved are minor or non-existent. However, when a negligent driver causes injury to other drivers, he or she may be liable to pay monetary damages under personal injury tort law. Making a personal injury insurance claim after a car accident is usually best handled by an attorney, but there are a few things to know about what types of damages are involved, how a case is built, and how much money can be awarded through the civil justice system.
Building a Case: Legal Issues
In order to build a personal injury case after a car accident, an attorney will seek to prove several things. First, that the "at-fault" driver was negligent, in that he or she deviated from the standard to which all drivers are held. This just means that he or she did something wrong, ran a red light, sped, ran a stop sign, cut off another driver, etc.
Second, it must be shown that the drivers negligence directly cause the injury to the injured claimant. This is usually shown by evidence gathered from the scene, and information taken from the police report.
Damages Involved
The "damages" are the economic and non-economic expenses incurred by the injured driver due to the negligence of the at-fault driver. Most of these are common, such as car damage, medical bills and lost wages from missed work. However, in a personal injury claim, there are also non-economic damages which are usually worth much more than all the others combined.
How Much Money Can be Awarded?
Non-economic damages are paid by the negligent driver for the pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and permanent disfigurement or disability of the injured victim. Many times in a personal injury case, if the non-economic damages are around $5,000, then the economic damages may be anywhere from another $7,500 to $20,000 or more, depending on the impact of the accident on the injured claimants life.
When to Talk to a Car Accident Attorney
Anyone injured in a car accident should take the time to discuss their case with a qualified car accident attorney. Most of these attorneys offer free initial consultations where accident victims can explain the details of their case and find out if it would be worthwhile to bring a personal injury complaint. You can get a free consultation on this site by clicking on the "talk to a lawyer" button.
