When An Accident Impacts Your Personal Economics

When a careless driver strikes, the wreck and resulting injuries may impact your life in a big way. Car accidents tend to be both traumatic to our bodies, our mind, our spirit, and our budget. When it comes to being compensated, damages are divided between economic and non-economic. Read on to learn more about how an accident can impact your personal economics.

Differences Between Non-economic and Economic Damages

Non-economic damages refer to things like pain and suffering, psychological trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, loss of consortium, and more. To be paid for non-economic damages, you must take into consideration the level of seriousness of your physical injuries and the total cost of your medical treatment. That number is used as a factor to decide on the payment for these areas of compensation. Contrast that with economic damages, which are always perfectly matched to the form of damage. In a way, understanding economic damages is easier because it is more straightforward.

Categories of Economic Damages

When you think about all the ways a wreck has negatively impacted your financial situation, you will probably see several examples of the below economic damages.

Medical treatment costs – This is by far the largest expense for most accident victims – mostly because of the high price of even minor medical issues. While you may understand that the at-fault driver's insurer is responsible for paying your medical bills, you may also want to know that:

  • Some insurers take a while to get compensation to you.
  • Some medical treatment bills could be denied coverage.
  • The total amount of your medical bills, whether paid or not, goes into the calculation for pain and suffering.
  • Some accident victims don't realize that the insurer may also be responsible for future medical expenses, but only if included as part of the settlement.

Lost time from work – No matter what type of injury you suffered, chances are you missed some work. You are entitled to be paid for that time, but most insurers won't automatically offer it to you.

Vehicles damages – Most people cannot live very well without transportation. If your vehicle was totaled, you will need funds to purchase another one. If it can be repaired, you will need an estimate for the repair. You are also entitled to reimbursement when you have to visit the doctor. That might mean tolls, parking, public transportation, and more.

The above is only the beginning. A personal injury attorney can better help you calculate what you should be asking for in compensation.


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