Following a car accident, you may want to seek damages so you can receive compensation. Damages can be anything from your emotional state to the dent in your car.
Car accidents are all too common for busy cities like Chicago, and understanding the laws can get overwhelming in an already stressful situation. You can contact a Chicago car crash attorney to ask about your specific circumstances and what damages may apply. Below is a general overview to help you understand what qualifies as damage.
What Are Damages?
Damages are reasons the victim of an incident can receive monetary compensation. Damages can be economic or non-economic. Compensation can be a direct reimbursement or a monetary amount to try and rectify emotional, mental, or situational damages.
The sections below will further explain the types of car accident damages a victim can seek following a crash.
Types of Damages
Below are the types of damages you can claim following a car accident.
Property Damage
Property damage is a straightforward type of damage and likely the most obvious one. If your personal property suffered damage from the car accident, you could seek financial compensation to repair or replace the damaged property. In many cases, the car is the damaged property in question, but it can be any property, such as a motorcycle, building, jewelry, or device.
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses are one of the most common damages people seek compensation for, mainly because medical bills are expensive and can easily bankrupt people. Medical damages include ambulance costs, doctor bills, medications, and more. A complete list is below.
Ambulance bill
Health facility stays
In-home care
Surgeries
Medication and prescriptions
Prosthetics
Rehabilitation
Doctor appointments
Cognitive therapy
Physical therapy
Any costs incurred from managing your injuries and seeking medical attention after the accident are damages. But the injury or condition must be a direct result of the accident.
Loss of Consortium
People can seek damages if they lose their partner or relationship due to the accident. If someone receives an injury that prevents sexual activities, this qualifies as a loss of consortium. Another example of loss of consortium is if a spouse leaves because of their partner’s new disfigurement.
Lost Wages
A common form of damage people seek following a car accident is lost wages. Your income can be reimbursed if you cannot perform your job due to accident-related injuries or conditions. This economic damage can compensate you for all lost wages while your body and mind heal.
Necessary Household Services
You could seek compensation for the cost of necessary household services if you had to hire someone while you recover. You may need a nanny or a house cleaner to care for your child and home while you heal from the accident. Any necessary services you can no longer perform due to the accident can be considered economic damages.
Wrongful Death
You can seek reimbursement for the funeral and burial expenses and emotional pain if a loved one dies in a car accident. This damage is economic and non-economic, as funeral and burial expenses are tangible, but grief is not.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are one of the broadest types of non-economic damage. It can refer to physical, mental, or emotional pain and suffering. For example, a car crash victim may be physically fine but have PTSD from the trauma of the accident.
Victims may also suffer injuries that result in permanent disfigurement or scarring that causes them stress and difficulty. They may have a severe facial scar that makes socializing more difficult, or they may have a lost finger that impacts their motor skills and daily life.
The compensation for pain and suffering is determined case by case, so it’s hard to predict the outcome. People often sue for pain and suffering in tandem with other damages, like medical expenses.
Seeking Compensation After a Car Accident
Chicago sees over 300,000 car accidents every year. If you were a victim in a car accident, you can seek damages and receive financial compensation for your injuries or suffering.
Non-economic damages are equally valid, and you deserve the appropriate compensation for your suffering.
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