Being injured in an accident pretty much always comes with expenses, and these expenses can send your finances into a downward spiral. If you’re like most people, there simply isn’t room in your budget for unexpected costs, which is especially true if these expenses are caused by someone’s negligence.
If your injuries and other damages are the result of someone’s negligence, you may be entitled to receive compensation—however, assessing economic damages after an injury can be complicated. If you make a mistake it can reduce the value of your accident claim.
What Are Economic Damages in an Injury Claim?
Even a minor accident can result in a flood of bills showing up at your house so just imagine the expenses if your injuries are severe. A common question accident victims ask is how are they supposed to pay all of these costs.
Before we get into receiving compensation, it helps to know what injury damages you can claim. Here’s a look at some of the common economic damages listed on personal injury claims.
Medical Expenses
Your medical expenses are usually a large part of an injury claim. After all, if you weren’t injured in the accident you wouldn’t be dealing with these costs. Your medical expenses can include everything from your doctor visits to diagnosis and testing. Other expenses can include:
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications
- Medical equipment usage and purchasing costs like crutches, wheelchairs, etc.
- Surgeries
- Long-term and/or lifetime care
- Therapy and rehabilitation
Your medical costs may even include transportation fees to and from your appointments. Every accident is different and this means your medical expenses may be different than someone else’s.
Medical Health Costs
Regardless of the severity of the accident, your mental health can be affected. Your insurance claim may also include your mental health costs. Some examples can include visits to a mental health provider, along with any treatment plan costs. Once again, your transportation costs may also be covered in your insurance claim.
Lost Income
Some injuries are severe enough to force you to miss work. This can place an additional strain on your budget. If you miss work due to your injuries, you may be able to claim compensation for your lost wages. This can be a lifeline if you’re struggling to keep up with other expenses.
You may be able to claim both lost current and future income if your injuries prevent you from returning to your previous position. This will require supporting documentation. Pay stubs, financial statements, and testimony from your employer should be enough to satisfy the insurance company.
However, this doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to receive the full amount of your lost income. You may need to accept a lower amount to settle your personal injury claim.
Property Damage Costs
Chances are, you have some property damage after an accident. Car crashes typically result in vehicle damage, and even a slip-and-fall accident can leave you with a broken device like a cell phone, tablet, or laptop.
Your claim can include the repair or replacement costs, but you also need to provide some supporting evidence. This Is usually accomplished by submitting repair bills, estimates, and receipts. Something to keep in mind is the value of your vehicle.
For you, it’s probably priceless but insurance companies feel a little differently. Insurance adjusters typically look at the vehicle’s Kelley Blue Book value and this may be noticeably less than what you value your vehicle.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about the value of your vehicle. You’re stuck accepting the Blue Book value, even if you disagree with the listing.
Other Economic Expenses
Did you know you can list expenses like household services on an injury claim? If your injuries are preventing you from doing things like cleaning, mowing your lawn, and even taking care of your children, you may be able to claim these expenses.
Like everything else, you need to provide supporting documentation, which usually includes statements from healthcare providers noting that your injuries are preventing you from performing these duties. You also need to supply bills and receipts if you’re already paying for these services.
Something to keep in mind is if you have a regular house cleaning team coming in, you can only claim expenses relating to the accident. In other words, you can’t claim expenses for a service provider before the accident.
Is There a Cap on Economic Damages in Nevada?
Like most states, Nevada doesn’t have a cap on economic damage award amounts in most personal injury claims. However, there can be an exception if your claim is against an employee of a government agency.
You typically can’t receive more than $100,000 in a personal injury claim against a government agency. This cap applies even if your economic damages are more than $100,000. You also can’t receive punitive damages if the accident is caused by a government employee.
Nevada also limits non-economic damage amounts in medical malpractice injury claims to $350,00. However, you can receive punitive damage awards in medical malpractice cases if gross negligence applies.
Caps still apply, limiting compensation to $300,000 if your medical malpractice injury case warrants punitive damages.
Calculating Your Economic Damages
If you’re wondering how to calculate your economic damages in an injury claim, you can relax. The process is usually relatively simple, as long as you keep records of your expenses.
Totalling your economic damages means grabbing all of your bills, receipts, and estimates, and noting the total. Now, grab a calculator or pen and paper and start adding up all of the expenses. Remember, you can only include expenses relating to the accident.
The total of your bills, receipts, and estimates represents the amount of the economic damages that you can claim.
Ensuring You Receive Compensation for Your Injuries
Being involved in an accident is stressful enough without having to worry about paying additional bills on top of it all. Thankfully, you can file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. Before filing a claim, find the total cost of your economic damages.
Without this figure, your claim can’t be processed and your case won’t be able to proceed. You may also want to work with an experienced injury attorney to help ensure you receive full and fair compensation.