Any kind of accident can be dangerous or even fatal. Whether it is a vehicle accident involving a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian or a slip and fall on someone else’s property, accidents can be serious and expensive.
In Louisiana, you may be entitled to be compensated for your damages after an accident. In fact, you may be able to recover all the damages you already incurred and all the damages you will incur in the future as a result of your accident. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you obtain maximum compensation for any injuries and damages you suffered in your accident.
What Types of Damages Are Available in Louisiana After an Accident?
Louisiana law allows accident victims to recover any damages they may suffer as a result of the accident if someone else was even partly at fault.
The damages that an accident victim may typically recover include:
- Economic damages; and
- Non-economic damages.
Economic damages are the ones that you probably are already struggling to pay. If so, a personal injury attorney can help you receive compensation for your economic losses so that you can focus on your physical recovery.
What Are Economic Damages?
In personal injury cases, economic damages are the financial losses you sustain as a result of an accident that you can demonstrate with a definitive value. Unlike non-economic damages, which are more subjective and could have a different value for each individual victim, economic damages are more objective and are valued based on the actual cost of the damage or financial loss. Generally, economic damages are the same for any victim who suffered a similar injury or loss.
No matter the type of accident, most accident victims generally suffer some sort of financial loss resulting from either property damage or some degree of physical injury resulting from the accident.
Property Damage
The most common type of property damage is the cost to repair or replace a vehicle involved in a collision. However, any type of accident could involve damage to personal property.
Property damage may include:
- Vehicle damage in a collision;
- Public or private property damaged in a single-vehicle accident (road signs, trees, buildings, etc);
- Protective gear damaged in a motorcycle accident;
- Jewelry or other accessories damaged in a collision or slip-and-fall; or
- Computers or other personal property being carried during an accident
Property damage includes the cost to repair or replace any physical personal property that was damaged or destroyed in an accident. T
Medical Expenses
From the moment your accident occurs, you are likely incurring medical expenses for which you may be compensated.
These may include:
- Ambulance services;
- Emergency room treatment;
- Diagnostic tests;
- All medical treatment;
- Hospitalization;
- Surgery;
- Anesthesia;
- Prescription medications;
- Casts or other necessary medical supplies;
- Follow-up doctors’ visits;
- Follow-up treatment or medical care;
- Therapy;
- Counseling;
- Pain management;
- Nursing home care; and
- Ongoing or long-term rehabilitative care
Depending on the nature and extent of your injuries, economic damages for medical expenses can be significant and long-term.
Lost Wages and Diminished Earning Capacity
If your injuries are serious and prevent you from returning to your employment, you may suffer lost income as a result. This is compensable. Also, suppose you are disabled as a result of your injuries and are not able to continue performing the work that you previously performed at full capacity. In that case, you may be entitled to recover for your lost future earning capacity.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Recovering from a physical injury can be not only painful but inconvenient. There are ongoing expenses associated with physical recovery and follow-up treatment.
Out-of-pocket expenses include the following:
- Compensable out-of-pocket expenses can include:
- Travel expenses;
- Over-the-counter medications;
- Miscellaneous medical supplies (e.g., wheelchair, crutches, bandages, gauze, lotions or creams);
- Protective or assistive devices (e.g., railings, lifts, ramps, mats);
- Travel expenses for follow-up doctors’ visits and ongoing treatments, including travel accommodations;
- Assisted living expenses (cooking, cleaning, bathing, dressing); and
- Childcare costs.
- Long-term out-of-pocket expenses can be a significant financial strain for which you may be entitled to full compensation.
Even if they are not significant in value individually, they can quickly add up, and you should be compensated for these expenses.
How Do I Prove Economic Damages?
All of the economic damages described here involve costs and expenses for which you typically receive a bill. Even if insurance pays for part of the expenses, you probably receive a statement demonstrating the service or item you received and its cost. These can be used to prove the economic damages you claim because they provide the court with a definitive value attributed to the specific expense.
Economic damages may be proven by:
- Bills;
- Insurance statements;
- Invoices;
- Receipts;
- Repair estimates;
- Bank statements;
- Canceled checks;
- Payroll documents;
- Tax returns
When you are in an accident, you should keep and maintain every document or record associated with any cost or expense you incur as a result of the accident. Your personal injury lawyer will rely on these to prove the value of your economic damages.
A Baton Rouge Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help With an Economic Damages Claim
Economic damages are relatively easy to prove once you have bills, invoices, and other documents available to provide a value for your expenses. However, recovering the maximum value for economic damages in a jury award or insurance settlement is quite a different task. To be sure you recover the maximum amount of compensation to which you are entitled for your economic damages, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer. They can negotiate your claim and protect your rights.
