Under Virginia law, there are two primary types of damages in a car accident injury case. These damages are economic and non-economic. Economic damages are intended to cover easily quantifiable expenses a victim has such as medical bills, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages are intended to compensate for more difficult to determine such as pain and mental anguish.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a crash, you may be eligible to pursue and receive monetary compensation for your losses. You may be able to recover both economic and non-economic damages in your Charlottesville car accident.
The most common type of economic damages that are awarded to plaintiffs would be for medical bills and expenses. This could be to cover any form of necessary treatment that is related to the accident. It is generally easy to accurately determine these expenses as they may be documented through medical bills, insurance claims, and receipts. In many cases depends on whether their doctor will testify that treatment was due to the accident. This may be necessary to prove that the medical treatment the victim received was necessary.
The next source of economic damages to be calculated after a Charlottesville car accident is the plaintiff’s lost wages. To establish lost wages, it will be necessary to collect evidence of how much work the victim missed, and the value of the pay they missed. For salaried employees, often the best way to calculate lost pay is to average out the previous year’s pay and divide it by hours worked to establish an hourly rate.
The most typical economic property damages after a car crash in Charlottesville would be to the plaintiff’s vehicle. To cover these damages, the responsible driver or their insurance company should be responsible for paying fair market value for their vehicle, or whatever it costs to repair the vehicle to its state before the accident.
These are the three economic damages that are typical of auto wreck cases in Charlottesville. In some rare cases, an injured party may be able to recover another economic damage known as loss of earning capacity. If someone has a permanent injury and they cannot earn the same amount that they did in the past as a result, they may be able to recover financial compensation for the money they may not be able to earn on account of the injury the defendant caused.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to calculate than economic damages as they are generally intended to compensate a victim for intangible losses. Key non-economic losses that may be considered include inconvenience, such as loss of enjoyment of life, physical pain, and mental anguish or suffering.
Physical pain is exactly what is expected: discomfort and pain the victim feels. This pain may additionally lead to mental anguish. Additionally, the anxiety a victim may feel after an accident regarding their future and expenses may cause them difficulty. Mental anguish is different for different people and in each unique case, but a plaintiff still deserves compensation for these non-economic damages as they experience them.
For some Charlottesville car crash injuries, non-economic damages may be a very large part of a settlement or compensation package.
If the doctor indicates that the victim has a permanent injury, even if the pain level is low or simply a discomfort, but they’re going to have it for the rest of their life, then their compensation would be proportionately projected according to what their life expectancy is. If the victim’s condition is not permanent and is expected to improve with time, it would be up to a doctor to identify how much anguish they will have and how long their recovery process will last.
A severe injury from a car accident could alter your life in nearly every way. When you are harmed by someone else’s negligence, they should be responsible for compensating you for your losses. To learn more about economic and non-economic damages in Charlottesville car accidents, it may be wise to contact a dedicated attorney and explore your legal options. Call The Warren Firm today to schedule a consultation for your case.
