What Types of Damages Are Available after an Auto Accident?
The aftermath of an automobile accident can be incredibly overwhelming. Between dealing with the police, another driver, and your insurance company, it can be difficult to keep track of what is going on and to make sure that you are preserving all of your potential claims for damages.
The damages that are available after a car accident can be far more wide-ranging than many drivers may initially believe. There are the obvious things such as the damage to your car or medical bills, but damages can also include things like pain and suffering resulting from the accident and loss of income while you recover.
Auto Accident Damages in Northfield
The easiest way to think about the damages available to you after an auto accident are (1) physical damages and (2) other non-physical damages. Physical damage can include damage to your car or other assets as well as damage to your body.
If you are hit by a drunk driver or by a driver who loses control, you may suffer serious damage to your vehicle, possibly even to the extent that the car is considered a total loss. This is known as property damage, and most car insurance policies will have limits for coverage of such property damage.
Recoverable property damage may range from fixing a window to purchasing an entirely new vehicle. Property damage can also include items inside your car, such as personal assets if they are damaged as a result of the accident. For example, if you have a personal computer in your car that is destroyed.
In addition to property damage, the other primary category of physical damage is bodily injury. Again, most car insurance policies will have bodily injury limits as well. Bodily injury includes all expenses related to your injuries and medical treatment. This can include:
- Doctors visits
- Tests
- Physical therapy
- Ambulance Costs
- Medication
- Surgery
Depending on the extent of an individual’s injuries, these types of costs can quickly add up to a very significant amount of money. Additionally, because many injuries do not resolve immediately after an accident, plaintiffs seeking to recover from bodily injury will typically be entitled to both the medical expenses they’ve already incurred and those they will reasonably incur in the future.
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Less Tangible Damages
Beyond payments to doctors and body shops, plaintiffs involved in car accidents often suffer from other, less obvious, damages. For example, if your injuries are significant enough to require rehabilitation or a hospital stay, you will likely face time away from work.
For those without saved up sick time or disability coverage, this can mean a substantial loss of income over the following weeks or months. This loss of income can also often be recovered in a lawsuit. In some cases where a driver has been so injured that he or she is left permanently unable to work, damages can also be recovered from the permanent loss of income or permanent disability.
Another less obvious category of damages is the emotional distress as well as pain and suffering that can come with an automobile accident. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may be left with lingering anxiety or PTSD that is aggravated when in a vehicle or on the road in the future.
The consequences of your accident may also lead to depression and other mental health issues as you struggle to work through the lingering effects while fully recovering from the trauma you experienced.
Damages are available for the mental health injuries that you incur as a result of your accident, particularly where you have received a specific diagnosis related to these injuries, such as PTSD. Damages are also available for the suffering you experienced during the accident itself and the trauma that was caused. Indeed, in many cases, pain and suffering are a very significant category of damages.
New Jersey Attorneys Helping You Understand Your Entire Claim
It is the job of an auto accident attorney to help you evaluate what potential claims you might have after an accident and figure out what damages you may be able to claim. Additionally, an experienced attorney can work with you to figure out how to best prove those damages, including collecting necessary receipts and obtaining relevant police reports.
At Petro Cohen, P.C., our auto accident attorneys have successfully handled thousands of vehicular accident cases throughout New Jersey and have a proven history of success. There is no cost to speak with us, and you will not be obligated to pay any of our legal expenses unless we are able to make a recovery on your behalf.
Barry D. Cohen heads the Personal Injury Department at Petro Cohen, P.C. and is one of the founding partners. Barry is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney (2001 to present), which is the highest specialty certification available to NJ civil trial attorneys. Along with fellow founding partner, Susan Petro, and team members, Richard W. Gaeckle and Mike Veneziani, the firm’s personal injury attorneys have successfully handled thousands of personal injury cases for clients throughout southern New Jersey. Additionally, both Barry Cohen (12 years) and Richard Gaeckle (9 years) have been named to the NJ Super Lawyers® list in the practice area of personal injury. Richard Gaeckle also has a Superb rating on AVVO and an A/V rating with Martindale-Hubbell, both of which are the highest possible ratings by the respective organizations.
In addition to automobile, truck, and motorcycle accidents, our attorneys have dealt with a variety of serious personal injury claims. Whether your injury resulted from a slip and fall accident, dog bite, or a construction site accident, we can assist. Our firm has also successfully handled many claims against public entities, traumatic brain injuries, maritime personal injury and boating accident cases, premises liability claims, pedestrian injuries, wrongful death claims, and many other types of personal injury cases.
We know you have choices with your legal representation for your serious personal injury. In Litigation,You Don’t Get a Second Chance, so be sure to Select Excellence. For more information or to schedule a free consultation, contact us online or at (888) 675-7067.
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