Types of Damages in OKC Car Accident Cases

To obtain a settlement or verdict after a car accident, the insurance company and jury will consider your “damages.”  Damages refer to the amount of money the plaintiff has incurred to cover their loss. The amount of money to fully compensate the victim had the accident never occurred.

Compensation for damages, and the resulting negotiations with the insurance company, will require gathering evidence, speaking to witnesses, and figuring out which type of damages are most applicable to the unique case. If you have been injured in a car accident, you may benefit from consulting an experienced car accident lawyer to ensure your claim includes everything you are entitled to.

The two primary categories of damages are “Economic” and “Non-Economic.”

Economic damages are also called “special damages” based on specific losses. If you’ve handled a few car accident cases, you’ve likely heard an adjuster ask, “What are the specials in this case.” The adjuster asks for the hard costs incurred and wants to know the total medical bills and lost income.

Non-economic damages are often called “general damages” based on subjective factors. The most common example here is “pain and suffering.” Pain and suffering don’t have a price listed, but it is a cost people incur after an injury or car accident.

The following types of damages are recoverable in personal injury lawsuits following car accidents:

Economic Damages

Under Oklahoma law, economic damages can easily be tied to a dollar figure and presented to a third party. Economic damages include:

Loss of wages

Generally, you can recover lost wages if you were injured in the accident and were forced to miss work. This includes your paid time off as well. Note that the lost wages claim is limited to the time off from work related to the injury and medical treatment. For example, if you cannot work the first month after the wreck while recovering or have to take off work two hours early, three days per week, this is included in your lost wages claim. Time spent on the legal case is not included. Examples of this include missing a full day of work while you are at your deposition.

Past or Incurred Medical bills

If you are involved in a car accident, you are entitled to recover for medical bills resulting from the accident. While this sounds straightforward, the insurance company will limit this amount as much as possible by using various strategies to claim that the bills are duplicative, excessive, unnecessary, or the treatment went on for too long. The insurance company is playing “Monday Morning Quarterback” after the fact and critiquing how your doctors handled your course of treatment.

Organizing medical bills can be cumbersome because going to one hospital often includes more than three different companies. The hospital, doctors, diagnostic providers, and pharmacist are all different providers and will have separate billing providers. These bills often include:

• Ambulance bills
• Hospital costs
• Hospital doctor bills
• Diagnostic provider costs
• Doctor’s visits
• Physical therapist bills
• Surgeon bills
• Prescription/Pharmacy (often more than one)
• Medical device costs
• At-home care and over-the-counter costs

Future lost wages

Serious car accidents can sometimes result in the person left incapable of fully returning to their previous jobs or work. It’s possible to make a future lost wages claim to account for this change in employment and future reduced earning capacity.

Future medical bills

Similar to the medical bills already incurred, future medical costs should be included in any personal injury damages claim. A doctor can provide a future medical costs care plan if, for example, a recurrent surgery is likely needed every ten years.

Property damage

Property damage to your car is relatively easy to calculate. This is what it costs to repair your car, or if a total loss, what the fair market value your car is worth at the time of the wreck. If your car is repaired due to the wreck, a claim for diminished value should also be included.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages should also be awarded to an injured individual. Non-economic damages include:

• Pain and suffering
• Inconvenience
• Loss of enjoyment of activities
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement
• Scarring

There is no “formula” to calculate non-economic damages, and the award varies from person to person. The amount of non-economic damages awarded is determined by a jury, who may rely on their experiences to put a value on the harms and losses. The jury may consider the type of injury, the pain and suffering, and what the injured victim endured due to the wreck.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages may be awarded for the purpose of punishing the party that either intentionally or recklessly did something to cause harm to another person. Before getting to the punitive damages calculations, a jury must find the plaintiff’s favor and grant economic damages.

The jury decides if the plaintiff qualifies for punitive damages based on whether the at-fault party’s conduct was either in “reckless disregard” of the plaintiff’s rights and the other party was aware of that or if they did it “intentionally.” Since it is based on the conduct of the at-fault party, the plaintiff has the burden of showing that the other party acted in this manner. It is essential to know that punitive damages are rarely awarded.

The most common cases where punitive damages are awarded in car accident cases are with drunk drivers and road rage.

Role of an Attorney

The role of an attorney is to increase the amount of money the client receives by hiring that attorney. Hiring an attorney doesn’t make financial sense if it doesn’t increase the client’s bottom line. The attorney’s job is to increase the settlement or case value by ensuring everything is included in the insurance company’s damages calculations. Attorneys also provide an incentive for the insurance company to settle the claim: pay the full and fair amount now or deal with the lawsuit.

There are many ways in which a lawyer can help an individual recover the full amount for their car accident damages. After being retained, an attorney maximizes the chances for total compensation by gathering as much evidence as early as possible and including everything that factors into increasing the settlement value. Lawyers can help do this by making sure everything related to the accident is properly documented throughout the case and holding the insurance company responsible by filing a lawsuit if the company doesn’t want to be fair.