With over 2.35 million people being injured or disabled per year car wrecks are a fairly common occurrence. It doesn’t make dealing with them any easier when they happen. Even in the weeks after a car accident, there are so many different things racing through your head.
Trying to deal with fixing your car and getting a rental in the meantime, the importance of medical care, missed time from work, dealing with the insurance company’s tricks, and trying to figure out if you need a car accident attorney. This is not to mention all of the bills that are piling up and the pain and suffering of the accident itself. It’s an unwanted big headache.
When you’ve been injured by the negligence of another (even if you are partially at fault) and have sustained injury, you may be entitled to monetary damages. The following explains what types of damages California courts recognize for those injured in a car crash.
What damages are available to car crash victims in California?
If you decide to meet with a car accident lawyer, one of the first legal terms you’ll hear them discuss is “damages.” Damages are the compensation you can receive for your injuries due to the negligence of another. In personal injury cases, this will mean monetary compensation.
For car accidents, damages are broken down into two main categories: economic (special) damages and non-economic (general) damages.
What are economic damages?
Economic damages are your hard or fixed costs. These are damages that are easily determined based on invoices, bills, estimates, etc. Examples of economic damages would be: medical bills, lost wages from work, and physical damage to your property.
What are non-economic damages?
Non-economic damages are those that can’t be readily determined. These are subjective amounts based on the circumstances of the crash and the individual. This type of damages include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.
How does a car crash lawyer determine my damages after a collision?
One of the first things your car accident attorney will do is to determine who is at fault (or how the percentage of fault is divvied up). Even if you are found to be partially at fault, you can still recover compensation. However, your compensation will be reduced by the amount of fault that is attributed to you.
For example, if you were injured in a car wreck, found to be 30% at fault, and your damages are $10,000, you would still be able to recover $7,000 from the at-fault party. If you are found to be 100% at fault, you will not be able to recover anything from the other party’s insurance.
Once your car wreck lawyer has determined fault, they will calculate your damages by adding up your medical bills, lost wages, and any additional hard cost damage like getting a rental car. These will be your economic (or special) damages.
After that, it will be up to your attorney to determine your non-economic (general) damages. There is no exact science here. This is because every accident has many different variables involved: how serious the injury was, how it affected the individual mentally and physically, and how long it may have taken to recover to name a few.
Some auto accident lawyers will use what is called a “multiplier.” They will take the amount of special damages and then multiply by 2-5x depending on the severity of the accident. For example, if your damages were $10,000 and you were in a rear-ender with relatively minor injuries, your car accident attorney may demand $30,000.
Another option is the “per diem.” An attorney will come up with a per diem amount (usually your salary or wage from a full day’s work) and then multiply it by the amount of days you were injured. For example, if your per diem is $200 and you were injured for 30 days, your car accident lawyer would say your non-economic damages are $200 x 30 = $6,000. This is usually used in more cases where the injury was much more serious.
Calculating damages is a difficult task for those who are not familiar with the process. Insurance companies love when those injured in a crash handle cases themselves because they’re more likely to miss out on things they’re entitled to . Or they can mislead them into thinking they’re not available in that given situation.
We are here to help if you’ve been in a car accident in California. We will go through your case with you, including your medical bills, discuss your missed time from work, and any additional damages the car accident caused you.
Our office can be reached at (916) 619-5452, you can fill out our form on our website, or email us at info@hanecaklaw.com.
