Car Accident Lawyer
A car accident that leaves you suffering serious personal injuries can affect you not only physically but mentally, emotionally, and monetarily, as well. If the personal injury is such that it keeps you from conducting your duties at work, due to pain, physical discomfort, or complete loss of ability, then you can claim damages with the assistance of a personal injury attorney relies on to cover the loss of income due to your inability to work.
Also, if your inability to work leads to loss of job and subsequent unemployment, even after putting in considerable effort in finding a new job, then too, you can file damages at court to recover your loss of income.
There a different type of damages that you can claim from the defendant or the party-at-fault:
General damages
A claim for general damages refers to non-monetary damages such as the pain and suffering left at the wake of a car accident. If you suffer severe personal injuries which affect your ability to go back to work or perform your duties, efficiently, you can file a claim for general damages. It also covers emotional distress and trauma that the plaintiff might have suffered which affects their ability to lead the life the led, previously.
Special damages
Special damages include all loss of income, property, wages, or business opportunity. You can also claim special damages to cover your inability to go back to work and thus future loss of earning or earning capacity. This claim however, will hold merit only if the court sees that you have tried to mitigate your losses by trying to fulfill your tasks at work, yet failed, or you continued to look for other jobs but were unable to secure one. Loss of income, for this purpose, is calculated from the date of accident to the date when you are announced medically fit to take on your usual duties/activates.
Loss of competitive advantage
If the car accident leaves the affected party unable to resume their job activities in the field of their choice or expertise, due to nature of the injuries, then such injuries leave the plaintiff less competitive than they previously were, leading them to suffer monetary losses for the same. In such case you can file for damages under the head, loss of competitive advantage.
Future care costs
In case of car accidents injuries which require rigorous treatment such as physiotherapy or psychological treatment to render the plaintiff fit to return to work, the plaintiff can claim damages that cover these care costs and medical expenses. If you claim this damage from the at-fault party, you will have to furnish evidence of need of such treatment. Also, before you can claim medical damages, you will be required to pay all these expenses from your personal medical and health benefits.
However, in all the above cases, it is important that you take the necessary steps to ensure mitigation of the losses suffered. That means, the court will want to see that you have tried and exhausted every possible option of earning with your current injured condition and thus, need the claim to cover you till you are up on your feet and working again.
