Victims who are injured because of someone else’s negligence or intentional conduct have a right to recover damages, or financial compensation for their losses. Victims often experience many types of losses, including both monetary losses and pain and suffering. Economic damages are one form of compensatory damages available after an accident.
What Are Economic Damages?
Economic damages provide compensation for your financial losses after an accident. These are the tangible, monetary losses that you have sustained because of your accident. This includes things like medical bills, lost wages, and property damage.
The value of these damages often depends on several factors, such as:
- The amount of your medical bills
- The amount of time you missed from work
- Your expected future medical care needs
- Your ability to return to work after the accident
- The amount of available insurance coverage
Not only can you recover compensation for the financial losses that you have already suffered, but you can also get compensation for your expected future losses that are the direct result of your accident.
Are There Any Limits on the Amount of Economic Damages Available?
No, Florida does not typically place a cap on economic damages in personal injury cases. This means that you can recover full compensation for the total amount of your financial losses. However, insurance companies often place arbitrary limits on what they are willing to offer, which may not reflect the full value of your economic damages.
Common Types of Economic Damages in Florida Personal Injury Claims
Accident victims can suffer many different types of financial losses. Some of the most common types of economic damages are:
Medical Expenses
Medical bills and expenses after an accident can increase drastically. You have a right to recover the amount of all the bills you had to pay resulting from your accident, such as:
- Emergency treatment
- Ambulance transport
- Surgery
- Follow-up doctor visits
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
In some cases, victims may require ongoing treatments because of their injury.
Lost Wages
You may be entitled to recover compensation for all the wages you missed, as well as lost benefits, overtime, and other employment-related losses. Additionally, compensation for future reduced earning capacity may be available if you are unable to return to your previous type of employment due to your injuries. This will depend on the specific facts of your case and the insurance limits available.
Property Damage
If you are involved in a car accident, you may face substantial car repair bills. These bills count as part of your economic damages. In situations where your car is totaled, you could be able to recover the full fair market value of your vehicle instead of getting money for repairs. You can also recover compensation for damage to any personal property that may have been inside the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Finally, you may also be eligible to collect the loss of use, loss of value (diminished value), and rental car expenses.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses are often overlooked. While these expenses are often small individually, they can quickly add up to a substantial amount throughout the course of your recovery.
Out-of-pocket expenses include items such as:
- Prescription or over-the-counter medications
- Medical equipment or devices
- Travel to and from medical appointments
- Overnight hotel stay when necessary for medical appointments
- Parking, taxi, or rideshare fees
Insurance companies often try to exclude many of these expenses from your claim, so it is important to keep detailed documentation of these types of expenses after your accident.
Proving Your Economic Damages After an Accident
In order to get compensation for your economic damages, you must be able to prove them. This requires having enough evidence on your side to convince a judge or jury that your version of the facts is true.
Some common types of evidence used to prove the value of your economic damages include:
- Bills
- Receipts
- Credit card or bank statements
- Paystubs
- Lost wage letters from your employers or supervisors
- Tax returns
You should always save all bills, receipts, and other records associated with your accident. These can be extremely valuable when it comes time to prove the value of your losses.
Contact the Delray Beach Personal Injury Lawyers at Dalton Injury Law Today for a Free Consultation
Whether you have been hurt in a car accident, slip and fall accident, or some other type of accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your economic damages. The team at Dalton Injury has the knowledge and experience you need on your side to help you put a proper value on your claim and hold the responsible party accountable.
Contact us today at (561) 600-1766 to schedule a free consultation with a Delray Beach personal injury lawyer.
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Dalton Injury Law
1375 E Gateway Blvd Ste 592, Boynton Beach, FL 33426
(561) 600-1766
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