If you have never been involved in any kind of civil litigation before, the prospect of suing someone else over injuries you sustained in a car crash might understandably seem a little intimidating. However, if you have been severely hurt in a wreck that was not your fault, the at-fault party’s auto insurance may not be enough to cover all the losses this incident has already caused for you, let alone the losses it may continue to cause for you in the future.
In a situation like this, filing suit may be your best bet for protecting your own best interests. If you are going to pursue a car accident lawsuit, you should know at least a little about what kind of compensation you can expect to potentially receive through your claim. Here is a brief overview of recoverable damages after a Mesa car accident, which an auto accident lawyer from Phillips Law Group may be able to help factor into a lawsuit or settlement demand.
Economic Versus Non-Economic Forms of Harm
Recoverable damages in Mesa car accident claims and in all other types of personal injury litigation are sometimes referred to as “compensatory damages,” since the purpose of this sort of lawsuit is to compensate an injured person for specific forms of harm they will suffer due to someone else’s misconduct. There are two subcategories of compensatory damages that can be sought through a personal injury claim, both of which legal counsel can provide crucial help with identifying and assessing the financial value of.
Economic damages have objective financial values that can be established through quantitative evidence like bills and receipts, and typically center around things like:
- Medical bills not already covered by insurance, including expected costs of long-term rehabilitative care
- Expenses related to personal property damage not already covered by insurance, such as car repair costs and rental car fees
- Disability-related costs for things like home/vehicle modifications
- Lost work income, benefits, and/or future earning capacity
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, must be valued subjectively based on the injured person’s qualitative personal experiences, and typically center around various forms of physical and psychological pain and suffering.
Are There Damage Caps in Car Accident Claims?
Some states impose hard “caps,” or limits, on how much money an injured individual can demand through a personal injury claim for certain damages. Fortunately, Arizona is not one of those states, and there are no artificial restrictions on the value of recoverable damages after a car accident in Mesa.
Notably, Arizona state law also does not place any caps on the value of “punitive damages” awarded by courts to car accident victims. That said, these damages are meant specifically to punish defendants rather than compensate plaintiffs, and they are only awarded in rare situations involving extremely egregious negligence or intentionally malicious misconduct.
Learn More From a Mesa Attorney About Recoverable Damages After a Car Accident
Anyone who has been hurt in a high-speed auto accident knows that money alone can only do so much to erase the physical and psychological effects of that experience. With that said, proactively seeking civil recovery after a wreck can still be vital to preserving your overall quality of life not just now, but well into the future as well.
Maximizing recoverable damages after a Mesa car accident is just one of many things which the dependable car accident lawyers at Phillips Law Group can help you with during the legal process. Call today to learn more from a member of our team.
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