Types of Car and Truck Accident Damages You Should Claim in Florida
Accidents happen, and the wreckage can be daunting for everyone involved. The aftermath of a car accident can be especially daunting, especially when liability and fault is not clear cut. We have previously discussed how to navigate the intricacies of car and truck accident settlements. However, before getting to any settlement discussions, fault must be legally established in order to determine the value and extent of damages that you may be awarded.
In this post, we will discuss the types of damages you can claim, if you or a loved one were involved in a car or truck accident in Florida.
The Difference Between Punitive and Compensatory Damages in Car and Truck Accidents
When involved in a car or truck accident, the type of damages you may claim plays a crucial role in your potential financial recovery. Damages are typically categorized into compensatory and punitive damages. Understanding the various damages that are part of your claim is essential for properly navigating legal claims, properly documenting your injury claim and for securing maximum compensation for your claim.
Compensatory Damages
What Are Compensatory Damages?
Compensatory damages reimburse the injured party for the losses and expenses incurred resulting from the accident. They are designed to make the victim "whole" again, to the extent money can do so. These damages cover both economic losses and non-economic losses.
Types of Compensatory Damages
1. Economic Damages: These are quantifiable monetary losses resulting from the accident, including:
Medical Expenses: This includes the costs for hospital stays, therapy, diagnostic imaging, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and future medical care required because of the accident.
Lost Wages: Compensation for income lost due to the inability to work while recovering from injuries sustained in an accident.
Property Damage: Costs for repairing or replacing the damaged vehicle and any other personal property, and out-of-pocket costs incurred.
Rehabilitation Costs: These are medical expenses related to physical and occupational therapy required for recovery.
2. Non-Economic Damages: These cover non-monetary losses that are more subjective and harder to quantify, including:
Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical pain and emotional distress caused by the accident.
Emotional Distress: Psychological impact, such as anxiety, depression, or trauma resulting from the accident.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for the diminished ability to enjoy day-to-day activities and hobbies.
Loss of Consortium: Damages awarded to the spouse or family members of the injured party for loss of companionship and support.
Purpose of Compensatory Damages
The primary purpose of compensatory damages is to restore the victim, at best, to their pre-accident financial and emotional state. Compensatory damages aim to cover all the tangible and intangible costs resulting from the accident.
Punitive Damages
What Are Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages, unlike compensatory damages, are not solely intended to compensate the victim. Instead, punitive damages are designed to punish the at-fault party for particularly egregious, reckless, or intentional conduct, and to deter similar outrageous conduct in the future.
When Are Punitive Damages Awarded?
Punitive damages are limited to extreme situations and are awarded on a small percentage of cases. Punitive damages are generally reserved for situations where the at-fault party's conduct was:
Grossly negligent: This means that the at fault party demonstrated a severe lack of care or extreme recklessness, such as excessive speeding, texting while driving, driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol, or blatant disregard for traffic laws.
Intentional misconduct: Deliberate actions intended to cause harm, including road rage incidents.
Malicious Conduct: The at fault party’s conduct demonstrates a willful and malicious intent to harm others, or disregard for the safety of others.
Legal Requirements for Punitive Damages
To be awarded punitive damages, the plaintiff must typically prove:
That the other party's actions were more than just mere negligence, reaching the level of gross negligence, or extreme reckless conduct, with actual clear and convincing evidence provided; and,
That the behavior was sufficiently harmful to warrant additional punishment, apart from the award of compensatory damages.
Purpose of Punitive Damages
The goal of punitive damages awards are two-fold:
1. Punishment: To impose a financial penalty on the defendant for their extreme and wrongful conduct.
2. Deterrence: To discourage the defendant and others from engaging in similar behavior in the future.
Understanding the difference between compensatory and punitive damages is crucial for pursuing the appropriate legal recourse. Compensatory damages aim to cover all losses related to the accident and aim to restore the victim to the condition the victim was in prior to the accident, while punitive damages seek to punish and deter particularly harmful behavior or conduct.
No-Fault Florida
Florida, with its unique no-fault insurance laws, presents specific challenges to auto accident victims. To best navigate Florida’s no fault insurance system, your best course of action is to contact an attorney to protect your legal rights.
The Florida No-Fault Motor Vehicle Law requires drivers to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, as part of their required auto insurance; No-Fault coverage pays the injured party’s medical bills, regardless of fault, up to the limit of the insurance (pip coverage limits are $10,000).
For example, after an accident, one’s No-Fault coverage pays the initial $10,000 towards medical bills incurred due to the accident. Personal Injury Protection pays up to 80% of medical bills incurred, 60% of lost wages incurred, and/or 100% of replacement services costs (any service needed because of a loss of ability caused by the accident).
PIP is distinct from liability insurance, and PIP coverage benefits the injured party only for initial medical expenses or lost wages incurred. Pip coverage follows the individual around the state of Florida, whether driving an owned, borrowed, or rented vehicle. Specific limitations to pip coverage or exclusions to PIP coverage depend on the policy language, interpretation of existing statutes and the unique facts and circumstances of your claim.
Why Consulting an Attorney is Crucial When Filing a Claim Following a Motor Vehicle or Truck Accident
Claiming the right types of damages after a car or truck accident in Florida can significantly impact your potential recovery and your financial stability following an accident. Understanding the types of damages you can claim, the necessary legal steps, and the relevant statutes will help you effectively navigate the claims process. Always consult with a qualified attorney to ensure you receive maximum potential compensation under Florida law.
Attorneys have an in-depth understanding of state-specific laws and relevant regulations. For example, the no-fault insurance system and comparative negligence rules are complex and nuanced. An attorney can clearly explain relevant laws, preserve important evidence, help you properly document your injuries and damages, and ensure that you timely and properly comply with legal and time specific requirements that may affect the outcome of your claim.
Manage Insurance Companies
Insurance companies often aim to minimize potential payouts following an accident. An experienced attorney effectively communicates with insurance adjusters to negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf. They can effectively fight insurance company strategies and legal defenses that insurance companies utilize to undervalue, or even deny claims.
Assess Claim Viability
An experienced attorney can help you accurately assess the full extent of your legal damages, ensuring no potential compensation is ignored. Legal damages may include past and future medical expenses, rehabilitation, and long-term medical care needs. Past wage loss and potential loss of future earnings are also claimed, if your ability to work was and/or will be affected in the future. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life are other damages often associated with your injury claim.
Access to Experts and Claim Work-Up
Having worked with multiple experts, an attorney’s network includes medical professionals and accident reconstruction specialists who provide competent expert testimony and detailed reports to help strengthen your overall case. Other experts can also accurately document both the economic and non-economic damages that are part of your claim.
Moreover, proving liability in an accident can be challenging and is often contested by the parties. Working with an attorney means getting crucial assistance with gathering and preserving crucial evidence, such as witness statements, traffic camera footage/surveillance footage, photographs of the accident scene, and crucial vehicle data. In complex cases, attorneys often utilize accident reconstruction experts to recreate the incident and to help establish fault.
Legal Representation
In cases of disputed liability or severe bodily injury, having an attorney is vital in building a strong case against the appropriate parties. In the event litigation is required, attorneys are necessary to obtain a fair and final resolution to your claim.
Consulting an attorney after a motor vehicle or truck accident is essential for navigating the legal complexities, accurately assessing damages, proving liability, maximizing potential compensation, and reducing your overall personal stress. Their expertise and support can make a significant difference in the outcome of your injury claim, ensuring you receive the maximum potential compensation available. If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident, seeking legal advice promptly can protect your rights, and help you achieve a fair resolution to your claim.
By taking prompt initiative and staying informed, you can help ensure your legal rights are protected and obtain the necessary support to recover from a car or truck accident.
If you have been injured in a car or truck accident, you may have a claim against the driver of the other vehicles involved, and any other negligent party involved in the collision.
Call or Text the Daniel Sagiv Law Group, at 561-569-1387.
