Truck accidents can be among the most serious types of motor vehicle accidents, causing thousands of severe injuries and deaths every year. If you’ve been harmed by a commercial truck driver, you have the right to seek legal advocacy services to maximize your chances of securing compensation. One of the first questions you may have for your attorney is, “How much is my case worth?”
There’s no straightforward answer to this question. Every case involves unique factors and damages. Before your truck accident attorney can do a thorough assessment of the compensation you could receive, he’ll need access to all of the relevant records, including your medical records.
Types of compensation for truck accident cases
You may hear your attorney refer to “compensatory damages,” “pain and suffering damages,” or “punitive damages.” These are all types of compensation that may be available to you in a truck accident case. Some damages are called economic compensatory damages. These are easy to calculate, since they are losses that already have a fixed monetary value. They include:
- Past, present, and future medical expenses: These damages pay for all of your accident-related medical costs, including hospitalization, surgery, pharmaceuticals, physical therapy, and durable medical equipment.
- Lost wages: You can receive compensation for the wages you lost because you couldn’t work while recovering from your injuries.
- Loss of earning capacity: If you’re disabled and unable to work, you can receive compensation for the money you would have expected to earn.
- Property loss: You can receive compensation for the damage or total loss of your vehicle, as well as personal possessions inside the vehicle.
Other types of damages stemming from a truck accident case are non-economic in nature. That is, they don’t have a set monetary value assigned to them. Non-economic damages include:
- Past, present, and future pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
Punitive damages are different. They are intended to punish the defendant for particularly egregious behavior.
Calculating the value of your truck accident case
It can be tricky to calculate the value of non-economic damages like pain and suffering. When deciding how much to seek in a lawsuit, the personal injury lawyer may consider the extent to which the accident and its resultant injuries affect your daily activities and quality of life. An attorney can consider the following factors:
- Has the accident resulted in permanent disability?
- Has the accident resulted in psychological injuries?
- Will you require ongoing medical treatment or additional surgeries?
- Have you been permanently scarred or disfigured?
- How has the accident affected your family?
- Have you been unable to care for your children?
- Are you experiencing severe or chronic pain?
The more severe the consequences of the accident are, the higher the compensatory damages.
Seek damages for your truck accident case in Louisiana
A serious truck accident can turn your life upside down. But you shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s mistakes. Louisiana truck accident attorney Bart Bernard is known for effective legal advocacy services that can help you maximize your chances of securing compensation for your losses. Bart Bernard is accepting new clients in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and throughout Louisiana. Call today to request your complimentary case consultation.
Additional resources about truck accident cases
- Center for Justice and Democracy, Fact Sheet: Understanding Non-Economic Damages, https://centerjd.org/content/fact-sheet-understanding-non-economic-damages
- American Bar Association, Personal Injury, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/negligence.html
