Learn about the different types of damages you may qualify for after a car accident in Florida
After a car accident in Florida, the financial, physical, and emotional toll can be overwhelming, especially if you or a loved one has suffered catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. In these cases, securing full and fair compensation is essential to cover both your immediate expenses and long-term needs. From medical bills and lost wages to pain and suffering, the types of damages you may qualify for depend on the specifics of your case.
Accurately calculating damages is particularly critical in serious injury cases where there can be lifelong consequences. Future medical care, rehabilitation, lost earning capacity, and emotional distress must all be accounted for to ensure that you and your family are protected.
In this article, we’ll explain the different types of damages available after a car accident, including economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages, to help you understand what your claim is worth.
If you need help calculating the value of your claim, reach out to the experienced Tampa car accident attorneys at Lorenzo and Lorenzo for a free consultation.
What are economic damages?
Economic damages are those expenses and costs that are directly related to and are a result of the accident. The most common forms of compensatory economic damages include:
- Past and current medical expenses. All your medical costs incurred from the moment you’re injured will be part of your final compensation package. This includes costs for the ambulance, health care expenses, traveling to follow-up medical appointments, and over-the-counter prescriptions and supplies.
- Loss of current wages, benefits, and retirement contributions. Any work wages that you lost as a result of the accident should be included in your compensation package. This includes any employer contributions to your health care or retirement fund. Lost vacation days and other similar benefits may be included based on your employment contract.
- Home health care services and physical therapy. Home health care and physical therapy will be included as part of your economic losses. As an injury victim, you’re entitled to receive all of the medical care you need to help make a physical recovery—including home health aides if necessary.
- Property damage. Any damage done to your vehicle or your personal property that was contained within the car should also be included.
- Future medical expenses. If you have to undergo future medical procedures or require long-term care, your attorney can seek damages for future expenses as well.
- Future loss of wages, benefits, and retirement contributions. If your injuries cause you to change careers, take a lower-paying position, miss extensive days for medical care, or stop working altogether, your attorney should seek damages for future lost wages. Again, these will also include any benefit contributions that your employer makes.
- Cost of lost services. If you’re unable to provide services or do chores around your home that you normally do—such as mowing the lawn, repairing the car, cleaning the house, or running errands—your attorney can seek compensation for the current and future costs of having to pay someone to provide these services for you.
- Child care expenses. If you used to provide care for your children but are no longer able to because of your accident, your attorney may seek damages for your additional child care expenses.
Your personal injury attorney will work very closely with you to determine the extent of your economic losses. Economic losses will vary from case to case based on the extent of your injuries and what types of compensation apply. Your attorney will explain in detail what types of compensation you can seek under Florida law and help calculate the full value of your accident case.
Compensatory vs. Punitive Damages
Learn the difference between the two main types of damages in Florida personal injury cases, including when and why they’re awarded.
What are non-economic damages?
Non-economic damages are injuries or losses from the accident that aren’t related to direct out-of-pocket expenses. These compensatory non-economic damages include the following:
- Pain and suffering. This includes the physical pain that you endured at the time of the accident as well as throughout the recovery period and any potential lasting pain you may have to endure due to the crash. Every case will be very different in the amount awarded under this type of damage.
- Disfigurement. Disfigurement damages provide additional compensation for loss of limbs, loss of eyesight, loss of hearing, loss of fingers or toes, excessive scarring, and any similar type of bodily change that’s a result of the injury from the accident.
- Loss of consortium. Damages associated with loss of consortium are reserved for the spouse or children of a loved one killed in a fatal car accident. Close family members can seek compensation in a wrongful death case for losing their ability to interact with a deceased loved one. Your attorney can tell you if this type of compensation applies.
- Mental anguish. This is a very personal type of injury. Your attorney can seek compensation for the stress and anxiety the accident has caused. For some people, mental anguish claims may be even more severe if there are lasting problems caused by the accident, such as the onset of mental disorders like depression.
- Physical impairment. Your injury may have caused you to lose the ability to do certain things. Any type of restrictions you have with your body because of your accident injury is considered an impairment. Impairment compensation is based on the severity of the restriction, if there is potential for recovery, and how negatively the impairment will affect your future.
These types of losses are more challenging to prove, but they are real losses that must be taken seriously. Florida tried to set a strict cap on the amount of non-economic damages a plaintiff could recover, but it was ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in a June 2017 decision.
This means there is currently no limit on the amount of compensation you can receive in non-economic damages in Florida.
What are punitive damages?
Punitive damages are a type of financial penalty that’s used by the court system to punish the responsible party if gross negligence played a role in the accident. These types of damages are not awarded often.
However, if the person who caused your accident was driving under the influence or had a history of accidents caused by texting while driving or otherwise driving recklessly, your attorney may seek these damages on your behalf.
Florida limits punitive damages to 3 times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever amount is greater.
Our Tampa car accident attorneys can help you maximize your claim
If you or a loved one was recently involved in a Florida car accident, reach out to the knowledgeable Tampa personal injury attorneys at Lorenzo & Lorenzo. We offer free case evaluations where we can answer your questions, explain the process for filing a claim, and give you an estimate of how much your claim is worth.
Once we take your case, we can gather evidence to prove the other party’s liability and negotiate with their insurer to get you the full compensation you deserve. There is a time limit for filing a car accident claim in Florida, so the sooner you get started, the better.
