Skip to content
Bernstein & Maryanoff logo

Broward County

(954) 222-3333

Miami-Dade

(305) 222-3333

Call now for a free consultation

1 (800) 429-4529

  • Home
  • Practice AreasExpand
    • Car AccidentsExpand
      • Drunk Driving Accidents
      • Hit and Run Accidents
      • Self-Driving Cars
      • Dog Bite Lawyers
      • Medical Malpractice
      • Traumatic Brain Injures
      • Motorcycle Accidents
      • Slip and Fall
      • Workers Compensation
      • All Practice Areas
    • Trusted since 1983

      Consultation is free.
      No hourly fees, No upfront expenses.
      Only pay when we win.
  • Firm ProfileExpand
    • Firm Overview
    • Testimonials
    • Past Verdicts
    • Media
  • Attorney ProfilesExpand
    • Jack G. Bernstein, Esq.
    • Neil I. Maryanoff Esq.
    • Manny Arce, Esq.
    • Justin M. Cramer, Esq.
    • Jacob D. Maldonado Jr.
    • Brian D. Glatzer, Esq.
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Hablamos Español
Bernstein & Maryanoff logo
Call us!

Consultations are FREE

Home / Car Accidents / Compensation For Car Accident Injury Claims
Car Accidents

Compensation For Car Accident Injury Claims

December 29, 2017April 5, 2023

Woman with injured leg

Generally, an individual injured in an automobile accident may bring a claim or lawsuit to recover the actual expenses associated with property damage and medical costs, economic damages, and emotional and physical pain and suffering. Litigation involving motor vehicle accidents can be extremely complicated. Retaining an experienced Miami car accident lawyer familiar with car accident damages will place you in the best position to receive the recovery that you deserve.

What Damages Can I Recover from a Car Accident Injury?

In car accident cases, the injured party may recover damages for:

  • physical pain and suffering
  • mental pain and suffering
  • medical and rehabilitative expenses
  • past and future lost income
  • permanent impairment and disfigurement

Typical damages may also include future medical bills that are reasonably certain, loss of enjoyment of life, and physical property damage. A previous injury does not necessarily affect the right to recover compensation. The injured party may still recover damages for re-injuring or aggravating the earlier injury. In order to document the damages, a person injured in an accident should keep a daily diary describing how the injury affects him or her and his or her immediate family.

Family Member’s Damages

The spouse of the accident victim may also be able to recover for damage to the marital relationship. Both the husband and wife usually bring the claim, which is known as “loss of consortium.”

Loss of consortium generally refers to any negative effect on the marital relationship caused by the accident, and includes loss of the spouse’s love, companionship, comfort, affection, solace, moral support, sexual relations, ability to have children, and physical assistance in the operating and maintaining a home. Loss of consortium can be either temporary or permanent.

Insurance

Typically, an insurance policy will cover the victim’s damages. If the other driver has insufficient insurance or is not insured at all, the victim may be entitled to compensation from his or her own insurance company under an “uninsured” or “underinsured motorist” provision.

How Much Money Can I Expect to Receive for my Car Accident Settlement Claim?

The value of an automobile accident case depends on a number of factors, including how the particular state looks at fault, how easily the other party’s fault can be established, the type and seriousness of the injuries, the type of medical treatment required, and the amount of insurance coverage available. Other relevant factors may include how the accident happened, the extent of vehicle damage involved, whether the injuries are permanent or involve significant scarring, the amount of your past and expected future medical bills, and the effect of the accident on your income. Every personal injury case is different. Therefore, the assistance of an attorney experienced in handling automobile accident cases, is vital to determine the fair value of your personal injury claim.

Pain And Suffering

Quantifying Pain

Clearly, no one can plug an amount of pain into an equation and come up with a dollar figure in regards to how much someone’s pain is worth. However, duration of pain can be quantified to an extent, particularly if someone will endure some degree of pain for the rest of his or her life. Pain is a sensation that can only be experienced by the person who lives inside the body that has been harmed, and courts all over the United States have allowed for these damages to be awarded simply to compensate deserving plaintiffs with some form of monetary award designed to help them deal with and fight against the pain they feel and are suffering from because of the negligence of someone else.

Explaining Suffering

Suffering is another experience that generally cannot be quantified. However, anyone who has been harmed by a negligent driver in a Florida car accident will undoubtedly be dealing with a lower quality of life than what he or she enjoyed before the accident occurred. Suffering describes and attempts to put into legal terms the reality that someone can no longer do certain things, experience certain things or enjoy certain things as much as they did before they were wrongfully harmed.

What Damages Can I Recover From my Car Accident Claim?

Hospital Stays

While costs between hospitals can vary and sometimes vary widely, the average cost of a hospital stay generally comes in at approximately $3,000 per day. Therefore, if someone is injured badly enough to require a hospital stay of one week, it will lead to a total cost of more than $20,000. While some people with health insurance will have some of these costs covered, most policies do not cover every dime of those costs.

Surgery Costs

People who are injured in Florida car accidents can be in need of any number of different surgeries ranging from repairing and setting broken bones to back surgery to neurosurgery for brain injuries. Once again, no two surgical costs are exactly alike, but knee surgeries can cost upwards of $20,000 and brain surgeries can cost anywhere between $50,000 and $250,000, depending on the complexity of the procedure needed.

Lost Income

People who are injured badly enough in Florida car accidents that they will miss work or even have to move into a different vocation altogether stand to lose a high amount of income, and this can be a loss that never stops hurting the person who has been harmed. If someone was earning $60,000 and is unable to work for three months, that equals $15,000 in lost earnings that will not be available to pay the simple monthly bills that are part of everyone’s life.

Related Articles:

  • 10 Common Car Accident Injuries
  • Preparing Your Auto Accident Case
  • What To Do If You Are Injured in a Car Accident

About the Author

Jack G. Bernstein, ESQ.

Jack G. Bernstein, ESQ.

Jack Bernstein is a hard-working and highly motivated personal injury attorney in Miami, Florida with over three decades of experience. He is a strategist and idea person, with a genuine passion for helping his firm’s clients. If you’ve been injured, contact Jack Bernstein today for a free evaluation of your case.

Post navigation

Previous Previous
How Big is the Elder Abuse Problem?
NextContinue
Negligent Driving in Car Accident Cases

Results You Can Trust

Free Case Review

NO FEES UNLESS WE WIN

    15055 SW 122nd Ave
    Miami, Florida 33186

    •  VIEW MAP & DIRECTIONS
    •  CONTACT

    Call Us Anytime
    No Fees Unless We Win

    Toll Free
    1 (800) 429-4529

    Broward County
    (954) 222-3333

    Miami-Dade
    (305) 222-3333

    Car Accidents
    Truck Accidents
    Motorcycle Accidents
    Drunk Driving Accidents
    Bicycle Accidents
    Boating Accidents
    Taxi Cab Accidents
    Traumatic Brain Injuries
    Wrongful Death

    Slip and Fall Injuries
    Nursing Home Abuse
    Crime Victims
    Dog Bites
    Sexual Assault
    Swimming Pool Accidents
    Medical Malpractice
    Negligent Security
    Workers’ Comp

    Legal Disclaimer

    This webpage is not intended to be an advertisement or solicitation. Hiring a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements. Material contained in our website is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice or solicitation of legal services.

    Transmission of information from this site is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between Bernstein & Marynoff and the user of this site. In the event that any information on this website does not conform fully with regulations in any jurisdiction, this law firm will not accept representation based on that information.

    • Contact Us
    • Firm Overview
    • Past Veredicts
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    © 2023 Bernstein & Maryanoff

    • Home
    • Practice Areas
      • Car Accidents
        • Drunk Driving Accidents
        • Hit and Run Accidents
        • Self-Driving Cars
        • Dog Bite Lawyers
        • Medical Malpractice
        • Traumatic Brain Injures
        • Motorcycle Accidents
        • Slip and Fall
        • Workers Compensation
        • All Practice Areas
      • Trusted since 1983

        Consultation is free.
        No hourly fees, No upfront expenses.
        Only pay when we win.
    • Firm Profile
      • Firm Overview
      • Testimonials
      • Past Verdicts
      • Media
    • Attorney Profiles
      • Jack G. Bernstein, Esq.
      • Neil I. Maryanoff Esq.
      • Manny Arce, Esq.
      • Justin M. Cramer, Esq.
      • Jacob D. Maldonado Jr.
      • Brian D. Glatzer, Esq.
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Hablamos Español