The Costs Of A Florida Car Accident

While most people know that car accidents can be life-changing events, many don’t realize the many direct and indirect ways that a car crash can change a person’s life. There are, for instance, a lot of hidden costs that come to victims of car accidents. By gaining a better understanding of the known and unexpected consequences of a car accident, injured parties can more easily work with an attorney to help protect their rights.

Direct Costs

The most obvious car accident costs are the direct costs experienced by the victim. These include:

• Medical bills, including the cost of emergency treatment and follow-up care, diagnostic tests, evaluations, surgeries, medications, and assistive devices; and
• Property damage costs, including the expense of repairing damage to a vehicle, damage which could also lower the value of the vehicle or result in problems down the road.

Some of these costs are both immediate and last indefinitely. Medical bills, for instance, could lessen or worsen over time. A person may require physical therapy or need to make permanent modifications to his or her home or vehicle to accommodate new physical challenges. A vehicle, although repaired, could still have problems that require repair later on, or even necessitate the outright replacement of the vehicle. These costs can quickly become overwhelming for accident victims.

Indirect Costs

Besides the direct costs experienced by victims after a car accident, some people also incur indirect costs. These costs don’t relate directly to the collision, but are still an eventual result of the collision. This includes:

• Lost wages from the time that the injured party was unable to work while rehabilitating from his or her injuries;
• Career interruptions, which can occur if a person’s injuries result in disability and he or she is unable to fulfill the same responsibilities as before the accident; and
• Rising insurance premiums, which can go up even if someone wasn’t the main cause of an accident.

While indirect costs can be a bit more difficult to recover after an accident, doing so is still possible, so if you were hurt in a car crash and were unable to work while you recovered, consider reaching out to an experienced lawyer for help calculating your direct and indirect costs.

Costs to Other People

Besides the direct and indirect costs experienced by a car accident victim, a crash can also have costs for other people. Family and friends, for instance, may have to adjust their lives after an accident in order to provide help to an injured relative. This may involve taking time off from work, providing services, like help around the house while the victim recovers, or transporting the injured party to and from appointments. These adjustments can result not only in time away from work, but also out-of-pocket expenses.

A Car Accident Lawyer Can Help

Accident victims who were injured because of someone else’s negligence deserve fair compensation for their losses. For help making sure that you get fair compensation for both direct and hidden accident-related costs, call Goldman Law, P.A. and set up a meeting with dedicated Altamonte Springs car accident lawyer Sarah Goldman Geise today.

Sources:

floridabar.org/rules/florida-standard-jury-instructions/civil-jury-instructions/civil-instructions/#500

injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/costs/guide-to-calculating-costs/data-details/