Damages After a Las Vegas Car Accident
Seeking damages after a Las Vegas car accident means seeking recovery for medical expenses, loss of income, and pain and suffering. Punitive damages are only available in DUI cases amongst a handful of others. An injured person can usually recover medical expenses such as:
- Chiropractor treatment,
- Physical therapy,
- MRIs,
- X-rays,
- Lastly, specialists for pain management.
They can recover for any loss of income they can establish through their employer.
When self-employed, they can recover income if they can show that their income was X over a certain period of time, and now it’s X minus Y. They can also recover for pain and suffering. If you are seeking damages for any injuries you have sustained due to another’s negligence, speak with a distinguished car accident attorney about your case.
Economic vs. Non-Economic Damages
Economic damages after a Las Vegas car accident refer to damages that are verifiable monetary losses. These include the past and future medical expenses, loss of past and future earnings, cost of repair or replacement, and loss of employment. Experts help calculate those damages when a permanently impaired victim.
Examples of non-economic damages are compensation for non-monetary losses such as pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. It is difficult to put a number on noneconomic damages because there are so many variables.
Role of Insurance Companies
The amount of recoverable damages after a Las Vegas car accident a person can acquire depends on the person’s policy limit. It can cover the economic damages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. Part of someone’s recovery is not covered if they have significant injuries and economic damages with a small policy limit.
If someone has a low policy limit of $15,000 and they have $10,000 in medical bills and $5,000 in loss of income, there is no room for pain and suffering. They can recover the $15,000 most of the time unless there are issues as to causation of the accident. If they think the injured person is at fault, they get up to $15,000 and damages such as pain and suffering and loss of income can reduce.
Sometimes the most serious accidents involve small policies. Othertimes people with minor injuries have millions of dollars available but thankfully no injuries to justify payment. Unfortunately, too many times people have to bury family members and there is no money.
Damages for the Uninsured
If someone that does not have coverage gets hit, the injured person can apply their uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage towards damages after a Las Vegas car accident if they have that policy. Underinsured motorist insurance kicks in if the other person’s insurance is insufficient to cover the extent of their injuries. The injured receives additional money so they can be made whole. Having the state mandatory minimum policy of $15,000 means they have sufficient property damage coverage to fix their vehicle.