According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV), more than 30,000 truck collisions occur annually in the Sunshine State. If you were involved in one recently, you know what a colossal toll they may take. Discuss your crash with a truck accident lawyer soon to identify your potential legal options.
If your attorney successfully proves negligence on the part of a truck driver, a trucking company, or another party, you might qualify to collect compensation at the conclusion of a lawsuit. You may use this financial award to cover all your accident-related expenses, including medical bills and auto repair costs.
Before beginning the personal injury lawsuit process, understand which types of damages you can recover after your accident. Check them out below.
Start by Seeking To Recover Economic Damages
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that the average truck crash involving injuries costs around $200,000. This is probably easy for you to believe based on the bills you may have already received following your crash.
When you first start trying to collect compensation in the aftermath of your accident, seek to recover economic damages. These refer to the monetary losses you’ve experienced since your crash and are usually easy to calculate.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Property damage repairs
- Transportation costs
Any tangible losses you sustained following an accident will fall into this category.
Look Into Recovering Non-Economic Damages
After calculating your economic damages, set your sights on doing the same with non-economic ones. Calculating them won’t be as simple, so you may need to rely on a trusted truck accident lawyer for help.
Non-economic damages are more subjective losses you experienced due to a crash and aren’t based on financial losses. Examples include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Lost earning capacity
- Loss of enjoyment of life
There is no definitive formula for calculating non-economic damages. However, a few methods, such as the multiplier or per diem method, will come in handy when attempting to calculate them at the beginning of your case. They often involve multiplying your economic damages by a number assigned to the severity of your accident injuries or the total amount of time these injuries have affected you.
Consider Asking for Punitive Damages
Do you suspect the defendant in your lawsuit intentionally hit you or demonstrated gross negligence during your crash? If so, talk to your truck accident lawyer about trying to recover punitive damages.
These differ from economic and non-economic damages in that they are not designed to award you compensation. Instead, they’re used to punish defendants for their intentional or grossly negligent actions.
Your attorney will perform a liability determination while creating a case and assist you in seeking punitive damages if you qualify. Florida has established high standards for them, but you may still want to pursue them, especially if a defendant’s egregious behavior led to you suffering catastrophic injuries.
Speak With a Dedicated Truck Accident Lawyer About Your Case
Economic, non-economic, and punitive damages are all available to personal injury plaintiffs in Florida. You and your truck accident lawyer should sit down and discuss which types of compensation you may seek in your case based on the evidence you’ve put together.
An attorney from Warner & Fitzmartin, PLLC, will offer the legal guidance you need as you take legal action against a driver, a trucking company, or another party responsible for your crash. Contact us at (561) 803-0167 for more information on how our legal services will help during an upcoming personal injury case.