Types of Compensation After a Car Accident In Georgia

A car accident is traumatic and frightening, especially when it causes serious injuries to motorists. Many car accidents involve far more than just a dented car in a parking lot fender-bender. When a driver or passenger suffers injuries, the repercussions of the accident impact every aspect of their life, including their ability to earn a living and accomplish routine daily tasks. Some injuries end in lifelong disability. Experienced personal injury lawyers in Atlanta know that even less serious injuries may cause financial hardship for families with as little as a single emergency room bill and a few days of lost pay. Whether minor or extensive, the consequences of a car accident become the injury victim’s “damages” in a Georgia car accident claim.

Car Accident Compensation for Economic and Non-Economic Damages

Courts divide the damages from a car accident claim into economic and non-economic damages. A car accident injury victim has a right to file a claim against an at-fault driver’s insurance to provide compensation for both types of damages. 

Compensation for Economic Damages After a Georgia Car Accident

Economic damages are the tangible financial consequence of a car accident. They are easy to calculate by adding up totals from the following:

• Property damage costs to repair or replace a vehicle
• Medical expenses
• Future medical costs for any necessary further care related to the injury
• Lost wages
• Future income loss for further medical leave
• Diminished future earning capacity (the amount of earnings the injury victim will lose if they are permanently disabled from the accident)
• Out-of-pocket expenses such as travel costs for seeing a specialist
• Wrongful death compensation to the close family members of a decedent killed in a car accident

Compensation for Non-Economic Damages 

Non-economic damages in Georgia car accident claims are intangible and less easily calculated, but they are usually the worst aspect of the accident because of the personal effects on the injury victim’s quality of life. Non-economic damages include any or all of the following, depending on the circumstances of the accident:

• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement compensation
• Compensation for the loss of vision or hearing
• Compensation for loss of limb
• Compensation for emotional damages like PTSD, anxiety, or depression
• Compensation for loss of quality of life or loss of enjoyment of life
• Compensation for loss of consortium (a full physical and emotional relationship with another)
• Emotional grief and anguish for wrongful death in a car accident

An experienced Atlanta car accident attorney carefully calculates an injury victim’s economic and non-economic damages to obtain the largest possible settlement for their client or pursues the case in court if the insurance company disputes or undervalues the claim.

Punitive Damages in a Georgia Car Accident Claim

In a minority of cases, a jury could award punitive damages in a car accident case that’s litigated in court. Punitive damages aren’t meant as compensation for an injury victim even though the amount awarded is paid out to the victim. Punitive damages instead serve as a punishment to an at-fault driver for egregious wrongdoing, such as drunk driving or road rage that caused an accident. Punitive damages are also a deterrent for repeating egregious actions that cause injury to others.