Sustaining an injury in a car accident can be a traumatic experience. Common injuries include whiplash, broken bones, internal injuries, neck strains, and muscle sprains. Recovery from these injuries takes careful rehabilitation under the supervision of trained specialists or even extensive hospital stays.
The time it can take for you to heal from your injuries could be anywhere from a few weeks to several years. Some injuries can be permanent or even prove to be fatal.
An injury suffered as a result of a car accident should always be taken seriously. As always, you should seek immediate medical care, whether on site after the accident or at the hospital. It is recommended that you seek medical attention for your injury within 24 hours of the accident.
But getting the right medical care requires time and money. It is therefore important that you seek to secure damages, or monetary compensation, following a car accident. A skilled personal injury attorney will be able to assist you in this process.
Awarded damages are given to the injured party due to a variety of factors, including:
Lasting impacts on how your live your life
Psychological trauma
Physical injury
But what are the types of damages you can seek after you’ve been injured in a car accident? We’ll lay out some of the damages you could receive here in this blog post. If you have further questions, you can always reach out to us to set up a free consultation of your case.
Special, or economic, damages are damages that are concretely measurable, such as money lost from being unable to work, property damage, or medical expenses. These types of expenses have tangible value attached to them. Special damages are, generally speaking, easier to prove than noneconomic damages.
General, or noneconomic, damages are more difficult to quantify in the aftermath of a car accident. General damages can include pain and suffering, loss of companionship, disfigurement, loss of reputation, and loss of enjoyment of life. Due to the nature of many of these items, because they can be harder to measure, they can be harder to prove.
General damages always depend upon circumstances of both the accident and the injury, including the extent of medical treatment. It is therefore crucial that you seek a skilled personal injury attorney in this case. You should not have to miss out on receiving the compensation you deserve.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you may be entitled to seek both special and general damages to alleviate the circumstances of your difficult situation. We will discuss both general and special damage examples here:
If you are in a car accident, injuries may be as minor as a few cuts and bruises or as serious as a permanent disability like paralysis. Furthermore, some injuries may not produce symptoms at first or may need additional medical care down the road. It’s important to undergo a thorough medical examination immediately following a car accident if you believe you may have been injured.
Medical expenses incurred during this time can be paid for by seeking special damages. According to FindLaw.com, medical expenses arising from a car accident may include:
Physical therapy
Cognitive therapy (for brain injuries)
Fees for hospital transport via ambulance
Consultations with healthcare providers
Various medical accessories like wheelchairs or neck braces
Treatment for permanent disability like paralysis or traumatic brain injury
In-home services like nursing
Following an injury from a car accident, you might have to spend a lot of time at doctors’ offices, rehabilitation clinics, or even the hospital. These experiences could be very taxing physically due to pain and emotionally due to psychological trauma.
According to Cornell University Law School, “pain and suffering refers to the physical discomfort and emotional distress that are compensable as non-economic [general] damages. It refers to the pain, discomfort, anguish, inconvenience, and emotional trauma that accompanies an injury.” Being that pain and suffering is relative, this type of damage is considered noneconomic, because it is harder to quantify.
Pain and suffering is determined by examining the types of injuries sustained and the severity of these injuries. An experienced personal injury attorney will certainly help you determine what you are eligible for and the extent of monetary damages you may be entitled to receive.
According to New York University, a general type of damage that falls under the pain and suffering category is physical disfigurement. Many times in car accidents, the physical injuries leave lasting scars. These scars can have the ability to affect one’s mental wellbeing. In addition to lasting physical effects, there is lowered quality of life, which can also be long-lasting or even permanent.
The loss of wages can be devastating to those who have been injured in a car accident. In addition to vehicle damage, you might be injured to the extent that you are unable to work. If that is the case, you may end up losing income. This could put your housing in jeopardy, and it could affect being able to pay basic bills like utilities, insurance, groceries, and other general family expenses.
Seeking economic (or special) monetary damages will help make up for the wages lost during your recovery time. When seeking compensation for lost wages, the plaintiff must prove that the severity of their injuries has prevented them from earning the wages that they once earned.
A skilled personal injury lawyer can assist you in this process. The sooner you meet with a legal professional, the faster you can secure the compensation you need to get your life back on track.
Loss of Society and Companionship, also known as Loss of Consortium in the state of Georgia, is another type of monetary damage victims may seek following an injury in a car accident. It is essentially the deprivation of benefits a family member would otherwise have if the victim had not sustained an injury in the accident. In most cases, the spouse of the injured party would sue the defendant for damages such as these.
This type of monetary damage is considered general because there is no real monetary value that can be placed upon a loved one’s companionship.
Sustaining an injury in a car accident can be a traumatic and life-changing experience, one with a lasting effect on how you live your life. There could be major changes that you are forced to undergo as a result of an injury. The relationship you have with a loved one is no different. This is why accident victims are entitled to seek this type of compensation.
In this instance, not only does the plaintiff have to prove the extent of their injuries and the effect on their life, but the spouse must then also prove how the injury has affected theirs. According to FindLaw, the loss of consortium damages cannot be recovered if the plaintiff does not recover damages for their injuries.
There are several different types of damages a victim can receive following an injury in a car accident. These include general damages, which cover things like pain and suffering. General damages are harder to quantify because, many times, they extend into the realm of mental health and anguish.
The other major category of damages is special. This is largely tied to measurable monetary loss like loss of wages and medical expenses.
The aftermath of a car accident injury can be taxing, both physically and mentally. This is why car accident victims are eligible to receive the compensation they need to not only pay for existing, quantifiable expenses, but also for general mental anguish as a result of a major life change.
This time can be difficult, make no mistake. This is why we at Castan & Lecca do what we do. We take pride in leveraging our experience to secure the compensation you need and deserve after an accident.
Call us today for a free consultation of your case. We’d love to hear your story.
51 Lenox Pointe NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
4131 Steve Reynolds Blvd #102
Norcross, GA 30093
Dustin Thompson
Attorney
Dustin Thompson was raised in rural Camilla, Georgia. Dustin graduated from Georgia Southern University majoring in political science and history. After graduation, Dustin obtained a law degree from Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta. Before becoming a lawyer, Dustin worked a variety of jobs from a watermelon farm in Mitchell County to a policy think tank in Washington D.C. Dustin has practiced law almost exclusively in the workers’ compensation arena since 2014. For nearly a decade, he worked for a large defense firm in Georgia representing employers and insurers and gaining the invaluable experience and knowledge of how insurers defend claims. In 2023, Dustin joined the firm to use his expertise and litigation skills to help individuals who have been injured as a result of work accidents and third-party negligence. Dustin has been repeatedly recognized by Best Lawyers: “Ones to Watch” in the practice of workers’ compensation. Outside of work, Dustin enjoys traveling, hunting, and attending sporting events. He and his family are active in Buckhead Church.
MICHAEL BOESCHEN
Attorney
Michael Boeschen (Mike) was born in Wichita, KS and raised in Chattanooga, TN. Mike graduated from The McCallie School and went on to study history, Spanish, and Latin American Studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. After graduation, he went on to pursue a law degree from the University Of Georgia School Of Law. During law school, Mike participated in the Legal Aid Clinic, assisting in the defense of indigent criminal defendants. Mike has been licensed to practice law in Georgia since 2002 and his main practice area consists of representing injured workers as they navigate through the Georgia workers’ compensation system. Mike is also fluent in Spanish. In his spare time Mike enjoys following soccer, cooking, and spending time with his wife and two young daughters. Mike and his family are parishioners of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Sandy Springs, GA
CHRISTIAN PECONE
Attorney
ED DENKER
Attorney
ILIANA DOBREV
Attorney
KEN THAXTON
Attorney
ALEXANDER LECCA
Attorney
DANIEL CASTAN
Attorney
Dan Castan is a senior partner at Castan and Lecca, PC in Buckhead and represents injured workers before the State Board of Workers’ Compensation and plaintiffs in State and Superior Courts of Georgia for injuries suffered in accidents. Dan litigated one of the seminal claims securing the rights of undocumented workers to receive Workers’ Compensation benefits in the state of Georgia when injured in the case of Wet Walls, Inc. vs. Ledesma. Dan has successfully fought and settled multi million dollar cases. He was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey to immigrant parents from Cuba. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College and received his Juris Doctor from The Washington College of Law at The American University in Washington D.C. Dan was admitted to the Georgia Bar in November, 1993. He is an active member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Atlanta Bar Association and the Workers’ Compensation Section of the State Bar of Georgia. Dan is a founding member and Director of the Latino Victory Fund Georgia and serves on the Board of The Latin American Association. Dan has been dedicated to getting Latinos elected to local, state and Federal offices in Georgia. He has been a Big Brother through Big Brothers and Sisters of Metro Atlanta and a mentor through The Latin American Association’s mentor/mentee program. Dan is married with two children.
