Chances are you or someone you know has gotten into a car accident by the negligence of another driver at least once in your life. What you or that someone you know understands about what can be compensated for may be unclear. Let’s briefly explore and simplify an area of compensation that can sometimes get confusing – Economic Damages.

Economic damages, synonymous with the term special damages, is the legal term used to describe the out-of-pocket expenses suffered by the injured party as a result of an accident. This can be calculated by adding up all the injured party’s quantifiable financial losses.

Economic damages may include:

·     Property Loss:

- Repair of your vehicle

- Replacing your vehicle

- Repairing or replacing personal property inside the vehicle at the time of the accident

- Rental car expenses

·     Lost Wages

- Income you would have earned from work

- Tips

- Bonuses

·     Medical Expenses

- Ambulance/Emergency medical treatment

- Hospital visits

- X-rays/MRIs- Chiropractic treatment- Lab work

- Medications

·     Lost Earning Capacity

- Future work-related income which is lost due to the accident

- Lost earning capacity differs from lost wages in that lost income is the income lost due to time off for your injuries and treatment, while loss of earning capacity results when your injuries are so severe that they impair your ability to earn a living in the future.

If you’ve been involved in an accident or would like to get more information about economic damages, please contact us now at (510) 340-4LAW.