Florida Car Accident Lawyer Blog
After a traffic accident one of the benefits of working with a Florida car accident lawyer at Flaxman Law Group is that you can get an accurate picture of how much your claim may be worth. Valuating your car crash accurately helps you understand how much compensation you need for your injuries. Knowing how much you can expect to pay can also help you evaluate insurance offers and settlement offers.
Many things go into calculating the value of your traffic collision:
Property Damage
You’ll need to consider damage to your vehicle, including whether your vehicle needs to be replaced entirely or can be repaired. In addition, you’ll want to calculate how much additional property damage you have sustained. For example, if you had valuables such as a camera, phone, laptop, or other electronics in the car, these may need to be replaced or repaired.
You may also need to repair or replace clothing, jewelry, and other personal items. Even replacing eyeglasses can be expensive and you’ll want to include the cost as you consider your claim.
Medical Care
Medical care is often a large portion of a car accident claim. A simple trip to the hospital can cost tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in emergency medical care, medical imaging, treatment, and more. In addition, you may need follow up treatment, visits to specialists, medication, medical devices, and other expenses.
Even if you have medical coverage, a devastating injury such as a serious spinal cord injury or brain injury can end up costing millions of dollars over a lifetime.
Lost Income
Consider how much time you have lost at work and multiply that by your hourly or daily rate. Subtract any benefits you may have received which help you defray the loss.
Incidental Costs
Many people underestimate the small, incidental costs which can happen after a car accident. You may need to pay for a rental car, taxis to get around while your car is in the shop, and more. You may need to pay for child care, home care, or cleaning services because you can’t easily get around if you’re injured. You may even need to make changes to your home or car to accommodate an injury. For example, you may need to install grab bars in the bedroom so you can easily get in and out of bed. All these costs can add up and you may be able to seek compensation for these expenses.
Future Medical Care
When calculating your expenses, consider additional medical costs. In the future, will you need to replace a prosthesis regularly? This will end up being a permanent, regular expense. If you have sustained a permanent injury, you may need to pay for medicine as part of pain management. Even rehabilitation expenses can add up over weeks and months.
Future Additional Costs
As you consider long-term medical costs, also consider other long term care costs. If you are permanently injured, you may always need some extra help around the house, for example. You may need to continually take time off of work to get follow up medical care or to attend doctor’s appointments. Make sure you consider these when evaluating how much your potential claim may be worth.
Why Talking to an Attorney Makes a Difference
An experienced car accident claims attorney has worked with hundreds or even thousands of car accident survivors in South Florida. This person knows how much different claims are worth because they know the value of medical care in the local community and they know the range that each type of injury costs.
The legal team at Flaxman Law Group, for example, have more than 60 years of combined experience. We have worked with thousands of people in Miami, Homestead, Hollywood, and surrounding communities who have been injured in car accidents and other incidents, and we have recovered over $100 million for these people in settlements and court wins. To find out how much your case may be worth, don’t hesitate to call Flaxman Law Group at 866-352-9626 to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation.