An Ohio car accident is unpredictable. Accidents are a frequent occurrence in Ohio and many other American states. For example, Ohio recorded 55,354 investigated crashes in 2020. These included fatal collisions and accidents involving minor or severe injuries. These statistics from the Ohio Highway Patrol even record accidents involving only property damage. Fortunately, Ohio car accident lawyers help crash victims get compensation.
Since Ohio is a fault accident state, the at-fault driver bears the losses of the crash. However, you must first assess the recoverable damages from the collision. Hiring an attorney is thus crucial. If you don’t engage one, you may not get the maximum compensation for your losses.
How To Assess Damages in an Ohio Car Accident
The statistics above show the direct losses from a car crash. Therefore, your attorney can get compensation under these headings. Below, we analyze these recoverable damages.
Medical Expenses
Medical bills are a major consequence of Ohio car accidents. This is because victims escape with severe or minor collisions. For example, in 2020, there were 1,853 accidents suspected to have caused severe injuries. In addition, 9,455 collisions were also suspected of having caused minor wounds. This means that thousands of people have to seek medical aid after car crashes.
Consequently, they’ll have to pay medical bills for their treatment. Their money will count from the point of diagnosis to hospitalization and treatment. This treatment will also involve prescription or non-prescription medication. Whatever the case, you can always get back this sum from the fault driver. You just have to prove that they caused the injuries. Then, you must then establish the exact amount of your medical bills. This is where your medical records and hospital receipts come in.
Future Medical Bills
In some cases, a car accident victim may require medical attention in the future. Fortunately, they don’t have to pay this sum out-of-pocket. Instead, the fault party also bears the cost. Calculating this sum is challenging, though. So, the court will have to consider factors like:
- What type of medical procedure they’ll require,
- How long the treatment will last, and
- The present cost of the treatment
After considering these factors, the court will now award a definite sum.
Lost Wages
People treating minor or major health conditions often cannot keep up with work. So, they may have to stay home for some days. Since the crash wasn’t work-related, they won’t be eligible for workers’ compensation. This means that they may lose their wages within that period. Fortunately, the court merely just calculates the sum they would have earned but for the accident. Then, it orders the fault driver to pay the amount.
Lost Earning Capacity
An accident’s impact on your work can extend beyond the immediate aftermath. Instead, it can affect your ability to work again. This is usually the case where the fault party was disabled. The victim may also lose their capacity to work in a particular profession. So, the court will have to assess how much the collision affected your earning capacity. An expert will have to measure the:
- Nature of your employment
- Your qualification and level in the job
- Your chances of promotion and increased pay
- Opportunities for development in the field
- Your age and how long you have left to work
The court will then calculate how much you would have earned but for the collision.
Property Damage
There were 39,288 accidents involving property damage in Ohio in 2020. Property damage in accidents can lead to the destruction or loss of the property. Of course, these will only be personal properties such as mobile devices and watches. So, compensation will cover the cost of repairing or replacing the lost property. Under this heading, you can also get compensation for the damage to your vehicle.
Pain and Suffering
Pain refers to the physical pain flowing from the crash. Conversely, suffering refers to the emotional suffering and distress you have to endure because of the accident. This is a non-economic loss. So, the courts and insurance companies use several methods to allocate dollar amounts to these losses. For example, they can assign a dollar amount to your daily pain. They can also multiply your financial damages with a number from 1-5.
Let the Best Ohio Car Accident Lawyers Get You the Compensation You Deserve!
Have you survived an Ohio car accident? If you have, then you can recover compensation from the fault party. First, however, you’ll have to assess the amount of damages you deserve. This is where our excellent Ohio car accident lawyers come in. Our attorneys can accurately calculate how much you have lost. In addition, we can get this money for you. So, you can call us today for a FREE consultation.
