Truck accidents can be extremely devastating. They are often much more severe than regular car accidents due to the sheer size of trucks. A semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 lbs!
If you were involved in a truck accident that wasn’t your fault, you might be entitled to compensation for damages. What kinds of damages you can collect will depend on the nature of the losses you experienced.
There are three main types of damages you can experience due to a truck accident: economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Though it’s best to consult a truck accident lawyer who can help you maximize your personal injury claim, here’s a brief overview of the three types of truck accident damages you can expect to collect:
1. Economic damages
Economic damages (aka special damages) are those that you can put an actual dollar amount on. These include all of the following:
Medical expenses. The truck accident may have forced you to incur costs from doctor bills, hospital stays, prescription medications, physical therapy, surgeries, long-term care, and more. All of these are considered economic damages.
To prove them, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible after the accident. This helps you know the severity of your injuries and shows that they are serious enough to warrant treatment.
If you wait too long to seek medical treatment, the insurance company may try to argue that the injuries weren’t as serious as you claim or that part of the damage is your own fault since you failed to seek treatment sooner.
Lost wages. Your injuries may have caused you to miss work, and they may prevent you from going back to work at all. This could lead to a permanent loss in your earning potential and future wages, which you can be compensated for.
Property damage. The truck accident likely damaged or totaled your car. It may have also damaged other property, like electronics, jewelry, or glasses. You can receive damages for all of these.
Other damages you may collect include travel costs for doctor visits, legal fees, and home remodels to make your home disability-friendly.
Of course, you will need to provide evidence of all of these damages and calculate their value before you can expect to receive compensation for them. But a competent truck accident lawyer can help you do this.
2. Non-economic damages
Non-economic damages are handled much differently than economic damages because you cannot place a dollar amount on them. These are things like physical and emotional pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, physical and emotional scarring, mental anguish, and loss of a family member.
But even though it’s harder (or even impossible) to put a number on non-economic damages, you still deserve to be compensated for them.
3. Punitive damages
In some truck accident cases, you may also be able to collect punitive damages. This isn’t compensation for losses or damages to you. Rather it is a way of punishing the wrongdoer and discouraging future wrongdoing.
For example, if the truck driver showed willful misconduct by drinking and driving or by texting on their phone while driving, you could receive extra compensation. It’s one thing to cause a crash by complete accident and quite another to willfully put yourself and others in a dangerous situation.
The bottom line
At the end of the day, there are many types of damages you can collect as a victim of a truck accident. Now that you know what they are, you’re better equipped to maximize the final payout of your personal injury case.