If you get hurt in a car crash, the expenses you incur might last for years or the rest of your life. You need to look at those financial implications carefully when evaluating a settlement offer from the other driver’s insurance company.
You probably know that you should receive reimbursement for lost wages, medical expenses and the cost to repair or replace your vehicle. However, there are other expenses that may greatly increase the lifetime losses that you suffer after a serious injury in a crash.
What are some of those lesser-known but significant economic losses associated with car crash injuries?
Lost workplace benefits
Your paycheck isn’t the only thing you lose if you can’t continue working because you get hurt. You will also lose out on future advancement opportunities that may have increased your income, as well as the benefits your employer offers. Calculating what you may have earned in the future can be difficult, but it could help you make a more reasonable claim.
Benefits can also be hard to calculate, but many experts estimate that they amount to roughly 30% of your salary annually. If your employer provides or subsidizes medical coverage for you and your dependents, replacing that coverage could also be a major expense to consider.
Lost services around the house
If you can’t work a job because of your injuries, then the work you can do around your home will likely change as well. Your family members may have to take on more responsibilities because of your new limitations. In some cases, they may need to hire others to do the jobs you once did, like changing the oil in everyone’s cars or cleaning the gutters.
The more unpaid support you provide for your family, the greater their overall value. Stay-at-home spouses may contribute services that would cost more than six figures a year to outsource to others, such as child care, daily meal preparation and cleaning services.
Identifying and properly valuing the secondary losses you will experience because of a car crash injury can help you evaluate a settlement offer or ask for appropriate compensation in a civil lawsuit against the driver who hurt you.
