When you are involved in a truck accident, the effects of that accident don’t stop on the road, they extend across your entire life. Every part of your life is touched by the injury or the loss of a loved one. Damages are the economic compensation from a truck accident lawsuit that attempts to repay you for what you lost. The FMCSA has estimated that the cost of the average injury truck accident is $342,000, while the average cost of a fatal truck accident is $7.9 million, with most of the cost being borne by the family of the injured or deceased
When you have been hurt or lost a loved one due to the negligence of a trucking company, you deserve to be compensated for your loss. Please contact AccidentAttorneys.org today to find an experienced truck accident attorney who can help you.
Medical Costs in a Truck Accident
Truck accidents often result in serious injury and even death. In these cases, most of the medical costs are paid by the people who are injured, or killed, which is generally not the driver of the truck. When someone is killed in an accident with a large truck, it is someone other than the truck driver 95% of the time, and someone other than the truck driver is injured 88% of the time.
The average medical costs in an injury truck accident are over $29,000, and in fatal truck accidents the average medical cost is nearly $70,000, including emergency services. You may be able to get compensation for your medical bills with a truck accident lawsuit.
Lost Productivity in a Truck Accident
When a person is injured in a truck accident, they will likely spend weeks away from work, and may never be able to return to their previous job. The cost of lost productivity when you or a loved one isn’t going to work means lost wages that can’t go to feeding your family and paying your bills.
The cost of lost productivity in an injury truck accident is estimated at nearly $71,000 and the lost productivity in a fatal truck accident is $1.3 million.
Lost Quality of Life
Lost quality of life is the category of damages that is the largest for both injury and fatal truck accidents. It is also the category that money just can’t truly repay you for. Lost quality of life refers to your pain and suffering, inability to enjoy activities you did before your accident, and the loss of companionship when a loved one is killed.
The cost of diminished quality of life is estimated at $220,000 in an injury truck accident and $6.5 million in a fatal truck accident.
Damages in Your Truck Accident Lawsuit
When you bring a truck accident lawsuit, the amount of your damages may not reflect the figures here because these are averages, and yours will be governed by the specific circumstances of your accident.
The amount of damages you receive will also depend on other factors, such as the quality of your attorney, your willingness to bargain with the trucking company and wait for compensation, and possibly the uncertainty of a jury verdict. Since most of the estimated costs come in the form of noneconomic damages—diminished quality of life—your attorney’s ability to estimate this cost and convince a jury that the amount is accurate is important. A quality truck accident attorney can help you have a better chance of getting more compensation in your truck accident lawsuit.
To talk to an experienced truck accident attorney in your area, please contact AccidentAttorneys.org today.
