After getting injured in a truck accident in Jacksonville, you might wonder what types of damages you could recover in an injury claim or lawsuit. The kinds of damages you could recover will depend on the facts of your case and a few other factors, like who was at fault.
The person who caused the truck crash through negligence can be liable for the injuries and other losses that result from the collision. Damages can include economic and intangible losses.
Categories of Economic Damages After a Jacksonville Truck Collision
You can get compensation for your losses if you win your case. Economic damages in personal injury cases can include the following:
- Medical bills: Typically, the injured person can recover the reasonable cost of the healthcare services they need to treat their wounds.
- Future medical treatment: If the treating physician thinks the plaintiff will need additional interventions, like surgery, or ongoing treatment, like physical therapy, the estimated cost can be included in the truck accident claim.
- Medical equipment: After a severe injury, the injured individual might need crutches, a wheelchair, an adapted vehicle, home renovations, or other types of equipment directly related to their wounds or impairments from their injuries.
- Long-term care: Debilitating injuries like paralysis from spinal cord damage or loss of function from a traumatic brain injury may leave a person unable to live independently. The plaintiff might need to move into a nursing home or receive daily home health care.
- Lost income: Significant injuries from a truck crash can take time to heal. This category is for when the plaintiff did not get paid the full amount of their regular wages or salary.
- Reduced earning capacity: A person with lingering problems from their injuries, like chronic pain, loss of strength, or impaired function, might not be able to make as much money as before the truck collision.
Your family might be able to pursue a wrongful death claim seeking additional compensation if your loved one died from wounds received in a truck crash in Jacksonville.
Types of Intangible Losses After Getting Injured in a Truck Crash in Jacksonville
Intangible damages can be a little more challenging to quantify, but these losses definitely have a financial value.
Pain and Suffering
You can pursue a claim for pain and suffering after a truck accident. This category of intangible losses is for the physical discomfort, emotional distress, and inconvenience of getting injured in a truck accident that was not your fault.
Disfigurement
Devastating injuries can leave behind a physical reminder of the truck crash long after the event. Amputations, burns, surgical incisions, and other extensive scars can receive compensation for disfigurement.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after a person experiences a motor vehicle crash, particularly one that involves catastrophic or fatal injuries. This disorder can devastate a person’s life, making personal relationships, employment, and daily life a struggle.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
When a truck accident changes a person’s life, they may no longer be able to participate in activities they used to enjoy. This may warrant awards for the loss of enjoyment of life. For example, if a person used to enjoy bike riding but severe leg or spinal injuries make that impossible or too painful, they might have decreased enjoyment of life.
What Happens If Your Injury Claim from a Jacksonville Truck Accident Does Not Settle
If your case does not settle before the filing deadline, you will have to file a lawsuit to preserve your right to pursue compensation from the negligent party. You will want to talk with a truck accident lawyer about the lawsuit process for truck accidents.
Your lawyer will still be able to negotiate with the at-fault party after filing the lawsuit. Most personal injury cases settle without having to go to trial. The litigation process involves:
- Filing a lawsuit
- Engaging in the discovery process, such as creating document requests, interrogatories (written questions), requests for admissions, and depositions to build your case and prepare for trial
- Continuing negotiations
- Attending hearings and handling arguments over motions
- Handling the trial
The exact steps that happen are different in every truck accident injury case.
Beware of the Statute of Limitations When Seeking Damages After a Jacksonville Truck Accident
Florida does not give a person unlimited time to seek compensation for their losses from the party who injured them through carelessness. Every state has something called a statute of limitations, also called a filing deadline. The deadline for a personal injury lawsuit in Florida is generally two years, according to Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a).
If you do not file a lawsuit before the deadline expires, the negligent party will not pay you any money because they are no longer liable for your damages. Negotiating with the insurer will stop because you no longer have a case.
We Can Help You Recover Damages After Being Injured in a Truck Accident in Jacksonville
Reach out to the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine for help with your Jacksonville truck accident lawsuit. We go the extra mile for our clients. You can contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation
