A car accident is painful, traumatic, and often costly, especially when it causes more than just damage to a vehicle but also results in serious injuries. These consequences of an accident are the damages in a car accident claim, but what is the difference between special damages and general damages?
According to Missouri’s Department of Revenue, all drivers must carry at least the minimum required car insurance to pay for both special damages and general damages after a crash.
What Are Special Damages In a Missouri Car Accident Claim?
Injury expenses add up quickly after a Missouri car accident when a severe injury requires expensive medical treatment at the same time that the pain, necessary medical procedures, physical therapy, and lengthy recovery time prevent an injury victim from returning to work. The tangible, financial aspects of a car accident are the special damages in a claim. Often, these include the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses already paid
- Anticipated future medical costs, such as for required surgical procedures, physical therapy, or ongoing injury care
- Compensation for lost wages
- Out-of-pocket costs, such as for traveling to see specialists, hiring household help during recovery, or for adaptive equipment
- Future income loss for the anticipated missed work time until the injury victim is able to return to work
- Diminished future earning ability if the injury caused a disability that prevents the accident victim from returning to work in their previous capacity or prohibits them from working at all
Special damages are also known as “economic damages” in a Missouri car accident case.
Understanding General Damages In a Car Accident Claim In Missouri
Special damages after a car accident are easily totaled by adding up the expenses caused by the injuries as well as the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged car. General damages are the intangible aspects of a car accident that aren’t as straightforward to calculate but are often the most devastating consequences of the accident. Examples of general car accident damages in Missouri include the following:
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Compensation for catastrophic injury, or permanent harm, such as scarring, disfigurement, disability, loss of limb, organ loss, vision damage, hearing loss, loss of enjoyment of life, or diminished quality of life
Under Missouri’s pure comparative negligence system, the driver or other party responsible for a car accident is liable for the injury victim’s special and general damages.
Special and General Damages After a Car Accident Fatality In Missouri
Missouri’s fault-based car accident law also allows the immediate family of a deceased car accident victim to recover the family’s general and special damages. This typically includes compensation for special damages, such as the decedent’s lifetime lost earnings and benefits, and compensation for loss of household services formerly provided by the decedent, such as caring for the children, home, or lawn. Compensation for general damages after a car accident wrongful death provides a monetary amount for the family’s emotional grief, anguish, and loss of love and support.
An experienced Missouri car accident attorney carefully calculates their client’s special and general damages after an accident and pursues the maximum compensation available to the injury victim.