The Costs of an Auto Collision

Car accidents can be deadly and dangerous, and they can also be expensive. Ideally, you'll get all the money you need from a fair settlement, but that doesn't always happen, especially if you try to fight without an attorney. If you would like to learn more, check out these costs of an auto collision that you should be prepared to face.

Damages to Property

If you get into an auto collision, your car is likely to be damaged. Depending on the circumstances involved (speed, type of accident, size of the vehicles), damages can range from minor dings and scratches to severe damage that totals your vehicle. 

If your vehicle does get totaled, you may struggle to get a fair settlement. Insurance carriers are notorious for offering you a low amount and pressuring you into accepting it fast. Therefore, you may end up with less money than you owe on the totaled vehicle. For this reason, in Oregon, every driver is required to have a minimum of $20,000 in liability coverage for property damage. 

Personal Injuries 

In many cases, a car accident leads to personal injuries. Therefore, Oregon drivers are required to have a minimum of $50,000 in liability coverage for total bodily injury or death. Many types of injuries can occur with car accidents, but many of them involve the spine, neck, and head.

For example, in a rear-end collision, you could experience whiplash. In aside-impact, your head could collide with the door widow. These types of injuries are particularly problematic because they can leave you with long-term side effects like cognitive problems, chronic back pain, paralysis, etc. 

Other common injuries include burns, internal injuries, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, knee injuries, and foot injuries. Many of these can cause long-term physical pain and suffering. This means that even after you've accepted your settlement, you may need more medical care. For this reason, you should work with your doctor and attorney to understand the full extent of your injuries before accepting any money. 

Emotional Pain and Suffering 

Besides physical pain and suffering, you may experience emotional pain and suffering. These types of damages are hard to prove, but they can drastically affect your life, personality, and mood. After a particularly bad accident, you may suffer from PTSD or anxiety, especially when driving or riding in a vehicle.

In some cases, the injuries you sustained may lead to emotional pain and suffering. For example, if you cut your arm, leaving a scar, the scar may affect your self-esteem and confidence. Similarly, if the cut caused nerve damage, not only can that be considered physical pain and suffering, but the loss of functionality, mobility, and sensation can cause emotional distress.

Courts and insurance agencies can't see emotional injuries on an X-ray or MRI. Instead, you'll need to show the intensity of your distress, the duration of the pain, any related body injury, the underlying cause of your distress, and a doctor's note. 

Loss of Income

If your injuries are severe, you may have to miss work for a while. As long as your doctor has recommended time away from work, you should qualify for compensation. The downside is that you don't get full income compensation. 

This is because of interest. If you took the lump sum and put it an account with great interest, you can end up with more money than you would have earned working. Therefore, insurance agencies can offer significantly less than you deserve. 

In addition, you may struggle to prove you need as much compensation as you do. You can usually get reimbursed for the days of work you already missed, but it's harder to get reimbursed for future lost income because future income is hypothetical. If your injuries affected your ability to work certain jobs, you may also be able to sue for lost earning capacity.

After an accident, you may not realize the full extent of your injuries. In other cases, it's particularly hard to prove your injuries because they are soft tissue damages or pain and suffering. If you would like to find a skilled attorney to fight for you, contact us at Walsh and Associates today.