Available Compensation In Bozeman Car Accident Cases
No one prepares for a sudden, life-altering event like a serious car accident. Unfortunately, Montana’s rural roadways, inhospitable weather conditions, and speeding drivers contribute to the state’s high number of car accidents. Montana ranks second in the nation for car accident fatalities. Fortunately, not every accident ends in a fatality, but many accidents cause serious or even life-altering injuries. After a car accident in Bozeman, an injury victim doesn’t have to be left responsible for the financial consequences of the accident as well as the physical impacts. A Bozeman personal injury lawyer can help victims pursue compensation for the economic and non-economic repercussions of a car accident, which become the damages in a Montana car accident claim. A successful car accident claim against the driver responsible for the accident can recover significant compensation for these damages.
Compensation for Economic Damages In Car Accident Claims In Montana
Car accidents with injuries are expensive. Medical bills often pile up at the same time that serious injuries prevent a return to the workplace in the previous capacity—or at all. When a car accident causes financial hardship, it often impacts the entire family. A successful car accident claim in Bozeman or elsewhere in Montana allows the accident victim to recover compensation for their economic damages such as the following:
- Property damage costs for repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle
- Reimbursement for medical costs
- Future medical expenses related to the injury
- Lost earnings
- Future income loss
In some cases, a car accident victim in Montana may recover additional compensation for diminished future earning capacity if their injuries are severe enough to cause disability, impairment, or otherwise prevent a return to the workplace in the same capacity as before the accident. If an accident results in a fatality, close family members can recover compensation for wrongful death damages including the loss of income for the number of earning years the deceased loved one would have earned had they survived their injuries.
Compensation Available for Non-Economic Car Accident Damages In Bozeman
Economic damages are fairly easy to calculate by totaling actual costs to a car accident victim; however, a car accident victim’s non-economic damages are usually the worst aspect of a car accident with a deeply personal impact on the accident survivor. For this reason, Montana allows car accident victims to recover compensation for the non-economic damages that apply in their cases, including the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Scarring
- Loss of vision
- Loss of hearing
- Loss of limb
- Diminished quality of life
- Emotional suffering such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances
A successful compensation claim requires the injury victim to make a compelling case with ample evidence of their economic and non-economic damages.
How Do I Recover Compensation In a Car Accident Case In Bozeman?
Compensation for car accident claims typically comes from the at-fault driver’s auto insurance. Unfortunately, insurance companies often protect their profits at the injury victim’s expense. It takes a well-executed claim process with significant evidence of the at-fault party’s liability and the injury victim’s damages to recover the maximum compensation available in a car accident case in Bozeman. If a car accident victim’s damages far exceed the limits of the at-fault driver’s insurance, a skilled car accident lawyer may pursue other options available for compensation; for example, if a faulty airbag contributed to the severity of the injuries, a defective product claim could recover additional compensation for a car accident injury victim. A Bozeman car accident lawyer represents a car accident victim’s best interests throughout the compensation claim process.