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If you or a loved one were injured in an Enfield car accident, your damages could include many different issues. First, you would look to recover economic damages like medical expenses. You would also consider whether you have any non-economic damages.
Recovering Economic Damages in a Connecticut Car Accident
Under Connecticut law, you can recover compensation to the full value of your economic damages from the at-fault party or parties. These economic damages can include:
- Medical costs and fees
- Lost earnings
- Terapi fisik
- Assistive devices
- Rehabilitasi
- Property damages
The court (or jury) will examine the facts of the accident and assign a value to each of these to be paid by the at-fault driver.
Recovering Non-Economic Damages in a Connecticut Car Accident
Non-economic damages are very different from economic damages. Economic damages are reasonably easy to calculate. Doctor and hospital bills, previous pay stubs, and similar documents can show precisely what your losses were. Non-economic damages are those suffered by the victim of a car accident which a factual cost analysis cannot calculate. Non-economic damages include things like:
- Physical pain and suffering – Some types of injuries result in chronic pain that will affect your quality of life forever
- Disfigurement – Some injuries, particularly facial injuries in younger persons, can leave scars that materially and permanently damage the injured party’s quality of life.
- Mental anguish – All of the results of an accident can leave the victim with permanent emotional pain as well. The suffering from these losses may never diminish.
- Loss of quality of life – The injuries suffered in an accident may take away the ability to engage in many activities that brought pleasure or reward to the victim. This loss of quality of life is compensable as non-economic damages.
- Loss of motor function – Loss of motor function can permanently reduce an accident victim’s ability to work and engage in activities previously important to the victim. Further, the loss may require assistive equipment, rehabilitation, and other care which will not be knowable at the time of trial.
- Loss of cognitive function – Like loss of motor function, loss of cognitive function permanently reduces an accident victim’s quality of life. The injured party may no longer be able to work or to care for himself or herself. Life-long care may be necessary, and all productive work may become impossible.
Thus, non-economic damages differ significantly from economic damages, particularly in the ease or difficulty with which they can be calculated. Non-economic damages help to compensate for the life-altering life-long changes that the accident caused.
Recovering Any Damages in a Connecticut Car Accident
For personal injury cases, Connecticut is a pure “fault” state. This doctrine means that if you are found to have been partially responsible for your Enfield accident, the court will assign a percentage to that share of fault, and your recovery will be reduced accordingly. Thus, if your entire damages are $1 million and you were 25% at fault, your gross reward would be reduced to $750,000. Further, if you were found to be 51% at fault, you would recover nothing.
Contact an Enfield Car Accident Attorney Today
Because of the complexity of car accident cases, both in terms of calculating damages and determining fault, you should consult with an Enfield car accident attorney as soon as possible. Your initial interview and case evaluation will be at no cost to you. Contact our team at Berman & Russo today.
