Car Accident Injury Claim: How They Work

By: Maryanne Miller|LRL Editor

Car accidents can happen anywhere, anytime. They can be caused by drunken drivers, faulty brakes or the simple refusal to give way to the other vehicle. When car accidents occur, one should consider getting a car accident injury claim. This type of insurance claim can be broken down into more specific sub-categories honored by most insurance companies.

Since car accidents usually result in some form of injury for the victims, medical expenses are fully accounted for by a car accident injury claim. Medical expenses such as hospital care, doctors' service fees, and even surgery can be covered by the insurance company. Pain and suffering, as well as mental anguish caused by the car accident entitle the insurance plan bearer to recover damage fees.

By invoking the car accident injury claim, the insurance plan bearer may also recover loss of wages, lost of earning capacity, and loss of consortium. Loss of wages pertains to the salary which the insurance plan bearer would have earned if he or she were not involved in the car accident. The duration and amount of salary lost is computed from the car accident up to the insurance plan bearer's complete recovery. Loss of earning capacity, on the other hand, is rewarded if the insurance plan bearer's capacity to earn was diminished by an injury or disability from the car accident.

For example, if the insurance plan bearer was a typist, and the car accident resulted in a broken arm or worse, broken fingers, then the insurance company would reward him or her with the salary he or she would have earned if the car accident had not occurred. Loss of consortium is applicable only to married couples. The insurance plan bearer may invoke loss of consortium if his or her capacity to express affection, maintain companionship, or initiate sexual functions were in any way diminished or disabled by the car accident.

The car accident claim allows the insurance plan bearer to bounce back financially after the crisis caused by a car accident. It must be noted, however, that not every insurance plan bearer can avail of the benefits of this insurance claim. A jury usually decides whether or not the insurance plan bearer deserves to be granted damage fees by meticulously going over the sub-categories of the car accident injury claim. If the insurance plan bearer was the one responsible for the car accident, then his or her chances to acquire the insurance claim are greatly diminished. 

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