If another party in California injured you or a family member, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. By filing a personal injury claim, you can seek economic and non-economic damages to compensate you for your injuries, monetary losses, and suffering.
Out-of-pocket expenses fall under economic damages. They include miscellaneous costs you incur due to your accident and injuries. Below, we provide examples of these losses and explain who may be responsible for reimbursing you for them.
Examples of Out-of-Pocket Expenses in a California Personal Injury Case
Out-of-pocket costs can include, but are not limited to:
Personal Care
Your injuries may prevent you from working, causing you to incur lost wages. However, your injuries may also prevent you from caring for your personal needs and family.
If so, you may incur expenses such as:
- In-home assistance to help you perform activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, grooming, etc.
- Childcare services
- Someone to help with household chores, including laundry, cooking, and cleaning
- In-home skilled nursing care
- Modifications to your home or vehicle to accommodate an impairment or disability
The expenses you incur must be reasonable and necessary if you want to receive compensation for them. Therefore, you need medical evidence to support your need for personal care. Medical specialists can provide opinions and testimony to explain how your injuries prevent you from performing these tasks. For example, your injuries prevented you from cleaning your home or preparing meals for your children.
Costs Related to Your Medical Treatment
Injured victims may incur significant medical bills after an accident or personal injury. You may receive bills from doctors, hospitals, therapists, and other healthcare providers. However, you may also incur other expenses related to your medical care that are not necessarily billed from providers.
Examples of these costs include, but are not limited to:
- Prescription medications
- Co-pays
- Mileage and travel costs to and from medical appointments
- The cost of hotel stays if your medical treatment requires you to stay overnight out of town
- Over-the-counter medications
- Medical supplies and equipment, including bandages, wheelchairs, crutches, bedside toilets, etc.
- Parking expenses and fees
Keeping detailed records of these expenses is crucial. You must prove that you incurred the costs. Therefore, keep copies of all receipts, invoices, and bills that prove you had to pay these expenses as part of your recovery.
Who Could Be Liable for Out-of-Pocket Expenses in a California Personal Injury Claim?
Any party who contributed to the cause of your injury is responsible for your resulting damages, including out-of-pocket expenses. However, you must prove that they caused your injuries before you can recover compensation for your losses.
Most personal injury cases are negligence-based. To hold a party financially liable for damages in a negligence claim, you must prove:
- The party had a legal duty to use reasonable care. For example, a driver has a duty to obey traffic laws and drive safely to avoid car accidents.
- The party breached their duty of care through some act or omission. For example, a driver ran a red light.
- The party’s conduct was a proximate and direct cause of your injuries. For instance, a car crash would not have occurred without a driver running a stop light.
- You incurred financial and physical harm because of the party’s conduct.
Your claim may involve strict liability or intentional torts, depending on the circumstances. Out-of-pocket expenses are the same regardless of the type of personal injury case you file.
How Can Shared Fault Impact a Personal Injury Case in California?
Contributory fault is a legal theory that bars victims from receiving any money for their claim if they are partially to blame for causing their injuries. California does not use this strict standard in personal injury cases. Instead, the state has adopted a pure comparative negligence rule.
A victim may be partially at fault for the cause of their injuries and still recover damages. However, the court will reduce the amount they receive by their percentage of fault.
For example, suppose a jury finds that you are 25% to blame for a car accident. Instead of receiving the total of the judgment, the court would reduce your award by 25%. Therefore, if the jury awarded you $100,000, you would only receive $75,000.
Beware of insurance adjusters trying to get you to discuss your accident and injuries. They are searching for information the company can use to shift some or all of the blame to you. Even if you weren’t at fault, the company may use something you said to imply that you were. Allowing your attorney to handle communications with the insurance company is better.
A California Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Recover Compensation for Your Out-of-Pocket Expenses and Other Damages
You can get answers to your questions and advice regarding your legal options from our Encino personal injury lawyers. We offer a free consultation, so call us today to speak with a lawyer. Your time to file a claim is limited by California’s statute of limitations, so we encourage you to act now. Contact our law office at 833-852-3600 today for a free consultation.
